The fracture and fatigue properties of cast irons used for trunk mains in the water industry

In order to assess the remaining life of cast iron assets in the water sector, an understanding of their fracture and fatigue characteristics is necessary. The present work is concerned with the toughness and Paris crack growth behaviour of cast iron materials with a range of micro-structures, taken from trunk mains currently in service. When considered with other data from the literature, the results from the present study enable the range of fatigue crack growth behaviour likely to be seen in service to be quantified. The role of microstructure in fracture and fatigue behaviour is discussed. Calculations of fatigue life based on integration of the Paris law are then carried out and compared with previously published data for samples from cast iron distribution mains. The results from these investigations support the development of asset management tools for use in the water industry.

[1]  H. Hänninen,et al.  Influence of chunky graphite on mechanical and fatigue properties of heavy‐section cast iron , 2009 .

[2]  David Taylor,et al.  Short fatigue crack growth in cast iron described using P−a curves , 1995 .

[3]  Paul Smith,et al.  Weibull‐based methodology for condition assessment of cast iron water mains and its application , 2008 .

[4]  W. Bauer,et al.  Stress/Strain Behaviour and Fatigue Limit of Grey Cast Iron , 2005 .

[5]  M. N. James,et al.  Fatigue crack growth in austempered ductile and grey cast irons—stress ratio effects in air and mine water , 1999 .

[6]  E. Hornbogen.  Fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth of grey cast irons , 1985 .

[7]  Balvant Rajani,et al.  A methodology to estimate remaining service life of grey cast iron water mains , 2000 .

[8]  Mike Mulheron,et al.  Failure of small diameter cast iron pipes , 2002 .

[9]  Luca Collini,et al.  Microstructure and mechanical properties of pearlitic gray cast iron , 2008 .

[10]  Mike Mulheron,et al.  Some observations on the strength and fatigue properties of samples extracted from cast iron water mains , 2009 .

[11]  J. Ion.  Chapter 10 – Deformation and Fracture , 2005 .

[12]  A. Elkhatib,et al.  Prediction of fatigue life using modal analysis for grey and ductile cast iron , 2007 .

[13]  P. Baicchi,et al.  A methodology for the fatigue design of notched castings in gray cast iron , 2007 .

[14]  F. Hauser,et al.  Deformation and Fracture Mechanics of Engineering Materials , 1976 .