J Fail. Anal. and Preven.
(2019) 19:958–966
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-019-00679-x
T E C H N I C A L A RT I C L E — P E E R - R E V I E W E D
Fatigue Failure Analyses of Three Gas Cylinders of Long-Tube
Trailers
Jianming Zhai · Tong Xu · Yongshan Jiang · Baolan Gu ·
Yonghui Sun · Haiyang Yu
Submitted: 25 October 2018 / in revised form: 23 June 2019 / Published online: 2 August 2019
© ASM International 2019
Abstract Three cylinders of a long-tube trailer leaked
during an inspection and typical quality test. Thus, failure
analysis was performed to determine the cause of failure.
Macroscopic observation, metallographic analysis, and
fracture analysis were implemented. Cylinder 1 was found
leaking during the inspection. The crack was from the inner
to the outer surface of the wall, and stripes from tool marks
were found on the inner surface. Metallographic analysis
proved that the fatigue crack originated from the tool marks
in cylinder 1. Cylinders 2 and 3, which are fiber-reinforced,
failed during the typical quality test, with life of approxi-
mately 13,000 cycles. The inner surface of cylinder 2 had
many folds, and the fatigue crack intensified from these
folds. The folds were formed by the shot blasting treatment
of the cylinder. The crack of cylinder 3 was found in the
position of the cylinder bottle shoulder. The inclusion on
the cylinder shoulder was observed, and that on the sub-
surface could move to the inner surface during the hot
spinning process and propagate gradually under cyclic
load. The three fatigue failure analyses showed that quality
examination is important during the process of cylinder
production.
Keywords Fatigue failure · Fracture analysis ·
Long-tube trailer · Gas cylinder · Process defect
J. Zhai (&) · T. Xu · Y. Jiang · B. Gu · Y. Sun · H. Yu
China Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute,
Beijing, China
e-mail: jmzhai@163.com
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Introduction
Long-tube trailers are widely used to transport compressed
gases, such as compressed natural gas (CNG) and com-
pressed hydrogen, worldwide [1–3]. A long-tube trailer
consists of a walking mechanism and a long-tube cylinder,
which can be metallic pressure vessels (known as type I) or
fiber-reinforced composite cylinder (known as type II) [4],
as shown in Fig. 1.
In this work, three long-tube cylinders were found
leaking during a periodic inspection and typical quality
test. A crack was found on the outside surface of cylinder 1
during the periodic inspection, and the crack location was
unknown, as shown in Fig. 2. Cylinders 2 and 3 with a
nominal length of 8235 mm were found leaking during the
typical quality test. The minimum and maximum test
pressures were 2 and 32.5 MPa, respectively. The longi-
tudinal crack location of cylinder 2 was on the body with a
distance of 3660 mm from one side, and the circular crack
location of cylinder 3 was on the shoulder, as shown in
Fig. 3. Failure analysis was conducted to analyze the cause
of failure.
Experimental Materials and Methods
Failure analysis was performed on the failure segments
taken from the three CNG cylinders. The material of the
cylinders was 4130X, and the main chemical compositions
were as follows: C: 0.295, Mn: 0.8527, Si: 0.2753, Cr:
0.8873, Mo: 0.2590, Ni: 0.0233, Cu: 0.0327, S: 0.0051, and
P: 0.0145 (with a unit of wt.%). The cross section of the
failure segment was prepared for macro-observation and
metallographic analysis. Fractography analysis was
J Fail. Anal. and Preven. (2019) 19:958–966 959

Fig. 1 Long-tube trailer and

fiber-reinforced composite
cylinder: (a) walking
mechanism and type I cylinder;
(b) type II cylinder

conducted on the crack section using a HITACHI S-3400 N

scanning electron microscope.

Experimental Results and Analysis

Macro-observation

Macro-observation was mainly performed through the

naked eye and a digital camera or a stereoscopic micro-
scope. Figure 4 shows the macrocracks of cylinder 1 in
which obvious cracks could be seen on the outer and inner
surfaces. The cracks penetrated from the inner to the outer
Fig. 2 Cracked segment of cylinder 1
surface and had no plasticity. The length of the cracks on

Fig. 3 Crack location of cylinders 2 and 3

Fig. 4 Crack observation of cylinder 1: (a) outer surface; (b) inner surface

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the outside surface was approximately 55 mm, and that on
the inside surface was approximately 130 mm. Many
mechanical stripes from tool marks were found on the inner
surface, as shown in Fig. 5.
Figure 6 shows the failure parts of cylinders 2 and 3 in
which the cracks were fine and difficult to be observed by
the naked eye. Cracks on the body of cylinder 2 were
partial through cracks, which were detected by magnetic
particle testing (the location of the cracks is marked in
Fig. 6a).The cracks originated from the inner surface.
Cracks on the shoulder of cylinder 3 were penetrating
cracks and had no plasticity. (Figure 6b shows the location
of the cracks.)
Figure 9 shows the metallographic observation of the
inner and outer surfaces. The inner surface of cylinder 1
had many machining tool marks, but the outer surface was
smooth and had no obvious defects. From the metallo-
graphic observation on the inner surface, many small
fatigue cracks (partly penetrating cracks) distributed near
the main fatigue fracture, and all small cracks originated
from the inner surface and extended to the outer surface.
Figure 9 indicates that the pit on the inner surface was

Fracture and Metallographic Observation of Cylinder 1

The fracture surface of cylinder 1 is shown in Fig. 7. The

crack was a fatigue crack that originated from the inner
surface and propagated under the cyclic service load until
the final fracture. Figure 5 depicts many tool marks on the
inner surface. These tool marks were probably the origin of
the fatigue crack. Metallographic observation was per-
formed to verify this inference. The sample location and
the metallographic observation direction are shown in
Fig. 7 Fatigue fracture of cylinder 1
Fig. 8.

Fig. 5 Mechanical stripes from tool marks on the inner surface Fig. 8 Metallographic observation direction

Fig. 6 Crack observation of

cylinders 2 and 3: (a) partial
through crack that originated
from the inner surface of
cylinder 2; (b) through crack
that originated from the inner
surface of cylinder 3

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Fig. 9 Metallographic
observation of the inner and
outer surfaces; the crack
originated from tool marks

actually the cross section of the machining tool marks. The

stress concentration of the cylinder easily occurred under
the cyclic loading because of the tool marks, and the fati-
gue cracks originated from the bottom of the pit and
propagated. The metallographic observation results showed
that the mechanical machining tool marks on the inner
surface of the cylinder were the main cause of fatigue
failure.

Fracture and Metallographic Observation of Cylinder 2

Figure 10 shows the macroscopic morphology of the crack

section. The crack was a nonpenetrating crack with a
length of approximately 13 mm, and the crack tip was arc-
shaped. Macroscopic examination of the crack section
showed that the inner surface had many irregular defects,
and the characteristics of multisource cracking could be
observed. The gas cylinder was a typical quality test bottle
and had not been in service; consequently, the gas cylinder
leaked during the fatigue test. The characteristics of the
fatigue source and beach marks in Fig. 10 proved that the
crack was a fatigue fracture. No external load impact
existed, mechanical damage marks or corrosion marks
were found during the inspection of the cylinder surface,
and the possibility of mechanical damage and corrosion
causing fatigue could be eliminated.
The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation
for the fracture surface was performed using the HITACHI
S-3400 N machine, as shown in Fig. 11. The arrows in the
Fig. 10 Fracture surface of cylinder 2
figure depict an important characteristic of multisource
fatigue. The fatigue crack originated from the inner surface
and propagated to the outer surface, which shows a clear
propagation path in the figure. Details of fatigue sources 1
and 2 are displayed in Fig. 11. Some fold defects dis-
tributed on the inner surface, and each fold defect was a
fatigue source.
The feature of the fold defects could be observed clearly
on the metallographic photograph. Figures 12 and 13 show
the metallographic morphological characteristic near and
far from the fracture surface, respectively. In Fig. 12, the
metallurgical structure was tempered martensite, which is

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atypical structure of cylinder material 4130X. However, a

Fig. 11 SEM of the fracture surface; enlarged photograph shows the
details of fatigue sources 1 and 2
Fig. 12 Metallographic observation near the fracture surface (cylin-
der axis direction)
serious decarburization occurred on the inner surface, and a
microcrack defect was found near the fracture surface. The
decarburization of materials commonly occurs in service or
in the process of heat treatment and hot working. This
cylinder had no in-service experience; hence, the microc-
rack defect was formed before heat treatment, i.e., the
microcrack was probably formed during raw material
processing or manufacturing.
Figure 13 shows the metallographic morphology of the
sample that is far from the fracture surface. The same
morphology in Figs. 11 and 12 was observed. Many fold
defects existed on the inner surface (the arrows), and
microcrack decarburization occurred. The failure process
was concluded because of the fold defects and the micro-
crack on the inner surface of the cylinder. Stress
concentration easily occurred at the fold defects and
microcrack under cyclic loading, followed by microcrack
propagation and fatigue failure.
Shot blasting, which was finished by a rotating cylinder
filled with abrasive materials, was conducted to treat the
inner surface and had good effect on the fatigue-resistant
properties of the cylinder. However, improper shot blasting
can induce poor surface roughness and stress concentra-
tion, and then fatigue cracks can occur on the surface easily
[5]. In Fig. 11, the folds with the same direction and a
hardness layer were found on the inner surface. It is pos-
sible that the low-hardness decarburized layer could
increase sensitivity to fatigue and shot blasting. Its soft
condition led to high extent of surface irregularities or
plastic deformation during shot blasting. However, the low-
hardness decarburized layer was difficult to avoid during
the heat treatment. In this case, the decarburized layer
thickness was approximately 0.2 mm, as shown in Fig. 13a;
it was in the proper range of the manufacture requirement
(\0.3 mm). From this viewpoint, the improper shot blast-
ing induced the folds and the hardness layer; thus, fatigue
failure could occur easily.

Fig. 13 Metallographic
observation far from the fracture
surface: (a) fold defects on the
inner surface; (b)
decarburization around the fold
defects on the inner surface

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Fracture and Metallographic Observation of Cylinder 3
Figure 14 shows the macroscopic morphology of the
fracture of cylinder 3. Three cracks with obvious oxidation
were observed at the fracture section; the principal crack
was a penetrating crack, whereas the other two cracks were
nonpenetrating ones. Among the three arranged cracks, the
length of the principal crack was approximately 30 mm, the
length of the middle crack was approximately 20 mm, and
the length of the small crack was approximately 9 mm. The
fatigue crack and multisource cracking phenomenon could
Fig. 14 Fracture surface of cylinder 3
Fig. 15 SEM of the fatigue
original zone: (a) fatigue crack
initiation site; (b) oxide on the
fracture surface
Fig. 16 Microcrack on the
inner surface near the fracture
surface (cylinder axis direction):
(a) inclusion is near the inner
surface; (b) the details of the
inclusion
963
be confirmed from macroscopic observation. SEM analysis
was performed in the subsequent work.
Figure 15 shows the SEM observation of the fracture
surface. In Fig. 15a, the crack source and path were clearly
observed. Substantial oxides were attached on the fracture
surface, as shown in Fig. 15b. The detailed morphology of
the fracture surface could not be seen clearly due to the
presence of oxides. Thus, the cause of crack initiation was
still not found. Metallography analysis was performed to
determine the probable reason for the fatigue fracture.
The metallographic sample was taken from the location
near the fracture surface. Figure 16 shows the metallo-
graphic results on the inner surface near the fracture
surface, and the observed direction was parallel to the
fracture plane (i.e., cylinder axis direction). The inner
surface exhibited good condition, and no mechanical
defects or folds were observed. However, several inclu-
sions were found at a small distance from the inner surface,
as presented in Fig. 16a. The details of the inclusions are
shown in Fig. 16b. An irregular shape of these inclusions
might be formed during the hot spinning process because
the crack location was on the cylinder shoulder.
In Fig. 17, the secondary crack was located below the
principal crack of failure cylinder 3. The secondary crack
was close to the principal crack and was a nonpenetrating
crack. Before the fracture analysis of the secondary crack,
metallographic observation was conducted. Figure 18
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shows the metallograph of the section of the secondary
crack. Except for the decarburization, no metallographic
abnormality was found in the observation of the inner
Fig. 17 Location of the secondary crack near the principal crack
Fig. 18 Metallograph of the secondary crack that originated from the
inner surface (perpendicular direction to the fracture plane)
surface. The morphology of the secondary crack section
showed that the crack had no plasticity. The crack had a
zigzag morphology and many material particles along the
path. Fracture morphology observation was performed to
examine this crack further. Figure 19 shows the fracture
morphology of the secondary crack. The crack tip exhibited
a circular arc form and atypical characteristic of the fatigue
crack source and crack propagation path line. An obvious
defect was observed at the initial site of the fatigue crack.
An enlarged photograph shows the characteristics of
material crushing and the irregular distribution of the
defect. The defects of the material had obvious extrusion
characteristics, and the irregular shape may have formed
during the extrusion.
A metallographic sample taken near the secondary crack
was observed. As shown in Fig. 20, irregular defects dis-
tributed in the site, which was 500 or 1000 μm away from
the inner surface. The shape of these defects was approx-
imately diamond, and extended inclusions connected with
the diagonals along the banding direction. Figure 21 indi-
cates another area that contained defects during the SEM
observation of the same metallographic sample. The same
diamond shape and inclusion distribution could be
observed. The energy spectrum analysis of the points
marked in Fig. 21 was performed. The element results are
listed in Table 1. The defects contained MnS inclusions
and oxides.
As previously mentioned, the failure part was located at
the cylinder shoulder where the neck region of the cylinder
was positioned. The cylinder neck was formed by the hot
spinning method. If the cylinder material had an imper-
fection, such as MnS inclusions on the subsurface, these
inclusions could be moved to the surface through the hot
spinning process. The lamination effects also played an
important role because of the existence of the MnS inclu-
sion, which could induce deformation incompatibility
between the inclusions and base metals. Thus, diamond
defects could be formed during the hot spinning process;

Fig. 19 Fracture surface of the

secondary crack (cylinder axis
direction): (a) macro-
observation of the fracture
surface, which shows obvious
oxidation; (b) details of the
crack origination marked in (a)
with a circle

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Fig. 20 Diamond defects near

the inner surface (cylinder axis
direction)

fatigue crack could be initialed from these defects, and

failure occurred during the fatigue process.

Summary

Three cylinders of a long-tube trailer leaked during an

inspection and typical quality test. Failure analysis was
conducted in this work to determine the cause of failure.
Macroscopic observation, metallographic analysis, and
fracture analysis were performed. The failure cases are
summarized as follows:
● Cylinder 1 showed a crack during the inspection
process. The crack was a fatigue one, and metallo-
graphic analysis proved that the fatigue crack originated
Fig. 21 Diamond defects and the points for energy spectrum analysis
from the tool marks. These tool marks were probably
caused by the machining process.
Table 1 Energy spectrum analysis results of the defect
● Cylinder 2 leaked during the typical quality test when
wt.% the fatigue life was approximately 13,000 cycles. The
Element 1 2 3 4 5 metallographic analysis and SEM observation implied
that the folds on the inner surface were the main cause
Fe K 1.2 68.3 6.0 91.1 98.2 of the fatigue crack, and these folds were formed during
Cr K 98.8 1.3 … 1.3 1.8 the shot blasting treatment of the cylinder.
CK … 14.0 16.2 … … ● Cylinder 3 had a leak at the shoulder, which was formed
OK … 16.4 … … … by the hot spinning method. Failure analysis indicated
Mn K … … 46.1 3.8 … inclusions near the fracture zone. The inclusions on the
SK … … 29.1 3.8 … subsurface could move to the surface during the hot
Ti K … … 2.6 … … spinning process because of material imperfection; a
Total 100 100 100 100 100 fatigue crack was initiated from these defects, and
failure occurred.
● Fatigue failure could occur at any stress concentration
site. The three cases were caused by cylinder defects,

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such as tool marks, folds, and material imperfection
(inclusion). These defects may have formed during the
machining, hot spinning, or any other process. Failure
analysis proved that quality examination is important
during cylinder production.
Acknowledgment This work is supported by the National Key
Research and Development Program of China, No.
2017YFC0805601.
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