Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior of Titanium Alloy Ti-6Al-4V and Weldment

Abstract

Optimization of weight, cost, and performance of deepwater offshore structures demands the increased utilization of high strength, light weight, and corrosion resistant materials such as titanium alloys. Titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V has been considered for several critical components such as risers and taper joints. Because of the novelty of use of titanium alloys in the offshore industry, there is currently no standard governing design of titanium components for offshore structures. Since these structural components are subjected to a complex spectrum of environmental loading, assessment of defect tolerance using fatigue crack growth analysis is generally considered an important design parameter. In this paper, more than 60 crack growth data sets from 20 independent laboratories were collected and analyzed to develop crack growth rate equations for use in defect assessment. These data include the results of fatigue testing of both base material and welded joints in air and seawater with and without cathodic protection and at different R-ratios and test frequencies. The results suggest that for crack growth rates above 10−7 in./cycle, crack growth of Ti-6Al-4V appears to be independent of testing condition and materials processing. At the low crack growth rate (below 10−7 in./cycle), the review revealed that data are very limited. These limited data, however, suggest that the crack growth threshold is dependent on the R-ratio and slightly dependent on material processing. Comparison between crack growth rates of steel and titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) showed that the two materials have very similar behavior.