We asked about the issues and opportunities facing engineers operating in this specialised area of engineering and what key areas he is looking to discuss at this year’s seminar.
Q: Please can you briefly explain your role and involvement with assets that require advanced fracture mechanics.
My research activities at the University of Cambridge deal with the development of high-fidelity models to predict material deformation and fracture. These models incorporate the underlying physical mechanisms and can, therefore, provide reliable in-service assessments.
The impact of Virtual Testing in numerous applications within the automotive and aeronautical sectors is indisputable. I aim at extending this success to more challenging scenarios, such as those relevant to the energy industry, where fracture often is assisted by environmental factors.
Q: What is the number one challenge for those using or benefitting from technologies related to fracture mechanics in today’s current market?
The use of high strength alloys has exacerbated structural integrity problems due to hydrogen embrittlement. With an increased used of high strength steels, hydrogen assisted fractures are becoming more frequent and often occur in relatively benign environments. A problem that was mostly constrained to the energy industry is now pervasive in numerous applications across the transport, defence and construction sectors.
The challenge is to develop reliable computer models that can predict hydrogen assisted fracture as a function of the environment, the material properties and the loading conditions. Without a sound understanding of this phenomenon, we are condemned to abandon the use of high strength alloys, compromising decades of metallurgical progress.
Q: What is the most exciting development in this field at the moment, either within your company or in the industry in general?
There is an opportunity now to encapsulate recent scientific findings and enable Virtual Testing in hydrogen-sensitive applications. We have shown that, by incorporating first-order effects, models can be developed that accurately reproduce laboratory measurements from nominal material properties. In addition, these physically-based models have the capability of establishing predictions over the large time and space scales inherent to engineering practice. Having the capability of predicting hydrogen related fractures is key in optimizing inspection intervals, enabling a controlled use of high strength steels, and preventing catastrophic failures. The economic impact can be profound.
Q: Where do you see the future of fracture mechanics assessments and predictions in the next 5 years?
There has been notable progress in the scientific understanding of environmentally assisted fracture over the past decade. I foresee that the high-fidelity models that have been developed will be instrumental in the energy industry in the near future. We have already started translating those scientific achievements into engineering practice and the results are very promising. Computer simulations now allow us to confidently push the limits of the standards, speed up material certification and avoid expensive laboratory experimentation. In continuum-like modelling of hydrogen embrittlement, the path from scientific progress to application is very short, and I can anticipate that this path will be exploited at large.
Q: What other topics are you looking forward to hearing about and discussing at the upcoming seminar?
My talk will address mostly three fronts. First, I will provide the attendees with an overview of the current scientific understanding of hydrogen assisted cracking. What are the first-order effects that one has to take into consideration to develop a simple yet reliable model for engineering predictions. Second, I will show how these models are capable of accurately predicting crack initiation and subcritical crack growth rates for different high strength alloys and over a very wide range of environments. And these predictions can be obtained without any fitting parameters, just from measurable material properties and environmental conditions. And finally, I will elaborate on how we have developed robust finite element models that are not only physically sound but provide large-scale multiphysics predictions in the complex scenarios relevant to engineering practice.
Q: Please can you say what key things that attendees can expect learn from your presentation.
The seminar has an impressive line-up of speakers. I particularly look forward to hearing how key players in industry are taking advantage of fracture mechanics to stay competitive. A number of topics will be covered, where a fracture mechanics assessment can make a notable difference; from welding to sulfide stress cracking. Also, I am eager to see the latest work of academic colleagues at Bristol and Manchester; they have always been at the forefront of scientific research in structural integrity and knowledge transfer.
Q: Why do you feel it is important for all professionals to join this seminar?
There is an opportunity now to enable Virtual Testing in hydrogen-sensitive applications. The scientific understanding is sufficiently mature and we have computer models that can characterize, predict and optimize material performance. The seminar will provide the attendees with the opportunity to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in fracture mechanics and take advantage of them. These tools have the potential to drastically change fitness-for-service assessment, and open the possibility of a safe use of using high strength metals. Given the benefits intrinsically associated with these high-performance materials, there will be a significant gap between those who take advantage of this possibility and those who don’t.
Improving Safety with Advanced Fracture Mechanics, 15 May 2019, One Birdcage Walk, London
The Improving Safety with Advanced Fracture Mechanics seminar will address the challenges around the industry adoption of new testing methods, bridging the gap between academic innovation and industry application.
Emilio will be joined by speakers including:
- EDF Energy Nuclear Generation
- EASL
- TWI
- University of Manchester
- DNV GL
- University of Bristol.
For further information and to book your place, please visit the event website.