OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE PAPER

6200 North Central Expressway NUMBER OTC 1503

Dallas, Texas 75206
THIS IS A PREPRINT --- SUBJECT TO CORRECTION

Fatigue Tests on Anchor Chain-Cable

By

Gilbert de Laval, Ramnas Bruks AB, Rarrmas, Sweden

© Copyright 1971
Offshore Technology Conference on behalf of American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and
Petroleum Engineers, Inc., The American Association of Petroleum Geologists, American Institute of
Chemical Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, The American Society of Mechanical
Engineers, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., Marine Technology Society,
Society of Exploration Geophysicists, and Society of Naval Architects· & Marine Engineers.
This paper was prepared for presentation at the Third Annual Offshore Technology Conference
to be held in Houston, Tex., April 19-21, 1971. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract
of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. Such use of an abstract should
contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented.

Fatigue tests have been carried out on Testing requirements:

anchor chain-cable. Fatigue tests on steel
normally are performed on specially machined
specimens. Such a specimen is given an
exceptionally smooth surface in order to
eliminate as much as possible the probable
influence of surface defects on the fatigue
strength of the steel.
In order to obtain, in this case, a more
realistic picture of the fatigue strength of
anchor chain-cable than is possible with the
ordinary fatigue test, these tests have been
carried out on the chain links proper.
Three-link samples of 2-in. oilrig chain
(Fig. 1) were tested at six different maximum
loads. Chemical composition:
C = 0.27 percent
Si = 0.27 percent
Mn = 1.60 percent
P = 0.024 percent
S = 0.012 percent
N = 0.008 percent
Mechanical properties:
proof load = 147 mp 322,000 lb
breaking load = 222 mp '" 488,000 lb
Be~ore ~atigue tests all samples were subject to
proof load.
At each maximum load five samples were
tested. The tests were made in an AMSLER 100
mp tensile testing machine with pulsator at the
Government T~sting Institute, Stockholm, Swede~
The frequency used was 285 load changes/min and
the amplitude varied between the maximum load
and a minimum load of 5 mp.
The tests were carried out at room
temperature in dry conditions. Records of test
results can be studied in the table (Fig. 2)
and diagram (Fig. 3) which show the number of
load changes at rupture (small circles) at
different loads. Mean values are indicated by
big circles.
The samples were pulled to destruction or
at least 2 million times.

yield strength 47 kp!sq mm '" 67,000 psi DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

tensile strength 70 kp!sq mm '" 100,000 psi
elongation = 24 percent The ruptures occurred in the same place in
impact resistance = 11 kpm at OOC, Charpy the bent part of the link with location
V-notch according to Fig. 4.
In Fig. 5, the mean values of Fig. 3 have
Illustrations at end of paper.
II-856 GILBERT de LAVAL
been transformed to stress at maximum load.
This stress value is simply the mean stress on
the chain section obtained by dividing the
maximum loa~ with the cross-section of the link
[2 • (ll· D )/4J. It is !mown that stresses in
some parts of the link under load are
considerably higher than this mean value.
It is perhaps allowable to define a
fatigue limit for chain-cable •. This limit
could be defined as the maximum load at which
the chain sample withstands at least 2 million
load reversals without rupture. If such a
fatigue limit is defined, the chain in the
experiment has its fatigue limit at 1J.5 mp,
which corresponds to a mean stress at this load
of 11.1 kp/sq mm z 15,900 psi.
As stated, surface conditions of fatigue
samples play an important role at fatigue
testing. Also the form of the specimens could
be supp~sed to influence results of fatigue
tests. This is illustrated by comparison of
the link-fatigue tests with conventional fatigUE
tests on the steel of the link. The fatigue
limit for the steel in this test was found to
be 47 kp/sq mm z 67,000 psi. The same steel
was tested under the influence of artificial
r
I
6 0
1
Fig. l - Fatigue test of 2-in. oilrig chain-cable link (D
OTe 1503
seawater and then showed a fatigue iimit of
37 kp/sq mm z 53,000 psi.
These conventional tests were carried out
in an AMSLER 10 mp tensile-testing machine with
high frequency pulsator at Fagersta Brtiks AB,
Fagersta, Sweden. The frequency used was $,000
load changes/min for the dry tests and 6,000
load changes/min for the wet tests. The
specimens were cylindrical and had a cross-
section of 0.2 sq em. The surfaces of the
specimens were polished.
SUMMARY
It is evident that the form of the links
and/or the surface conditions of the links
reduces fatigue strength considerably as
compared to the fatigue strength obtained by
conventional fatigue-testing methods. The
reduction being great, it is still possible to
get values which seem to have a reasonable
scatter and thus seem to be reproducible. In
order to get a better !mowledge of fatigue
strength of chain-cable in operation further
fatigue tests with links soaked in seawater will
be undertaken.
f!
a:
I-
I
r-r,1
= nominal diameter of chain).