Publications

Characterization of liquefied natural gas tanker steel from cryogenic to fire temperatures

Connelly, Kevin C.; Wellman, Gerald W.; Dempsey, James F.; Kalan, Robert K.

The increased demand for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a fuel source in the U.S. has prompted a study to improve our capability to predict cascading damage to LNG tankers from cryogenic spills and subsequent fire. To support this large modeling and simulation effort, a suite of experiments were conducted on two tanker steels, ABS Grade A steel and ABS Grade EH steel. A thorough and complete understanding of the mechanical behavior of the tanker steels was developed that was heretofore unavailable for the span of temperatures of interest encompassing cryogenic to fire temperatures. This was accomplished by conducting several types of experiments, including tension, notched tension and Charpy impact tests at fourteen temperatures over the range of -191 C to 800 C. Several custom fixtures and special techniques were developed for testing at the various temperatures. The experimental techniques developed and the resulting data will be presented, along with a complete description of the material behavior over the temperature span.