Calculation of Stress Intensity Factor Surface Cracking

on Outer Wall of the Pipe Schedule 30 and 100 Profile

Due to External Pressure Using Finite Element Method
Devanka Adib Baihaqi1
Mechanical Engineering Department, Pertamina University
Jl. Teuku Nyak Arif, Simprug, Kebayoran Lama, Jakarta Selatan, DKI Jakarta 12220, Indonesia
1Devankaa@gmail.com

Abstract— Pipes are tools that are very helpful in everyday research is a stress intensity factor (SIFs) for each geometric
human life. It is also used in the oil and gas industry as a variation.
substitute for the more efficient conventional means of fluid
transportation. However, in the application of pipes there is a II. SIMULATION MODELS
shortage of pipes, namely failure can occur. One of the factors
that cause pipe failure is external pressure which can cause The selected pipe designed using design modeller, 1000
cracks in the pipe. The purpose of this study is to provide an mm long using API 5L grade x52 with a size of 14” schedule
overview of the stress intensity factor of surface cracks on the 30. The pipe will be modeled for semi-elliptical cracks that
outer wall of the pipe due to external pressure. In this study, the vary in depth and length of the crack.
ANSYS® Workbench 2020 software using the Finite Element
Method was used. The pipe specimen used is a 14 in pipe with 2 TABLE I
thickness profiles and pipe diameters based on the API 5L API 5L GRADE X52,14” DIMENSION
standard. The results showed that the thickness of the pipe has
an effect on the stress intensity factor (SIFs), with the thicker the Schedule Wall Thickness Inside Diameter
pipe, the lower the value of crack propagation. In addition to the 30 0.35 in 13.250 in
pipe wall thickness, the crack angle also affects the value of the 100 1.093 in 11.814 in
resulting opening, shear and tear modes.
Tetrahedon meshing is used on all body using 10mm
Keywords— Pipe, Crack, Stress Intensity Factor, External element size, smaller element size doesn’t affect since due to
Pressure, Finite Element Method. simple design. Using 10 MPa load evenly distributed on outer
wall pipe and fixed support on one side lips of pipe.
I. INTRODUCTION
In the fossil energy sector, especially oil and gas, one of
the challenges is fluid transportation, with the use of pipes as
an alternative solution to these challenges [1] . However, from
the many advantages of pipes in their distribution, many
obstacles are found, such as natural conditions, characteristics
of the type of fluid flowing and so on. Until in its operation
there are also many failures such as corrosion, fatigue and
cracks. Cracks that occur can be caused by corrosion or
pressure from the surroundings, this is very dangerous
because such failure can cause very large losses. The pressure
that occurs in the pipe can be caused by external, internal and
axial pressure. Material fatigue or fatigue can occur below the
operating stress limit due to defects that are not detected or
that arise when the material is used [2]. The Leak before break Fig 1. Freebody diagram of loading and fixed support
method requires the analysis of crack growth that occurs
under cyclic loading on the piping components during their This crack is included in the type of surface crack which is
service life [3]. located on the outer surface of the pipe.The main parameters
On this occasion, the author carried out a simulation of the in the crack modeling are: Crack depth (a), Crack width (c),
finite element method using ANSYS® Workbench 2020 to and Crack orientation angle (α).
analyze the stress intensity factor of cracks on the outer wall
of the pipe due to external pressure loads that occur with
variations in crack size and pipe geometry. The result of the
 TABLE II
VARIATION OF GEOMETRY

Sudut
sch R (mm) t (mm) t/R (mm) a/t (mm) a (mm) c (mm) a/c LCR LCR.a
Inklinasi
3.556 0.5
0.2 1.778 2.370667 0.75 0.889
1.778 1
30 169 8.89 0.052604
1.778 0.5
0.1 0.889 1.185333 0.75 0.4445
0,45,90 0.889 1 0.5
11.10488 0.5
0.2 5.55244 7.403253 0.75 2.77622
100 150 27.7622 0.185081 5.55244 1
5.55244 0.5
0.1 2.77622 3.701627 0.75 1.38811
2.77622 1

After all the methods are completed and get the SIFs values, The journals used in this validation process come from
the last step is to analyze the SIFs values obtained, by research conducted by Ali et al. [4] used the Dual Boundary
grouping them according to the parameters that have been Element Method (DBEM) with BEASY software which was
previously determined. And look for trend movements in the validated by the journal Mettu et al. [5].
value of the SIFs.
SIFs value grouping is done to make it easier to analyze
changes in SIFs value in each geometric variation. Each SIF
value will be grouped based on variations in the Angle of
Inclination (α), a/t and aperture mode (K1, K2 and K3), with
each a/c being different.
B. Variation of a/c to SIFs
1) Mode 1 (SIFs K1)

Fig 2. Semi-elliptical crack side view

III. NUMERICAL RESULT AND DISCUSSION

A. Validation
Fig 4. Mode 1 SIFs a/c Variation

SIFs values for all Inclination Angles is fairly the

same. Except at an angle of 900, the SIF value is found
to be around zero. so that it can be said that the cracks
at both angles spread slowly. For other angle variations,
the value of SIFs at the deepest point of the crack is the
largest at 00 a/c.= 0.5 and the lowest at a/c = 1, for all
Inclination Angles. And at the ends of the cracks, the
largest SIFs value is at a/c = 1 for all angles of
inclination. So it can be concluded that the smaller the
a/c, the higher the SIFs K1 value obtained. Found at an
Fig 3. FEM comparison with DBEM [ali]
angle of 900 SIF values ranging from zero.
 2) Mode 2 (SIFs K2) 1) Mode 1 (SIFs K1)

Fig 7. Mode 1 SIFs Inclination Angle Variation

2) Mode 2 (SIFs K2)

Fig 5. Mode 2 SIFs a/c Variation

Mode 2 SIF K2 has different SIFs results at the

Inclination Angle (α) = 00 and 900, where at that angle
the Mode II SIFs K2 value obtained is around zero, so
it can be said that the cracks at both angles spread
slowly. As for the inclination angle of 450, the highest
value was obtained at a/c = 0.5.

3) Mode 3 (SIFs K3) Fig 8. Mode 2 SIFs Inclination Angle Variation

3) Mode 3 (SIFs K3)

Fig 9. Mode 3 SIFs Inclination Angle Variation

Fig 6. Mode 3 SIFs a/c Variation D. Variation of Pipe Thickness (t) to SIFs

In Mode 3 SIF K3 at the Angle of Inclination (α) = 00 The pipe thickness used in this study is based on API
and 900 the value of SIFs obtained is close to 0. And 5L standard schedule 30 and 100. which can be seen from
for the angle of 450 has a trend the same graph, where the graph below, that the thinner the pipe wall, the higher
a/c = 0.5 has the largest SIFs value at the deepest part the value of SIF.
of the crack, and for the highest value at the ends of
the crack there is a significant difference. So it can be 1) Mode 1 (SIFs K1)
concluded that in Mode 3 SIF K3 the Angle of
Inclination (α) affects the value at the ends of the
crack. And the smaller the a/c, the higher the value of
the SIFs produced will be.
C. Variation of Inclination Angle to SIFs
The inclination angle used in this study is 00,450 and
900. It can be seen in the graph after this, that the 45
degree angle has the most consistent value form. where 00
and 900 have a zero point where the crack is slow to
progress. Fig 10. Mode 1 SIFs Pipe Thickness Variation
 2) Mode 2 (SIFs K2)
Fig 11. Mode 2 SIFs Pipe Thickness Variation
3) Mode 3 (SIFs K3)
Fig 12. Mode 3 SIFs Pipe Thickness Variation
IV. CONCLUSIONS
After conducting research and analyzing the results that
have been described in the chapter above, there are several
points that can be concluded, including:
1. The a/c value affects the results of the SIFs obtained,
where when the a/c value gets smaller, the SIFs values
obtained will be even greater. With a percentage of 0.8
to 1% between the variations.
2. The angle of inclination (α) affects the shape of the
opening that occurs, this can be seen in modes 2 and 3
with crack angles of 0º and 90º in modes 1,2 and 3, the
stress intensity factor value that is formed tends to dwell
on the value 0. that at both angles, the crack propagates
slowly.
3. Based on the thickness of the pipe wall, the thinner the
wall of a pipe, the greater the value of the stress intensity
factor possessed by the pipe. This can be seen in the
comparison of pipes with sch 30 and sch 100 profiles.
4. Based on the comparison of the graph of the inclination
angle and the thickness of the pipe wall to the SIF value,
it can be seen that the thin pipe has a higher value in the
three modes. So it can be concluded that the thickness of
the pipe wall is the most influential factor on the stress
intensity factor. The percentage of SIF values obtained is
in the range of 10-15% greater in the sch 30 profile. So
for the development of the pipe design by knowing the
selected parameter is the thickness that is needed. And
preventive measures or repairs can be taken against
cracks seen from the size of the crack and the angle of
inclination.
REFERENCES
[1] Pourazizi, R., Mohtadi-Bonab, M., & Szpunar, J. (2020). Investigation
of different failure modes in oil and natural gas pipeline steels.
Engineering Failure Analysis.
[2] Arora, P., Singh, P., V.Bhasin, Vaze, K., Pukazhendhi, D., Gandhi, P.,
& Raghava, G. (2013). Fatigue crack growth behavior in pipes and
elbows of carbon steel and stainless steel materials.
[3] SKORUPA, M., & SKORUPA, A. (2005). Experimental results and
predictions on fatigue crack growth in structural steel. International
Journal of Fatigue.
[4] Ali, A. A., Purbolaksono, J., Khinani, A., Rashid, A. Z., & Tarlochan,
F. (2009). Evaluation on an internal surface crack in a compound tube.
Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology.
[5] Mettu, S. R., Raju, I. S., and Forman, R. G.. (1992). Stress Intensity
Factors for Part-Through Surface Cracks in Hollow Cylinders. NASA
Technical Report Nos. JSC 25685 and LESC 30124.