Abstract The mechanical behavior of API 5L X52 steel with planar type laminations was studied in the present work. Planar laminations were proposed in the base metal (BM), heat affected zone (HAZ) and welding bead (WB). Three-dimensional finite element (FE) models, kinematic hardening and mechanical properties for BM, HAZ, and WB were activated in the finite element program. The results showed that crack propagation corresponds to the direction of the main stress. For a crack length (2a) of 10.01 mm, crack propagation may occur at the right crack tip towards the outer wall of the BM. For 2a of 15.12 mm, crack propagation was located on the right crack tip and propagates to the inner wall. For 2a of 17.12 mm, crack propagation was observed at the left crack tip and propagates to the outer wall in the BM. The results achieved by FEM agree when compared with real laminations in API 5L pipelines.

Abstract The stress concentration factors (SCFs) in welded connections usually occur at zones with high stress levels. Stress concentrations reduce the fatigue behavior of welded connections in offshore structures and cracking can develop. By using the grinding technique, cracking can be eliminated. Stress concentration factors are defined as a ratio of maximum stress at the intersection to nominal stress on the brace. Defining the stress concentration factor is an important stage in the fatigue behavior of welded connections. Several approaches have evolved for designing structures with the classical S-N approach for estimating total life. This work correlates to the stress concentration factors of T-welded connections and the fatigue behavior. Stress concentration factors were computed with the finite element employing 3D T-welded connections with intact and grinding depth conditions. Then, T-welded connections were constructed with A36 plate steel and welded with E6013 electrodes to obtain the stress-life (S-N) approach. The methodology from previous works was used to compute the SCF and fabricate the T-welded connections. The results indicated that the grinding process could restore the fatigue life of the T-welded connections for SCFs values in the range of 1.29. This value can be considered to be a low SCF value in T-welded connection. However, for higher SCF values, the fatigue life decreased, compromising and reducing the structural integrity of the T-welded connections.