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Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

This thesis describes selection and shows calibration of material model, capable of describing cyclic softening of material. Stress-strain FEM analysis of circumferential blade attachment for last section of rotor blades of steam turbine is performed, expected lifetime of existing attachment is evaluated. Multi-parameter optimization of new-shape attachment was done, resulting in dimensions for new-shape attachment with longer lifetime. Improvements in strain amount in comparison with existing attachment were evaluated and possible RPM increase of turbine with new attachment type was calculated.

Stålbroars approximativa livslängd bestäms av stålets utmattningshållfasthet, då utmattning är en av de främsta anledningarna till att livslängden begränsas. I Sverige existerar ett antal broar som närmar sig slutet av sin livslängd, samtidigt som behovet för kapacitet och kraven på broarna ökar. Flertalet av dessa broar är i behov av upprustning. Däremot är det inte möjligt ur vare sig ett ekonomiskt- eller miljöperspektiv att byta ut alla broar, och därför behöver de broar som är mest kritiska prioriteras. Vid utmattningsdimensionering av stålbroar beaktas hela spänningsvidden, oavsett om spänningarna är i drag eller tryck. En spricka propagerar endast vid dragspänningar, vilket innebär att tryck- spänningar egentligen inte bör vägas in i samband med dimensionering. Detta innebär att en del stålbroar skulle kunna ha en längre livslängd än vad den traditionella dimensioneringen ger. Spänningsintensitetsfaktorn 𝐾 används inom brottmekaniken för att förutspå spänningsintensiteten i närheten av sprickspetsen, och appliceras till linjärelastiska material. Det finita elementprogrammet Abaqus användes när brodetaljen modellerades och analyserades. Brodetaljen representerar en balk med en påsvetsad anslutningsplåt, som utsätts för trafiklasten på en bro och en temperaturlast för att simulera egenspänningar. Detaljen representerar problematiken med utmattning i stålkonstruktionsdelar. Motivet för denna studie är att inga sprickor har hittats under inspektioner av liknande detaljer, det till trots att en del stålbroar teoretiskt sett förbrukat sin livslängd. Studien genomfördes med en mer avancerad modell än vad som vanligtvis skapas för bedömning av utmattning, med syftet att modellera verkligheten mer korrekt. Resultaten visar hur egenspänningarna bidrar till dragspänningar, vilket leder till sprickpropagering i modellen. Vid spricklängden 9,5 mm övergår spänningarna från drag till tryck, och då upphör spricktillväxten. Resultaten visar även att utmattningssprickor kan växa i stålkonstruktionsdelar som i huvudsak utsätts för nominella tryckspänningar, ifall höga egenspänningar uppstår vid anslutningsplåten. / Steel bridges estimated service life is determined by the fatigue strength of the steel, since fatigue is one of the main reasons for limiting the service life. In Sweden there is a number of bridges that approach the end of their service life, while the need of increasing the capacity and demands on bridges grows. The majority of these bridges is in need of reparation. On the other hand, it is not possible either from a financial- or environmental perspective to replace all bridges, and therefore the bridges that are most critical needs priority. In the case of fatigue design calculation of steel bridges, the entire stress range is taken into account, regardless of whether the stresses are in tension or pressure. A crack propagates only at tensile stresses, which means that pressure should not really be considered in the design calculations. This means that some steel bridges could have a longer life span than the traditional design calculation gives. The stress intensity factor K is used within the fracture mechanism to predict the stress intensity near crack tip, and is applied to linear elastic materials. The finite element program Abaqus was used when the bridge detail was modeled and analyzed. The bridge detail represents a beam with a welded connection plate, which is exposed to traffic load at the bridge and a temperature load to simulate residual stresses. The detail represents the problem of fatigue in steel structural parts. The motive for this study is that no cracks have been found during inspections of similar details, despite the fact that some steel bridges theoretically have consumed their longevity. The study is conducted with a more advanced model than usually created for assessment of fatigue, with the purpose of modeling the reality more correctly. The results show how the residual stresses cause tensile stresses, which leads to crack propagation in the model. At a crack length of 9,5 mm, the stresses change from tension to compression, and then the crack growth ceases. The results also indicate that fatigue cracking can grow in steel structural parts that are mainly exposed to compressive nominal stresses, if tensile residual stresses appear at the connection plate.

Hydropower is the most important power balancing resource in the Swedish electrical power system, regulating the power supply to match the load. Consequently, several hydropower plants have periods of stand-by operation where the power production is absent but where several devices within a plant are still active. Such a device is the step-up power transformer, which during stand-by operation still generates no-load energy losses. These losses can accumulate to a considerable amount of energy and costs during the long technical lifetime of the apparatus. One option to minimize these no-load energy losses is by turning the transformer off when its generating unit is in stand-by operation. However, when this transformer operational change has been explained to experts in the field, the most common response has been that a more frequent reenergizing of a transformer leads to higher risks for errors or transformer breakdowns. This study aimed to analytically investigate three effects from this operational change. First, the potential of fatigue failure for the windings due to the increased sequences of inrush current. Secondly, the thermal cycling as a consequence of change in present losses. Lastly, the energy and economic saving potentials for hydropower plants where this operational adjustment is applied. The study used both established as well as analytical tools explicitly created for this study. These were then applied on currently active transformers in different plant categories in Fortum’s hydropower fleet.  The study primarily showed three things. Firstly, risk of fatigue failure due to the increased presence of inrush currents did not affect the transformer’s technical lifetime. Secondly, the thermal cycling changes were slightly larger with absent no-load losses during stand-by operation. The average temperature for the transformer decreased, which in general is seen as a positive indicator for a longer insulation lifetime and thus the transformer’s technical lifetime. Finally, the created frameworks showed the potential of saving energy and money for all plant categories, where the potential grew with the installed production capacity and the stand-by operation timeshare. Despite the simplifications made to describe the complex reality of a transformer operating in a hydropower plant, this thesis contributes to lay a foundation for future investigation of an easy adjustment to avoid unnecessary energy losses and costs for transformers in hydropower plants.

[pt] Neste trabalho, o fator de gradiente de tensões elastoplástico na frente da raiz de entalhe é utilizado para investigar o efeito real do entalhe na resistência à fadiga, quantificado pelo fator de concentração de tensões à fadiga. Este é geralmente menor que o fator de concentração de tensões do entalhe, o parâmetro linear elástico (Fator de concentração de tensão) , devido à tolerância do material a trincas curtas não propagantes. Considerando que a plasticidade localizada na vizinhança da raiz do entalhe afeta o comportamento de crescimento de trincas curtas dentro da zona plástica induzida pelo entalhe, uma abordagem baseada na Mecânica da Fratura é proposta para abranger os efeitos dos campos de tensões e deformações elastoplásticas no cálculo do (Fator de concentração de tensão de fadiga). Análises bidimensionais por elementos finitos são adotadas para calcular fatores de intensidade de tensão de espécimes planos e entalhados. O modelo de encruamento de Ramberg-Osgood e a regra de Neuber são usados para obter aproximações de fatores de intensidade baseados em deformação. Para validação da metodologia, as previsões numéricas geradas são comparadas com dados experimentais de S-N coletadas da literatura para espécimes com (Fator de concentração de tensão) . Estes possuem furo circular central ou entalhes tipo U ou V, são feitos de diferentes materiais e testados sob cargas axiais com razão igual a -1, 0 ou 0,1. A comparação mostra boa concordância e prova que a solução elastoplástica proporcione maior precisão do que a linear elástica. Os resultados mais discrepantes são obtidos em razões de carga de 0 e 0,1, no entanto, eles podem ser significativamente melhorados quando é considerada a correção de efeitos de tensão média não nula. / [en] Elasto-plastic stress gradient factors ahead of notch tips are used to evaluate actual notch effects in fatigue strength, quantified by fatigue stress concentration factor (Fatigue stress concentration factor). Usually, it is smaller than the linear elastic stress concentration factor of the notch, (Stress concentration factor) , due to material tolerance to non-propagating short cracks. Considering that local plasticity around notch tips plays a significant role in the growth behavior of short cracks within the notch plastic zone, a sound mechanical methodology is proposed to account for the effects of elasto-plastic stress and strain fields in the actual (Fatigue stress concentration factor) value. Two-dimensional finite element analyses are conducted to compute stress intensity factors of smooth and notched specimens. Ramberg-Osgood model and Neuber s rule are used to achieve approximations for strain-based intensity factors. For methodology validation, numerical predictions are compared to experimental stress-life data of center, U, and V-notched plate specimens made of different materials and tested under uniaxial load ratios of −1, 0, and 0.1 collected from the literature. The comparisons show good agreement proving that the elasto-plastic solution provides more accuracy than the linear elastic one. The most discrepant results are obtained at load ratios of 0 and 0.1, and they can be significantly improved if non-zero mean stress effects are considered.

Hydropower is the most important power balancing resource in the Swedish electrical power system, regulating the power supply to match the load. Consequently, several hydropower plants have periods of stand-by operation where the power production is absent but where several devices within a plant are still active. Such a device is the step-up power transformer, which during stand-by operation still generates no-load energy losses. These losses can accumulate to a considerable amount of energy and costs during the long technical lifetime of the apparatus. One option to minimize these no-load energy losses is by turning the transformer off when its generating unit is in stand-by operation. However, when this transformer operational change has been explained to experts in the field, the most common response has been that a more frequent reenergizing of a transformer leads to higher risks for errors or transformer breakdowns. This study aimed to analytically investigate three effects from this operational change. First, the potential of fatigue failure for the windings due to the increased sequences of inrush current. Secondly, the thermal cycling as a consequence of change in present losses. Lastly, the energy and economic saving potentials for hydropower plants where this operational adjustment is applied. The study used both established as well as analytical tools explicitly created for this study. These were then applied on currently active transformers in different plant categories in Fortum’s hydropower fleet. The study primarily showed three things. Firstly, risk of fatigue failure due to the increased presence of inrush currents did not affect the transformer’s technical lifetime. Secondly, the thermal cycling changes were slightly larger with absent no-load losses during stand-by operation. The average temperature for the transformer decreased, which in general is seen as a positive indicator for a longer insulation lifetime and thus the transformer’s technical lifetime. Finally, the created frameworks showed the potential of saving energy and money for all plant categories, where the potential grew with the installed production capacity and the stand-by operation timeshare. Despite the simplifications made to describe the complex reality of a transformer operating in a hydropower plant, this thesis contributes to lay a foundation for future investigation of an easy adjustment to avoid unnecessary energy losses and costs for transformers in hydropower plants