Browsing by Author "Kelleher, Joe"

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    Experimental investigation of lattice deformation behavior in S355 steel weldments using neutron diffraction technique
    (Springer, 2021-08-19) Biswal, Romali; Mehmanparast, Ali; Ganguly, Supriyo; Kelleher, Joe
    This study aims to investigate the influence of welding process on the elastic lattice deformation and its effects on fatigue and fracture behavior of S355 G10+M steel, which is widely used in fabrication of offshore wind turbine monopile structures. In situ neutron diffraction measurements were taken on cross-weld test samples at room temperature to monitor the evolution of intergranular strains under static and cyclic loading conditions. Both static and cyclic test results have shown that the {200} orientation exhibits the least load carrying capacity while {211} had the maximum stiffness. The hkl-specific response predicted using Reuss and Kröner model were found to agree well with experimental values obtained for the heat-affected zone for all the orientations; however, discrepancies between the experimental and model predictions have been observed for the base metal and weld metal. Moreover, the microstructural differences between the weld metal and heat-affected zone resulted in the maximum elastic–plastic strain mismatch at the interface of the two regions. The results from this experiment would be useful to understand the role of crystal-specific microstrains and lattice deformation on fatigue and fracture behavior of thick-walled monopile weldments.
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    Neutron diffraction and neutron imaging residual strain measurements on offshore wind monopole weldments
    (Elsevier, 2018-12-31) Jacob, Anaïs; Mehmanparast, Ali; Kelleher, Joe; Burca, Genoveva
    Residual stress measurement is of fundamental interest in order to estimate the service life of engineering components and structures subjected to various loading conditions operating in different environments. Destructive and non-destructive techniques are used for the evaluation of residual stresses. Neutron diffraction, as a non-destructive technique, is widely used to measure the elastic strain component of a specific atomic plane from which residual stresses can be calculated. Neutron imaging is an alternative technique which enables residual stresses to be measured through strain mapping of the area of interest. In this study, neutron diffraction measurements were performed in conjunction with neutron imaging to evaluate residual strains in a compact tension, C(T), specimen extracted from a welded plate made of S355 structural steel. Neutron diffraction and imaging are two complementary techniques which have been employed in this work by performing measurements on the Engin-X and newly developed IMAT instruments, respectively, at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. Neutron diffraction residual strain measurements in all three directions were conducted within the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) of the weld area whereas longitudinal residual strains were measured using the neutron imaging technique. A comparison of the neutron diffraction and neutron imaging preliminary results has shown that neutron imaging can provide acceptable measure of residual strains compared to those of obtained from neutron diffraction. The results have been discussed in terms of the possible sources of error encountered in each measurement technique and the accuracy of each technique against the other.
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    Residual stress measurements in offshore wind monopile weldments using neutron diffraction technique and contour method
    (Elsevier, 2018-06-15) Jacob, Anaïs; Oliveira, Jeferson; Mehmanparast, Ali; Hosseinzadeh, Foroogh; Kelleher, Joe; Berto, Filippo
    Reliable assessment of the fatigue life of offshore wind monopiles operating in harsh offshore environments relies on quantifying the level of residual stresses locked-in at circumferential weld regions. This study presents, for the first time, residual stress characterisation, using the contour method, on a large structural welded mock-up, typical of the weldment used in offshore wind monopiles. The contour method and neutron diffraction measurements were also conducted on a compact tension specimen extracted from the large mock-up. The extracted compact tension sample, typically used for fracture and fatigue crack growth tests, showed notably significant remnant residual stresses that could impact fracture and fatigue test results. In addition the measured 2D map of transverse residual stresses, acting normal to the crack plane, playing a key role in fatigue crack opening/closure, exhibited variations through the thickness of the compact tension sample. The key conclusion was that the residual stresses in small laboratory samples extracted from large scale weldments should be carefully characterised and taken into account in structural integrity tests. Besides, the measurement results on the welded mock-up showed that the level of damaging tensile residual stress in large-scale mock-ups and hence real size structural welded monopiles is considerably larger than residual stresses in extracted laboratory samples; hence will have more significant influence on structural integrity of offshore wind assets.