SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1979
STP35854S

An Approximate Method of Elastic-Plastic Fracture Analysis for Nozzle Corner Cracks

Source

Two intermediate test vessels with inside nozzle corner cracks have been pressurized to failure at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) by the Heavy Section Steel Technology (HSST) Program. Vessel V-5 leaked without fracturing at 88°C (190°F), and Vessel V-9 failed by fast fracture at 24°C (75°F) as expected. The nozzle corner failure strains were 6.5 and 8.4 percent, both considerably greater than pretest plane-strain estimates. The inside nozzle corner tangential strains were negative, implying transverse contraction along the crack front. Therefore, both vessels were reanalyzed, considering the effects of partial transverse restraint by means of the Irwin βIc formula. In addition, it was found possible to accurately estimate the nozzle corner pressure-strain curve by either of two semi-empirical equations, both of which agree with the elastic and fully plastic behavior of the vessels. Calculations of failure strain and fracture toughness corresponding to the measured final strain and flaw size are made for both vessels, and the results agree well with the measured values.

Author Information

Merkle, JG
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
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Details
Developed by Committee: E08
Pages: 674–702
DOI: 10.1520/STP35854S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-4739-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-0330-6