Transitions in Charpy Energy and Splitting for X80 Pipe Steel

Abstract Using data obtained for a recent production 48-inch diameter X80 PSL2 pipe, the transition in fracture behavior between fully brittle and fully ductile modes was examined to assess any effects of transverse splits or delaminations. The additional surface area formed at the splits can increase and decrease the Charpy energy by expending energy to form more fracture surface and reduce constraint on the propagating crack as it extends through the unnotched Charpy ligament. Fitting of full Charpy energy transition curves for the tested material with standard hyperbolic tangent functions does not represent the behavior well. An important transition is noted in the behavior between splitting that initiates at the initial notch tip and splitting that occurs further down in the ligament. Spitting across the notch tip increases Charpy energy by releasing constraint on crack initiation behavior at the machined notch and occurs at temperatures just above the lower shelf temperature where brittle fracture dominates. The splitting behavior can also be correlated to effects on fracture toughness in the same orientation for CTOD specimens in the base material and for correlated effects on CTOD behavior in the weld heat affected zone when the crack advance is in the through thickness direction.