New experimental set-up to approach pipeline fracture behaviour by three-point bending specimens

摘要

A new experimental set-up for drop weight tear tests is proposed. Its principal characteristic is the adoption of inclined supports driving the hinges connected to the specimen. This choice accomplishes the need that the specimen was subjected to a persistent stress field in the ligament, thus approaching the stress field experienced by a crack propagating in a pipeline. This set-up requires a proper processing of the data that is accurately explained in the paper. The tests are conducted under a quasi-static loading but the method has been designed to apply in dynamic tests.