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Introduction: The occurrence of mixed fracture mechanisms in mechanical elements is frequent, due to the action of multiple factors that intervene during their design, manufacturing and operation. Objective: To establish the causes of failures in tripod columns on trucks, based on the characterization of the base metal and the welded joints in the failure region. Materials and Methods: Visual inspection of the failures, chemical and microstructural characterization by optical microscopy of the columns, as well as tensible test of the base material were carried out. Results and Discussion: The integrated visual inspection analysis and the results of chemical and metallographic characterization reveal that the material of the columns is not recommended for welded structures and that measures such as preheating and thermal treatment after welding were not taken. Due to the characteristics of the steel and the location of the detected cracks, they may be associated with diffusible hydrogen cracking. Conclusions: The failure of the columns was the result of a combination of several factors, highlighting design and manufacturing errors in the selection of a non-recommended material and the non-execution of attenuation measures during the execution of the welding, also linked to factors such as, possible overloads or improper operation of the equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The finite element method has become popular to determine fracture mechanics parameters, but this type of numerical analysis may or not lead to accurate results, depending on the model quality and the implementation of the established methods. Objective: Implement and validate the calculation of the stress intensity factor and the J integral through the displacement extrapolation, domain integral and interaction integral methods, through finite element modeling of cracked part problems in 2D and 3D. Materials and methods: The stress intensity factor and the integral J were calculated in a compact cracked specimen and a plate with a semi-circumferential surface crack, by means of 2D and 3D finite element models, and these results were verified with those obtained by means of published analytical expressions. Results and Discussion: The error of the results provided by the finite element models does not exceed 3% for the two-dimensional models and 7% for the three-dimensional ones, which demonstrates their quality and precision. Conclusions: The implementation of the calculation of the fracture mechanics parameters is considered validated, which makes it possible to extend its use in the future for constructions and equipment that present cracking in service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The objective of the work is to describe the feed and product streams of the riser of fluid catalytic cracking units using continuous thermodynamic. These streams contain a large number of components and continuous thermodynamic can estimate composition by groups of components, using a distribution function. The parameters of the gamma distribution of the feed and product streams for several industrial cases were determined. The results indicate that continuous thermodynamic can well predict the distribution of the components of the streams in the riser. It is concluded that the proposed methodology can be applied in a refinery to evaluate the composition of the products of catalytic disintegration in a broad interval of molecular mass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]