scope:

In this WRC Bulletin 296, criteria have been developed for applying fitness-for-service analyses to flaws in the girth welds of the Alaska Natural Gas Transmission System pipeline. A critical crack-opening-displacement elastic-plastic fracture mechanics model was developed and experimentally verified. Procedures for constructing flaw acceptance criteria curves based on this model are provided. A significantly improved ultrasonic method for detecting and dimensioning significant weld flaws was also developed. Publication of this report - WRC Bulletin No. 296 was co-sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Weldability Committee of the Welding Research Council, Inc.