Question 1.

Discuss briefly:
1a. Fatigue of welded vis-a-vis virgin material (base metal)
Initiation: In base metals fatigue crack initiation occurs under repeated stresses
from micro-discontinuities. In welded joints only propagation of crack occurs from the
inherent weld defects.
Locations and causes of flaws:
In base metal the flaws or micro discontinuities are initiated at atomic defects at
lattice dislocations, micro defects at grain boundaries or macro defects due to nonmetallic inclusions. These flaws initiate and grow under repeated loading.

Figure 1 Lattice Dislocation

Figure 2 Nonmetallic inclusions

Figure 3 Defects at grain boundaries

In weldmetal the flaws are already present due to fabrication. These flaws are mostly
seen at weld toe or weld root. At weld toe flaws occur due to high stress
concentration due to change in geometry, high tensile residual stresses and
discontinuities due to slag inclusions. At weld root flaws such as lack of penetration
and lack of fusion, and porosity due to gases used in welding act as crack initiators.

Figure 4Weld Defects

Mechanism of propagation:
Stage (1) Initiation: With repeated cyclic loading of stresses, the dislocations that
appear on the surface or the other material defects act as areas of stress
concentrations forming minute cracks. These cracks nucleate nucleates at the
discontinuities.
Stage (2) Propagation: During the propagation phase the nucleated cracks
advance in the plane of maximum tensile stress range. The cracks can grow along the

grain boundaries (environment assisted cracking) or across the grains. With each
cycle of loading microstriations can be found behind the fatigue crack tip radiating
from the origin of the crack. And macro bands called beach marks can be observed
by naked eye that represent a period of cyclic loading. These marks are observed
only in gradual ductile propagation. In case of brittle cracks, fibrous texture radiating
from the cracks can be identified.
Stage (3) failure: When the crack advances its critical size rapid tearing occurs.
Crack propagation mechanisms are similar in base and weld metals.
Effect of residual stresses: Effect of residual stresses in base metals due to
manufacturing processes is minimal. Where the effects of residual stresses is
significant in weld metal.
Fatigue parameters: Weld metal fatigue depends only on stress range. Fatigue in
base metals depend on 2 of the fatigue parameters.
1b. Brittle Vs. Ductile failure.
Ductile failure:
1) Ductile failure is usually observed in materials that show ductility after yielding
(BCC) in the presence of shear stresses.
2) Plastic deformation is observed before failure that is the member experiences
ductility absorbing a high amount of energy before failure.
3) The microvoids coalesce and crack propagates normal to the direction of
applied tensile stress.
4) Further crack propagates along the maximum shear plane 45 to the tensile
stress creating shear lips. This creates a cup and cone shape as shown in the
figure. For a highly ductile material only shear lips are formed along with high
amounts of necking.

Figure 5 Ductile failure

5) The fracture surface has a dimpled texture.
6) Most of the materials experience ductile failure above their transition
temperatures.
7) In case of cracks blunting of crack tips is observed at crack tip.
Brittle Failure:
1) Brittle failure is mostly observed in FCC materials in upper transition
temperatures.
2) The failure is sudden
3) No plastic deformation is observed, less energy absorbed.
4) The fracture surface is flat with no microvoids.
5) No blunting of crack tip is observed.

Figure 6 Brittle fracture

1c. Mechanisms of residual stresses due to welding:
Residual stresses are self-equilibrating stresses that develop after unloading
due to plastic deformation. Welding is one of the sources of residual stresses in the

fabricated components. Weld residual stresses occur due restraint on the weld to
shrinkage during cooling. The order of these residual stresses go up to material yield
stresses.

Figure 7 Residual Stresses in a welded plate

Weld metal tries to expand due to high input during welding which is restrained by
surrounding colder material. As the weldment cools down, the expanded weld metal
tries to shrink which is again restrained by the surrounding material. Now the weld
metal experiences tensile stresses due to the restraint to shrink as shown in the
figure 2. The surrounding base metal experiences compressive forces.
1d. Different approaches to fatigue assessment and their basic premises.
Two different approaches are followed to for fatigue life assessment:
1. Safe-life approach (Total life )
2. Fail safe approach (Damage tolerant approach
1. Safe-life approach:
a. Conservative approach
b. It is assumed that fracture does not occur in the service life of the
structure. So service life of the structure = total initiation and
propagation time of a fracture in the structure.
N=N i+Np
c. Presence of inherent discontinuities is not accepted.
d. The structure is designed that no fracture occurs in the structures life
time.
e. This kind approach is generally suitable for non-redundant structures
where a single fracture can lead to the failure of structure.

f.

The effects of fatigue assessment parameters such as, mean stress,

variable amplitude, stress concentration, environment etc. are
addressed through reduction in fatigue life of the structure.
g. Under low stresses, material deforms only elastically and the fatigue life
goes up to large number of cycles leading to low cycle fatigue. In this
case the fatigue life is assessed in terms of stress and number of cycles.
h. Whereas under high stresses the material reaches its yield stress within
a few cycles leading to high strains and failure. In this case the fatigue
life assessed in terms of number cycles and strain range.
2. Fail-safe approach:
a. This approach allows discontinuities in the structure and assumes that
all Engineering components are flawed.
b. Inherent flaws are detected using nondestructive testing methods and
the flaw sizes are estimated.
c. Fatigue life of the structure is calculated as the number of cycles
required for the propagation of flaw as a function of flaw size and loading
conditions using fracture mechanics.
N=Np.
d. This approach is most suitable for the structures that have a number of
alternate load paths. That is structure with high redundancy can be
designed with this approach where load redistribution occurs between
components in case of fatigue damage.
e. In such a case a strict inspection regime is required for monitoring the
flaw.

Question 2. Bryte Bend Bridge Failure

The Bryte Bend Bridge is a twin parallel structure that runs across river Sacramento,
California. The bridge experienced failure in the erection stage in 1970, due to low
material toughness and poor fabrication.

Figure 7 Bryte bend bridge

Details of the Bridge:
The bridge has two structures that run parallel across the river for an overall length of
4050 ft with a vertical clear from mean high water as 55ft. The section bridge just
above the river has 4 spans that were connected by hinges. The superstructure is a
steel trapezoidal box shaped section and was supported by reinforced concrete piers.
As can be seen in figure 2, the exterior webs of the cross section are sloped to reduce
the width of the section over concrete pier. Centrally, a web longitudinally stiffened
the box and conventional girder flanges were welded to the sides of the box and the
central girder. The bottom plate of the box was longitudinally stiffened by a series of
vertical plates. The super structure was fabricated by A36 steel in all low stress areas
and A414 steel for web and compression members. The tension steel flanges were
made of A517 steel that had lower notch toughness than expected. This material was
adopted from pressure vessel steels.
The failure and its analysis: The bridge failed during the erection itself in terms of
brittle fracture in across one of the outer flanges near the concrete pier. The fracture
initiated at the intersection of a in thick cross frame member attached to the 2
in thick outer top flanges of the box when concrete was poured. The brittle fracture
propagated across the 30 in. wide flange and was arrested in at 4 in down into the
web. The fracture surface had a herring bone type texture as shown in figure 3. The
100 ksi yield stress material, designed for 45 ksi failed at static loading of 28 ksi
(poured concrete).

Figure 8 Superstructure of Bryte Bend Bridge under construction

When the steel from the flange was tested for K Ic under similar and loading (very slow
loading rate) and service conditions (60 oF) as that of the failure, the KIc value was
found to be 55 ksi, which was less than that expected from the material. Further
investigation showed the presence of an already initiated weld crack of 0.2 in. in
tensile residual stress region of the flange and arrested at 1.3 in as it entered the
compression residual stresses. For the given flaw depth and flange thickness, crack
propagation can be expected under residual stresses 60- 80 ksi. Upon further
loading of 28 ksi due to concrete, along with residual stresses brittle fracture occurs
with very thin shear lips. This fracture propagated in to the web for 4 inches and was
arrested due to higher toughness the web (lower thickness).

Figure 9 Fracture surface of the flange at pier 12 in Bryte Bend Bridge

Cause for the failure:
The two main reasons for the failure of Bryte Bend Bridge were as follows:

(i)

(ii)

Fabrication did not follow the design details: The design Details were
mis-interpreted by the fabricator. The horizontal cross bracings were welded
to the upper flanges of the box which were designed to take only horizontal
forces from the slanting web. In addition to this the bracing member of 24
in. X in. was welded to the flange for an entire width of 24in. developing
high residual stresses which further boosted the crack growth.
Improper material selection: A pressure vessel quality steel A517
instead of A514 was specified for the flanges. It was believed that the two
direction rolling in the manufacture of A517 steels made them superior to
A514. As a result not impact testing was performed to check the notch
toughness of the steel. The material supplied turned out to be out of
specification according to ASTM standard.

Repairs:
It was decided that complete replacement of plates and field welding were not
a feasible option. The following repairs were done:
(1) The entire structure was jacked to zero stress condition
(2) Later additional plates were added to the flanges as shown in figure 4. This
reduced the design stress in the original plates significantly.
(3) The redundancy of the structure was increased establishing multiple load paths
to carry the loads in case of any further fractures.

Additional
plate

Crack
removed

Additional
plate

Figure 10 Strengthened flange plate after crack was removed

The Bryte Bend Bridge was open to traffic in October 1971 and was in continuous use
since that time.
References:
1. Barsom JM and Rolfe ST, Fracture and Fatigue Control in Structures:
Applications of Fracture Mechanics, Third Edition, 1999.
2. http://www.bphod.com/2013/07/yolo-county-california-bridges-i-street.html
3. http://rebar.ecn.purdue.edu/fatigue/inventory.aspx?dir=085

3a. Elements of steel and their Functions

Table 1. Alloying Elements in Steel

Elements
State
of
presence
in
steel
Effects
on
Transformation
Diagram
(austenite
to
pearlite, bainite
and martensite.)

Elements that do not

form carbides
Ni, Si, Co, Al, Cu and N

Elements that form stable

carbides
Cr, Mn, Mo, W, V, Ti, Zr, and Nb

Form Solid solution with

Iron

Form compounds with Iron and Carbon

Except Cobalt (Co) the

rest of
non-carbide
forming
elements
quantitatively
slowdown
the
transformation

Influence the austenite transformation

differently at different temperatures: i.
At 700-500 C (pearlite formation),
they
slow
the
transformation
ii. At 500-400 C, they dramatically
slow
the
transformation
iii. At 400-300 C (bainite formation),
they speed up the transformation

Table 2. Functions of Elements in Steel

Aluminum
(AL)

Boron (B)

Steel making
Common
Deoxidizer

Hardenability

Strength

Steel
more
responsive to heat
treatment

Improves
hardenability

Improves
strength

Cobalt
(Co)

Chromium
(Cr)

Steel
more
responsive to heat
treatment

Coper (Cu)

Iron (Fe)

Primary element;
Non responsive to
heat
treatment
without
alloying

Improves Red
hardenability
(
in
heated
cutting tools)
Increases
the
depth
of
hardness

Others
Results in fine
grain structure
and
controls
grain growth

Resistance to
oxidation and
corrosion
Improves
yield
and
tensile
strengths,
reducing
ductility
Low
strengthHighly
ductile
and

Corrosion
Resistance

elements

Mangane
se (Mn)

Resists
hot
shortness or the
tendency to tear
while being forged
or
rolled;
Increases
the
response to heat
treatment

Molybden
um (Mo)
Nickle(Ni)

Silicon (Si)

Tungsten
(W)
Vanadium
(V)

soft

Improves
hardenability
Deoxidizing agent

Is
a
strong
deoxidizer

Raises
hot
strength
Improves
strength
Improves
strength

Raises
hot
strength
Improves
strength
at
elevated
temperature
s

Good
creep
resistance
Improves
fatigue
toughness
Improves
toughness;
Electrical
resistance

Promotes fine
grain structure

3b. what is weldability and how is it defined?

Weldability is the capacity of a material to be welded under a specific set of
fabrication and design conditions and to perform as expected during its service life.
Weldability of metal is not an intrinsic property as it is influenced by a) all steps
related with welding procedure, b) purpose of the weld joints and c) fabrication
conditions in in avoiding any kind of defects due to cracking, hardening and softening
of HAZ, oxidation, evaporation, structural modification and affinity to gases.
Qualitatively increase in carbon content increases the hardenability of the steel
material and decreasing its weldability. In addition to Carbon other alloying elements
that are added to iron improve its strength and hence hardness. A carbon equivalent
value (CE), which considers the effects of alloying elements can be is used to
quantitatively estimate the weldbility of a steel.
CE = %C + %Mn/6 + (%Cr+%Mo+%V)/5 + (%Si+%Ni+%Cu)/15
Special precautions such as preheating, controlling heat input, and postweld heat
treating are normally required for steel with higher carbon equivalent to maintain the
required weldbility. The following table shows gives an overview of how CE effects
weldability and the additional treatments required for that.
Table 3 Heat Treatment Required for Different CE
CE%
(base
metal
composition Heat
treatments
)
required
<0.35
No preheating or post
heating
0.35-0.55
Preheating
>0.55
Both preheating and post
heating

3c. Different heat treatments in steel and their purposes.

There are three different types of heat treatment processes in steels. But not
all steels respond to the heat treatment processes.
1. Softening processes:
a. Annealing
b. Normalizing
2. Hardening Processes:
a. Hardening
b. Tempering
3. Thermochemical Processes:
a. Carburizing
b. Nitriding
c. Boronizing
1a. Annealing:
Annealing is performed to soften the steel to increase toughness and ductility, to
relieve manufacturing residual stresses, to improve machinability and obtain a
specific microstructure. The steel alloy is heated to above Austenitic temperature and
held there for temperature equalization. Then the steel is slowly cooled down. This
slow controlled cooling avoids the high amounts of martensitic formations. Curve 2 in
figure 1 shows the cooling rate for an annealing processes.
1b. Normalizing:
This method is used to soften and relive internal stresses in cold worked steels. A fine
grain structure can be obtained. This process is similar to annealing except that steel
is air cooled which is a higher cooling rate than annealing. Curve 3 in figure 1 shows
the cooling rate for an annealing processes.
2a. Hardening:
The steels which contain high amounts of carbon or other alloying elements are
heated to transformation temperature and the rapidly cooled (quenched) to reach the
martensitic phase which very hard microstructure. The curve 1 in Figure 1 depicts
hardening process. Quenching in oil and water gives different rates of cooling.
2b. Tempering:
After effects of quenching or hardening include hard, brittle and internally stresses
steel. This steel should be heat treated again to improve its toughness and
machinability and lower the internal stresses. For this purpose the steel I heated

again according to the prescribed tempering curves to obtain particular final

properties.
Thermochemical Processes:
Carbon, Nitrogen and less commonly Boron are diffused into required depth of steel in
order to obtain desired properties compared to the bulk steel.

Figure 8. Cooling rates for heat treatment processes

Question 4.
Provide a brief overview of High Performance Steels, highlighting their
specialty.
High Performance Steel (HPS) grades were developed through a collaboration
between Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Navy, and the American Iron and
Steel Institute with goal to achieve higher weldability and toughness at a higher
strength. HPS 70W (70 ksi) and HPS 100W (100 ksi) respectively replaced steel
grades of respective strength due to their efficiency in base metal weldability and
higher toughness. Whereas HPS 50W is an as rolled steel with same composition as
HPS 70W. It has higher toughness but questionable weldability. All three of these are
permitted only in the manufacturing plates for bridges.
HPS 50 W: High strength low alloy steel.
HPS 70 W: Heat treated High strength low alloy steel.
HPS 100 W: Quenched & Tempered Copper-Nickel Steel.
Due to higher strength of HPS steels, their efficient usage can reduce the first cost of
bridges in addition to better performance. These superior qualities of HPS steels are
achieved by lowering the carbon content which is the primary strengthening element
that causes hardness. Other alloying elements are carefully added to compensate for
the carbons hardness.

Question 5:
Friction Stir Welding (FSW):
Introduction: FSW is a solid-state joining process that creates extremely highquality, high-strength joints with low distortion. The process uses no external
consumables and filler materials other than the materials being welded themselves. It
has no harmful by products such as gaseous emissions and shielding gases. The
bonds at the welding are very strong with no scope for weld defects. FSW process has
a wide variety of applications in industries such as aerospace, offshore, railways,
automobiles, machinery and infrastructure. The process can fabricate either butt or
lap joints in a wide range of materials, thicknesses and lengths.
Process: The members to be butt or lap welded a firmly clamped in position. A nonconsumable profiled spinning tool bit is inserted into a work piece under pressure.
The length of the tool bit is less than the depth of the joint. The rotation of the tool
creates friction that adiabatically heats the material to a plastic state without melting.
At this stage the rotating tool mixes the plastic metal, and as tool traverses the weld
joint, it extrudes material in a distinctive flow pattern and forges the material in its
wake. The resulting solid phase bond joins the two pieces into one.

Figure 9 Stir Friction welding (www.esabna.com)

Features and Benefits of FSW:

(1) The solid phase bond between the two pieces in the weldment is entirely made
of parent material.
(2) Due to lower energy input and lower temperatures, the grain structure in the
weld zone is finer than that of the parent material and has similar strength,
bending, and fatigue characteristics.
(3) Continuous welds of long lengths are possible irrespective of the position.
(4) Weld defects are eliminated due to low distortion, high precision, no trapped
materials, homogeneity and continuity in the weldments
(5) The process is highly energy efficient and is a green process.
No grinding, brushing or pickling are required in mass production