Development of dynamic crack growth tests on mooring steels for offshore applications
Vicinay Marine aims to improve their knowledge of the behavior of its steels under specific environmental and operating conditions in to develop products (mainly mooring chains for off-shore applications) adapted to the specific conditions of use they will face during their service life, offering a better performance and a greater durability.
To this end, new dynamic tests to assess crack growth in steels are developed.
Fields of action:
- Ad-hoc advanced testing
- Advanced characterization of materials
- Development of advanced materials
Development of new dynamic tests
New dynamic tests have been developed through the following stages:
- Detailed study of the distribution of stresses in the components (links and steel chains)
- Definition of the cycles and variable loads to be applied during the tests
- Definition of the variation in the conditions of the environment (from reference tests in air to tests with cathodic overprotection in sea water)
The results of these tests are complemented by the fractographic evaluation of the fractures using SEM to observe the character of the fracture at the different stages of crack growth.
Results
A methodology has been developed that combines ad-hoc designed dynamic crack growth tests with advanced metallographic analysis using scanning electron microscopy. The dynamic tests carried out, unlike static tests, allow the characteristics of steels for offshore mooring applications to be assessed in scenarios that are more realistic.
These investigations favour the detailed characterisation of the materials used in the manufacture of links and connectors and, therefore, the development of products that are more suitable for each project depending on the environmental and operational conditions
.
“Las tecnologías de conformado agrupan vías de fabricación, materiales y sectores con características muy diversas. Sin embargo, se enfrentan a retos comunes asociados a la incorporación de nuevos materiales, exigentes cadencias de producción y crecientes solicitudes de los productos fabricados.
Desarrollar componentes conformados con prestaciones avanzadas, mejorar la vida útil de los útiles de trabajo y abordar nuevos mercados y aplicaciones industriales son algunos de ámbitos a través de los que aportamos valor a las empresas que diseñan, fabrican y aplican estos componentes.”
