Bojan Međo

Application of Complete Gurson Model for Prediction of Ductile Fracture in Welded Steel Joints

Ductile fracture process includes three stages: void nucleation, their growth and coalescence. The voids nucleate due to the fracture or separation of non-metallic inclusions and secondary-phase particles from the material matrix. Micromechanical models based on the Gurson plastic flow criterion are often used for analysis of ductile fracture. They consider the material as a porous medium in which the effect of voids on the stress-strain state and plastic flow cannot be neglected. Another important property of the Gurson criterion is that the hydrostatic stress component influences the plastic flow of the material.

Optimizing the thermal gradient and the pulling speed in a thermoplastic pultrusion process of PET/E glass fibers using finite element method

A thermoplastic pultrusion process was examined using commercial fiber roving of PET/E glass, to determine the optimum pulling speed and optimal zonal temperatures. Finite element analysis predicted heat transfer through the commingled fibers and air in the pultrusion die. The cross-section of obtained rods was examined, and image analysis was carried out to obtain information about the degree of fiber impregnation, number of voids and uniformity of fiber distribution. Optimizing the temperature field for the pultrusion of poly (ethylene terephthalate) is of significant importance. The pulling speed has the same importance. These two parameters are closely related as evidenced by the analysis of images.

Assessment of the integrity of welded pipes

The subject of the paper is analysis of the integrity of welded pipes made of API J55 steel by high frequency contact welding (HF). Experimental research on the mechanical properties of the base material was conducted on pipes withdrawn from exploatation after 70 000 hours at service. Defect influence of the surface crack on the integrity of pipes was tested using hydrostatic pressure of pipes with axial surface crack in the base material. Fracture behaviour was tested using modified compact specimen (CT), with the initial crack in the base material, welded joint and heat affected zone (HAZ). Critical value of the tensile strength factors KIc was determined based on the critical value J of the integral JIc. Apart from the experimental research, based on the derived values of Kr and Sr and by applying fracture analysis diagram (FAD) an assessment of the integrity of welded pipes with axial surface crack on the outer surface area was conducted.