The Sensitivity to the Lode Parameter in Ductile Failure of Tubular Steel Grades

Ductile failure in steels is highly controlled by the stress state, characterized by the stress triaxiality (T) and the Lode parameter (L). The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code requires pressure vessels to be designed to resist local ductile failure. However, the standard does not account for the Lode parameter dependence in its failure locus. In this study, the influence of the stress state, characterized T and L, on the ductility of ASME tubular product steel grades is investigated. Two seamless pipes of midstrength carbon steel SA-106 Gr. B and high-strength superduplex steel SA-790 were considered. Ring specimen geometries for plane strain (PS) stress state (L = 0) and tensile stress (TS) state (L = −1) are utilized to establish the ductile failure locus in terms of T and L for the two steels. The experimental results (EXP) show that the effect of the Lode parameter on the failure locus for the SA-106 Gr. B steel is insignificant, whereas for the SA-790 steel, the effect is rather significant. A parameter S_L is introduced in order to quantify the sensitivity of the failure locus to the Lode parameter. It is found that for materials with ultimate strength lower than about 550 MPa, the sensitivity to L is insignificant (S_L ≈ 1), whereas for materials with ultimate strength higher than 550 MPa, the sensitivity to L could be significant (S_L > 1). Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis of the fracture surfaces revealed that the sensitivity to L is closely associated with the rupture micromechanisms involved.