Experimental and Numerical Determination of Fracture Toughness in Gas Pipeline Steel of Grade API X65

Plain strain fracture toughness is extremely important for failure assessment in high strength steels used in gas transmission pipelines. In the current research an experimental method based on three point bend test specimens was used to calculate fracture toughness of steel pipes of grade API X65 (with outer diameter of 1219 mm and wall thickness of 14.3 mm). A value of 308 MPa√m was found for fracture toughness of test material. Then a finite element solution for the test specimens was conducted using modified Gurson’s damage theory. In this model, the critical crack tip opening displacement was calculated from damaged elements in the early stage of crack growth. This model resulted in 297 MPa√m of fracture toughness. A comparison between the experimental and numerical results illustrated the fitness of common methods for determining fracture toughness of tested steel in ambient temperature. Due to the lack of experimental data for this steel, the obtained results can be used for safe performance of domestic gas pipelines made from API X65 steel.