Papers by Author: Michal Zouhar

Abstract: It has been shown that the service lifetime of buried pipes can be reduced especially in relation to stress concentration caused by external point loads. If the pipe is loaded locally the stress is concentrated there and a crack can initiate at this position or the existing crack can be affected by corresponding stress redistribution. In the paper, the effect of a hard indenter, material properties, and the hoop stress level on the stress intensity factor of the axial inner crack are evaluated. A simple relation for estimation of the stress intensity factor value without FEM simulations is proposed.

Abstract: The most relevant loading conditions for real polymer pipe systems are not only internal pressure, but also loading caused by sand embedding including bending or different kinds of point loads. It has been shown that service lifetime of buried pipes can be reduced especially due to stress concentration caused by external point loads. If the pipe is loaded locally the stress is concentrated here and a crack can initiate at this position or the existing crack can be affected by corresponding stress redistribution. In the paper the effect of the hard indenter, Poissons ratio, hoop stress level and pipe wall thickness on the crack shape was estimated using numerical simulations of the creep crack propagation based on finite element method. Relation between crack length and crack width was found and expressed by simple relationship. A deeper understanding of the point load effect in order to prevent unexpected failure of the pipelines is of paramount importance for pipeline design.

Abstract: The multi-layered structure components of dissimilar materials are used in many engineering applications to protect the base structure from outer damage. Typical examples of coated structures are pipes with the dimensional addition of protective layers (multi-layer pipes). The purpose of this development is to protect the main (functional) part of the pipes from damages (e.g. surface scratches, internal crack propagation). In the contribution the attention is paid to cracks existing and propagating in inner protective layer. In many cases the cracks are stopped at the interface between protective and functional layers. The important task is to decide if they penetrate further through the interface in the bulk material and thus cause the failure of the system. The critical stress for the crack propagation through the interface depends on the relation between bulk and coating materials as well as on the crack geometry. All these important topics are taken into account and their effect on crack propagation is broadly discussed.

Abstract: Failure of layered materials is frequently caused by the existence of interfaces between single layers. In structures loaded by long-term constant stress the damage can be described on micro-scale by material changes due to active creep mechanism and at the macro-level by a corresponding change of the stress and strain field. In the contribution the behavior of a crack propagating through the interface is analyzed. Primary attention is devoted to a crack with its tip at the interface under creep exposition. The step change of material properties at the bi-material interface means that standard fracture mechanics access is not applicable and a modified approach based on generalization of the classical concept has to be used. The approach is illustrated on the damage of a plastic pipe with protective layer.

Abstract: In the contribution solution of special fracture mechanics problems connected with multi-layer plastic pipes was investigated. The assumptions of linear elastic fracture mechanics were accepted. A complex three-dimensional numerical model of multi-layer pipe system consisting of main (functional) pipe and protective layers has been suggested and numerically solved by finite element method. Two basic problems connected with lifetime expectation of multilayer pipe system have been considered and discussed, namely: question of fracture mechanics description of multilayered pipe system and corresponding measurements of the material properties. The suggested approach can help for more accurate estimation of the multilayer pipe damage.