Materials and Design 52 (2013) 190–195

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Materials and Design

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Short Communication

Effect of tensile overloads on fatigue crack growth of high strength steel

wires
J. Haag ⇑, A. Reguly, T.R. Strohaecker
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Minas, Metalúrgica e dos Materiais (PPGE3M), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Osvaldo Aranha, 99, Sala 610,
Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Fatigue of the tensile armor wires is the main failure mode of flexible risers. Techniques to increase the
Received 17 December 2012 life of these components are required to improve the processes safety on oil exploration. This work eval-
Accepted 20 May 2013 uates the crack growth retardation of high strength steel wires used in flexible pipelines. Fracture tough-
Available online 30 May 2013
ness tests were performed to establish the level of stress intensity factor wherein the wires present
significant plastic deformation at the crack tip. The effect of tensile overload on fatigue behavior was
assessed by fatigue crack growth testing under constant DK control and different overload ratios with
two different load ratios. The outcomes show that the application of controlled overloads provides crack
retardation and increases the fatigue life of the wires more than 31%. This behavior is also evident at
stress ratio of 0.5, in spite of the crack closure effect being minimized by increasing the applied mean
stress.
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction niques in order to assess the integrity of flexible pipelines. Clarke

Flexible risers are components fabricated using several metallic
and nonmetallic layers, each one with a specific function. In deep
water offshore extraction, this type of pipeline has to withstand
static and dynamic loads from internal and external pressure, its
own weight and sea currents [1]. The ability to carry such complex
loads is possible due to a system of metallic armors: internal car-
cass, pressure armor and tensile armor. The polymeric layers pro-
vide resistance to wear, friction, corrosion, seawater ingress and
internal fluid leakage. A general view of flexible risers is shown
in Fig. 1. Two helically wound metallic wires set up the tensile ar-
mor with a chemical composition close to eutectoid carbon steel. A
hard and textured microstructure is present in these wires as a re-
sult of the cold rolling manufacturing process [2]. Of particular
importance is the integrity of the armor layers since these may
cause total collapse of the pipeline or tear-off of the softer layers
and consequent leakage of the internal product [3].
The main failure mode of the flexible risers system is the wires
fatigue at the interface between the pipe and the end fitting, as
presented at Fig. 2 [4]. Rupture of these wires can cause structural
instability and re-balancing of loads, which in turn results in in-
creased load and friction between the unbroken wires and debris.
These effects can lead to rapid progressive failure that can signifi-
cantly shorten the life of the component [5]. Offshore companies
are constantly developing non-destructive testing (NDT) tech-
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 51 3308 4247; fax: +55 51 3308 3988.
E-mail address: jhaag@demet.ufrgs.br (J. Haag).
[5] and Jacques [6] have shown that the combination of acoustic
emission with other NDT methods could clearly indicate the wires
rupture with low noise and an absence of false calls. Therefore, it is
necessary to obtain techniques that not only allow the integrity
assessment, but also increase the service life of these components.
The use of preload is a widely consolidated mechanical process
to increase the fatigue life of structural components made with
high ductility materials. The autofrettage of tubes and cylinders
is an example of the application of this procedure. Compressive
stresses left at inner core of tubes reduce applied tensile stresses
due fluctuation pressure, increasing the fatigue strength and sub-
sequently the service life of pipes [7]. In addition to decreasing
the average effective stress in the region of interest, the overload
has the ability to decrease the crack growth rate through the phe-
nomenon known as crack retardation and hence increases the
residual fatigue life [8]. Plasticity-induced closure is the responsi-
ble mechanism for retardation effects on crack growth, since retar-
dation generally does not occur immediately following the
application of an overload [9]. There are studies of variable ampli-
tude spectrum on low carbon alloys [10] and aluminum alloys, as
Al 2024-T3 [11] and Al 7075-T6 [12], presenting even the possibil-
ity to predict the fatigue behavior of material using load interac-
tion models, such as Wheeler model [13]. However, it is not well
understood the behavior of high strength materials when sub-
jected to mechanical overloads from the preload process.
The present work aims to evaluate the effect of tensile over-
loads on high strength wires used on the manufacture of flexible
risers to increase the components life in service. There are some

0261-3069/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2013.05.063
 J. Haag et al. / Materials and Design 52 (2013) 190–195 191

Fig. 1. General view of a flexible riser section indicating layers forming the Fig. 3. Optical micrograph of wires transversal section showing the perlitic
structure [5]. structure. Arrows indicate the ferrite at grain boundaries. 2% Nital etching.

Table 2
Mechanical properties of carbon steel DINF141.

Yield stress, ry (MPa) Ultimate tensile strength, ru (MPa)

1324 1496

Fig. 2. Tensile armor rupture near the end fitting [4].

Fig. 4. Schematic representation of the test assembly.

possibilities to achieve the crack retardation on those pipelines. An

initial purpose is to apply a pressurization process to provide over-
loads in the flexible risers before the installation on the platform or
during the operation as a repair method. Therefore, this work
might be a motivation to develop a deep assessment of the imple-
mentation of the proof load process on offshore industry.

2. Experimental method

The high strength wires used in this study were fabricated with Fig. 5. SE(B) specimen dimension (mm).

DIN FI41 carbon steel grade by controlled cold rolling with the final
section of 15  5 mm. This material has a chemical composition
equivalent to SAE 1070 steel, as shown in Table 1. The wires micro-
structure consisted of pearlite with small ferrite amount at grain
boundaries (Fig. 3). The strongly deformed structure and the high
carbon content resulted in high mechanical strength, reaching ulti-
mate tensile strength around 1500 MPa, as indicated by the tensile
tests results presented in Table 2.
Fig. 4 shows a schematic representation of the test assembly.
Single-edge bending SE(B) specimens with L–T crack plane orienta-
tion were chosen to assess the fracture toughness and overload ef-
fect on fatigue crack growth (Fig. 5). Fatigue precracking was
performed at decreasing DK control of 20 MPa m0.5, load ratio of
0.1 and frequency of 20 Hz based on international standards (ISO
12135 [14], ASTM: E1820). All tests were performed in a 100kN
hydraulic load frame in air at room temperature with a clip gauge
used to monitor the crack mount opening displacement (CMOD).
Fracture toughness were determined using ISO 12135 standard
equations [14]. The plastic hinge model were employed to calcu-
late the crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) and this fracture
parameter is appropriate to quantify the material resistance, since
the plastic deformation is not confined to a small region surround-
ing the crack tip to validate the linear elastic fracture mechanic

Table 1
Chemical composition of carbon steel DIN FI41.

Component C Mn Si P S Cr Ni Cu Fe
wt.% 0.685 0.791 0.291 0.0200 0.0208 0.0224 0.00970 0.0390 98.1
192 J. Haag et al. / Materials and Design 52 (2013) 190–195

theory. Furthermore, two values of stress intensity factor (K) were

calculated to determine the stress intensity range where the mate-
rial presents the plastic deformation at the crack tip. The KQ was
calculated using the secant line method described at the standard
and the determination of Km was done via the application of the re-
corded maximum force on the equation of stress intensity factor
for SE(B) configuration. These results were used to determine the
Kmax and the overload ratios used in this work. Fractographic
observation of the SE(B) specimens fracture surface was performed
using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to characterize frac-
ture micromechanisms.
Fatigue crack growth testing under constant DK control and
constant Kmax equal to 40 MPa m0.5 was performed to evaluate
the crack retardation varying the overload ratio (defined as
OLR = KOL/Kmax) and load ratio (R = Kmin/Kmax, where Kmax and Kmin Fig. 6. Load–CMOD curve for SE(B) specimen, showing the assessment of PQ, Pm and
represent the maximum and minimum values of the baseline Vp for calculation of KQ, Km and CTOD.
stress intensity range, respectively). The DK control provides a lin-
ear behavior on crack length versus number of cycles curve, high-
lighting the effect when an overload is applied. Table 3 presents
testing parameter matrix. The overloads were manually applied Table 4
under load control by raising the load to the designated overload Fracture toughness measurements.
value, decreasing to the minimum value and returning to the same
dc (mm) KQ (MPa m0.5) Km (MPa m0.5)
mean load as that prior to the overload. Three overloads were ap-
0.058 69 95
plied on each specimen at total crack length of 5 mm, 7 mm and
9 mm, i.e. normalized crack size (a/W) of 0.33, 0.47 and 0.60. The
overload effect on fatigue crack growth was evaluated analyzing
the behavior of testing curve and the fracture surfaces.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Fracture toughness

Fig. 6 presents the load–CMOD curve of one of the three tested

specimens, showing the utilized loads and displacement for the
calculation of CTOD and the stress intensity factors KQ and Km.
The tensile armor wires had relatively low fracture toughness val-
ues with dc = 0.058 mm, which, for comparison purposes, repre-
sents a value about three times lower than the minimum
required by DNV-OS-F101 standard for weld seam applied in pipe-
lines of C–Mn steels [15]. Table 4 shows the obtained fracture
toughness values. It was verified that there is a possibility to pro-
duce plastic deformation at the crack tip through controlled pro-
cesses within a stress-intensity factor range of 69 MPa m0.5 (KQ
value below that no significant plastic deformation observed at
the crack tip) to 95 MPa m0.5 (Km value above that unstable crack
growth could be observed). This analysis is essential to set the Kmax
value on fatigue crack growth, which should be lower than mini-
mum value of the range, and the overloads that must be between
the minimum and maximum value of the range.
Evaluation of the fracture surface of the fracture toughness
specimens showed the presence of delamination at the fatigue pre-
crack tip due to the wire texture resulting from the cold rolling
process (Fig. 7). There is microvoid coalescence mechanism be-
tween delamination, since it provides a triaxiality relief resulting

Table 3
Fatigue crack growth parameters matrix used to analysis the effect of overloads.

Condition R Kmax (MPa m0.5) OLR KOL (MPa m0.5)

1 0.1 40 1.50 60
2 1.75 70
3 2.00 80
4 0.5 1.50 60
5 1.75 70
Fig. 7. SEM fractographies showing: (a) delamination at stretch zone and (b)
6 2.00 80
microvoid coalescence mechanism between delamination.
 J. Haag et al. / Materials and Design 52 (2013) 190–195
Fig. 8. Crack length versus number of cycles curve of load ratio 0.1 conditions.
Fig. 9. Crack length versus number of cycles curve of load ratio 0.5 conditions.
in a plane stress state at these regions and thus leading to a ductile
fracture with local increase of toughness.
3.2. Crack growth retardation
The effect of tensile overload on crack growth for the load ratios
of 0.1 and 0.5 is shown in Figs. 8 and 9, respectively. It is evident
the propagation delay following the overload leading to crack
retardation. After a period of slow growth immediately following
Fig. 10. Fracture surfaces of load ratio: (a) 0.1 and (b) 0.5 conditions.
193
the overload, gradually the original growth rate is resumed, as con-
solidated in the literature [16,17]. The higher overload ratio pro-
vided the greater reduction in the crack growth rate for both
load ratios. Furthermore, the specimens subjected to the load ratio
of 0.1 exhibit greater sensitivity to the overloads, with a difference
of 42% in the total number of cycles between the higher and lower
level of overload (OLR = 2,00 and OLR = 1,50), while for R = 0.5
these differences are still significant but of only 17%.
Fig. 10 shows the fracture surfaces of specimens where three
tensile overloads with OLR equal to 1.5, 1.75 and 2.0 with load ra-
tios of 0.1 and 0.5 were applied. There was a gradual increase on
the plastic zone as overload magnitude increases from 1.5 to 2.0
for both load ratios. The shape of crack front changed throughout
the propagation for all samples, although the effect is more pro-
nounced for samples with R = 0.1. At the beginning of the propaga-
tion, it is more difficult for the crack growth in the center of the
wire and this behavior occurs due to the roughness-induced clo-
sure mechanism as can be seen on the Fig. 11. The center of wire
thickness has a rough surface while the edges are smooth, promot-
ing central crack closure. The rough surface lead to mix mode con-
ditions and it results in contact between the crack faces at positive
loads [9]. Material microstructure influences this crack closure
mechanism, e.g. variation on grain size through the manufacturing
process [9]. The propagation became more regular following the
first overload and it is attributed to fracture static modes (void
growth and delamination) at the crack tip, which provide decrease
of the roughness and homogenization. Daneshpour et al. [18] noted
that tensile overload changes the shape of the crack front and form
a more curved crack front due to ductile damage in base material
and laser welds of aluminum alloys under constant amplitude
loading. The specimens with R = 0.5 have shown less change in
the crack front shape because higher load ratios increase the mean
stress applied, reducing the effect of the crack closure mechanism.
The samples that received the higher OLR levels (1.75 and 2.00)
have shown an initial acceleration prior to the transient retarda-
tion of the growth rate. To clarify this behavior, a sample with just
one overload in the middle of the width, OLR of 2.00 and load ratio
0.1 was prepared. Fig. 12 presents the da/dN versus crack length
curve, showing the growth rate acceleration prior to the retarda-
tion. Schijve [19] observed previously the phenomenon of delayed
retardation and Elber [20] have explained this behavior through
the compressive residual stresses left by the high load cycle behind
the crack tip, in contrast to the original idea of Schijve. This mech-
194 J. Haag et al. / Materials and Design 52 (2013) 190–195

Fig. 11. Roughness-induced closure mechanism at the beginning of propagation: (a) center of wire thickness showing the rough region and (b) edge of wire thickness with a
smoother region than the center.

The obtained results prove that is possible to use overloads to

increase the fatigue life of high strength wires. Gas pressurization
process might be an option to apply the overloads not only in the
installation of pipelines, but also as a repair method during the
operation. An increase of more than 31% on the total number of cy-
cles was observed with the use of three overloads for the load ratio
of 0.5 compared to a wire with constant stress intensity range, as
observed in Fig. 13.

4. Conclusions

The effects of overload applied on crack retardation were inves-

tigated in high strength steel wires of flexible pipeline tensile ar-
mor. The following results were obtained:

Fig. 12. da/dN versus crack length curve.

 Fracture toughness of the wires was 0.058 mm assessed by
CTOD technique. There is a possibility to produce plastic defor-
mation at the crack tip through processes controlled within a
range of stress intensity factor (K) of 69 to 95 MPa m0.5. This
result is essential to set the overloads applied to crack retarda-
tion and asses the process influence.
 Controlled overloads provide effective crack growth retardation,
increasing residual fatigue life of wires with crack type defects.
In the case of flexible pipelines whose weight structure pro-
duces a mean stress close to load ratio of 0.5, the overloads
are noticeably beneficial, reaching an increase of more than
31% on the total number of cycles using three overloads of
80 MPa m0.5 (OLR 2.0). For that reason, it is possible to develop
a procedure to apply a preload process on flexible risers, such as
pressurization of pipelines.

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