Post Autofrettage Thermal Treatment and Its Effect on Re-Yielding of High Strength Pressure Vessel Steels

Author(s):  
E. Troiano ◽  
J. H. Underwood ◽  
A. P. Parker ◽  
C. Mossey

The autofrettage process of a thick walled pressure vessel involves applying tensile plastic strain at the bore of the vessel which reverses during unloading and results in favorable compressive residual stresses at the bore and prolongs the fatigue life of the component. In thick walled pressure vessels this process can be accomplished with either a hydraulic or mechanical overloading process. The Bauschinger effect, which is observed in many of the materials used in thick walled pressure vessels, is a phenomenon which results in lower compressive residual stresses than those predicted with classic ideal isotropic hardening. The phenomenon is a strong function of the amount of prior tensile plastic strain. A novel idea which involves a multiple autofrettage process has been proposed by the present authors. This process requires a low temperature post autofrettage thermal treatment which effectively returns the material to its original yield conditions without affecting its residual stress state. Details of this low temperature thermal treatment are proprietary. A subsequent second autofrettage process generates a significantly lower amount of plastic strain during the tensile re-loading and results in higher compressive residual stresses. This paper reports the details of exploratory tests involving tensile and compressive loading of a test coupon, followed by a low temperature post plastic straining thermal treatment, and subsequent re-loading in tension and compression. Finally results of a full scale Safe Maximum Pressure (SMP) test of pressure vessels are presented; these tests indicate a significant increase (11%) in SMP.

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Troiano ◽  
J. H. Underwood ◽  
A. P. Parker ◽  
C. Mossey

The autofrettage process of a thick walled pressure vessel involves applying tensile plastic strain at the bore of the vessel, which reverses during unloading and results in favorable compressive residual stresses at the bore and prolongs the fatigue life of the component. In thick walled pressure vessels this process can be accomplished with either a hydraulic or mechanical overloading process. The Bauschinger effect, which is observed in many of the materials used in thick walled pressure vessels, is a phenomenon, which results in lower compressive residual stresses than those predicted with classic ideal isotropic hardening. The phenomenon is a strong function of the amount of prior tensile plastic strain. A novel idea, which involves a multiple autofrettage processes, has been proposed by the present authors. This process requires a low temperature post-autofrettage thermal treatment, which effectively returns the material to its original yield conditions with minimal effect on its residual stress state. Details of this low temperature thermal treatment are proprietary. A subsequent second autofrettage process generates a significantly lower amount of plastic strain during the tensile reloading and results in higher compressive residual stresses. This paper reports the details of the exploratory tests involving tensile and compressive loading of a test coupon, followed by a low temperature post-plastic straining thermal treatment, and subsequent reloading in tension and compression. Finally results of a full scale safe maximum pressure (SMP) test of pressure vessels are presented; these tests indicate a significant increase (11%) in SMP.


Author(s):  
Hsoung-Wei Chou ◽  
Chin-Cheng Huang ◽  
Bo-Yi Chen ◽  
Hsien-Chou Lin ◽  
Ru-Feng Liu

The fracture probability of a boiling water reactor pressure vessel for a domestic nuclear power plant in Taiwan has been numerically analyzed using an advanced version of ORNL’s FAVOR code. First, a model of the vessel beltline region, which includes all shell welds and plates, is built for the FAVOR code based on the plant specific parameters of the reactor pressure vessel. Then, a novel flaw model which describes the flaw types of surface breaking flaws, embedded weld flaws and embedded plate flaws are simulated along both inner and outer vessel walls. When conducting the fracture probability analyses, a transient low temperature over-pressure event, which has previously been shown to be the most severe challenge to the integrity of boiling water reactor pressure vessels, is considered as the loading condition. It is found that the fracture occurs in the fusion-line area of axial welds, but with only an insignificant failure probability. The low through-wall cracking frequency indicates that the analyzed reactor pressure vessel maintains sufficient stability until either the end-of-license or for doubling of the present license of operation.


1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. P. Jones ◽  
W. R. Mabe ◽  
J. R. Shadley ◽  
E. F. Rybicki

Results of through-thickness residual stress measurements are provided for a variety of samples of weld-deposited 308/309L stainless steel and Alloy 600 cladding on low-alloy pressure vessel ferritic steels. Clad thicknesses between 5 and 9 mm on samples that vary in thickness from 45 to 200 mm were studied. The samples were taken from flat plates, from a spherical head of a pressure vessel, from a ring-segment of a nozzle bore, and from the transition radius between a nozzle and a pressure vessel shell. A layer removal method was used to measure the residual stresses. The effects of uncertainties in elastic constants (Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio) as well as experimental error are assessed. All measurements were done at room temperature. The results of this work indicate that curvature plays a significant role in cladding residual stress and that tensile residual stresses as high as the yield stress can be measured in the cladding material. Since the vessel from which the spherical and nozzle corner samples were taken was hydrotested, and the flat plate specimens were taken from specimens used in mechanical fatigue testing, these results suggest that rather high tensile residual stresses can be retained in the cladding material, even after some mechanical loading associated with hydrotesting.


Author(s):  
Ju Hee Kim ◽  
Ji Soo Kim ◽  
Yun Jae Kim ◽  
Hong Yeol Bae ◽  
Joung Soo Kim

Laser shock peening (LSP) is an innovative surface treatment technique, which is successfully applied to improve fatigue performance of metallic components. After the treatment, the fatigue strength and fatigue life of a metallic material can be increased remarkably owing to the presence of compressive residual stresses in the material. Recently, the incidences of cracking in Alloy 600 small-caliber penetration nozzles (CRDM (control rod drive mechanism) and BMI (bottom mounted instrument)) have increased significantly. The cracking mechanism has been attributed to primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) and has been shown to be driven by welding residual stresses and operational stresses in the weld region. For this reason, to mitigating weld residual stress, preventive maintenance of BMI nozzles was considered application of laser shock peening process. The present study is to predict the residual stresses distribution along the peening surface and the interior of the target (Inconel alloy 600 steel) induced by single and multiple LSP processes using the finite element method. The simulations were accomplished using a commercial finite element package ABAQUS, employing both explicit and implicit methodologies. Effects of parameters related to finite element simulation of laser shock peening process to determine compressive residual stresses of Inconel alloy 600 steel are discussed, in particular parameters associated with the LSP process, such as the maximum pressure, pressure pulse duration, laser spot size and number of shots. It is found that about 2HEL maximum pressure and a certain range of the pulse duration can produce maximum compressive residual stresses near the surface, and thus proper choices of these parameters are important. But plastically affected depth increase with increasing maximum pressure and pulse duration. For the laser spot size, residual stresses are not affected, provided it is larger than a certain size. Magnitudes of the compressive residual stresses and plastically affected depth are found to increase with increasing number of shots, but the effect is less pronounced for more shots. Thus, the amplitude of the initial tensile residual stresses was remarkably changed by LSP. Additionally, In order to evaluate the influence of initial residual stresses in Inconel alloy 600 steel, the initial condition option was employed in the finite element code.


2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Underwood ◽  
John J. Keating ◽  
Edward Troiano ◽  
Gregory N. Vigilante

Results from four groups of full-scale pressure vessel service simulation tests are described and analyzed using Paris fatigue life modeling. The objective is to determine how the vessel and initial crack configurations and applied and residual stresses control the as-tested fatigue life of the vessel. The tube inner radii are in the 40–80 mm range; wall thickness varies from 6 to 80 mm; materials are ASTM A723 pressure vessel steel and IN718 nickel-base alloy; applied internal pressure varies from 90 to 700 MPa. The Paris constant, C, and exponent, m, that describe the fatigue crack propagation rate versus stress intensity factor range for the various vessel materials, were measured as part of the investigation. Extensive, previously published fatigue life results from baseline A723 pressure vessels with well characterized autofrettage residual stresses and C and m values are used to demonstrate that a Paris fatigue life model gives a good description of the measured life. The same model is then used to determine the variables with predominant control over life in three types of pressure vessel for which less information and tests results are available. A design life for pressure vessels is calculated for a specified very low probability of fatigue failure using the log(N)-normal distribution statistics often used for fatigue of structures. The results of the work showed: (i) X-ray diffraction measurements of through-wall autofrettage residual stresses are in excellent agreement with prior neutron diffraction measurements from a baseline autofrettaged A723 pressure vessel; these verified autofrettage residual stresses then provide critical input to the baseline Paris life modeling; (ii) comparison of the various full-scale fatigue test results with results from the Paris fatigue life model shows close agreement when autofrettage residual stresses are incorporated into models; (iii) model results for A723 steel vessels with yield strength reduced from the initial 1400 MPa value and degree of autofrettage increased from the initial 40% value indicates a significantly improved resistance to brittle failure with no loss of fatigue life; (iv] comparison of model fatigue life results for IN718 nickel-base alloy vessels with their full-scale test results is improved when near-bore residual stresses measured by X-ray diffraction are included in the model calculations.


1984 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. G. deLorenzi ◽  
B. I. Schumacher

The influence of cladding residual stresses on the crack driving force for shallow cracks in the wall of a nuclear pressure vessel is investigated. Thermo-elastic-plastic analyses were carried out on long axial through-clad and sub-clad flaws on the inside of the vessel. The depth of the flaws were one and three times the cladding thickness, respectively. An analysis of a semielliptical axial through-clad flaw was also performed. It was assumed that the residual stresses arise due to the difference in the thermal expansion between the cladding and the base material during the cool down from stress relieving temperature to room temperature and due to the subsequent proof test before the vessel is put into service. The variation of the crack tip opening displacement during these loadings and during a subsequent thermal shock on the inside wall is described. The analyses for the long axial flaws suggest that the crack driving force is smaller for this type of flaw if the residual stresses in the cladding are taken into account than if one assumes that the cladding has no residual stresses. However, the analysis of the semielliptical flaw shows significantly different results. Here the crack driving force is higher than when the residual stresses are not taken into account and is maximum in the cladding at or near the clad/base material interface. This suggests that the crack would propagate along the clad/base material interface before it would penetrate deeper into the wall. The elastic-plastic behavior found in the analyses show that the cladding and the residual stresses in the cladding should be taken into acocunt when evaluating the severity of shallow surface cracks on the inside of a nuclear pressure vessel.


Author(s):  
Norihiko Ozawa ◽  
Tomoaki Yoshizawa ◽  
Yutaka Watanabe ◽  
Tetsuo Shoji

In this research, a technique was developed for quantitatively evaluating the amount and distribution of tensile and compressive residual stresses by the combined use of strain measurements under the spherical indentation loading together with the finite element method (FEM). When the spherical indentation is applied to the top surface of a welded plate, the elastic strain at an optimized position near the indentation is measured by strain gauges, where the residual and applied indentation stresses are largely superposed. In order to analyze the residual stresses, FEM analysis was conducted to establish the relationship between the elastic strain adjacent to the indentation and the indentation pressure for plates subjected to various uniform tensile and compressive stresses. The critical indentation load was identified, which maximizes the difference between the tensile and compressive residual stresses. A strain energy term (U*) is newly introduced by integrating along the trajectory between the indentation pressure and the elastic strain in a range from 0 to maximum pressure. The application of this technique could contribute to improved reliability in welded parts.


Author(s):  
Rajkumar Shufen ◽  
Uday Shanker Dixit

Thick-walled cylindrical and spherical pressure vessels are often subjected to autofrettage, a process in which the vessel is loaded at the inner wall to cause a partial or complete plastic deformation emanating from the inner wall, followed by unloading. This introduces the beneficial compressive residual stresses in the vicinity of the inner wall. Depending on the type of the loading, there are five different types of autofrettage processes— hydraulic, swage, explosive, thermal and rotational. This article analyzes the rotational autofrettage, in which the cylinder to be autofrettaged is loaded by rotating it about its longitudinal axis. The centrifugal forces cause the required plastic deformation in the cylinder. Hence, when the cylinder is unloaded by bringing it to rest, compressive hoop residual stresses are introduced in the vicinity of its inner wall. When long cylinders are rotated about their axes, the distribution of axial stress changes with length of the cylinder and affects the generation of the residual stresses in the autofrettaged cylinder. This effect is investigated here by a finite element method (FEM) analysis of rotational autofrettage of cylinder made up of A723 gun steel. The FEM analysis using ABAQUS® package reveals the presence of tensile axial residual stresses in the vicinity of the inner wall of the cylinder, which increase with length. The tensile residual stresses can be mitigated by constraining the ends of the cylinder during the rotational autofrettage.


Author(s):  
Dennis J. Buchanan ◽  
Reji John ◽  
Robert A. Brockman

Shot peening is a commonly used surface treatment process that imparts compressive residual stresses into the surface of metal components. Compressive residual stresses retard initiation and growth of fatigue cracks. During the component loading history, the shot-peened residual stresses may change due to thermal exposure, creep, and cyclic loading. This paper describes a methodical approach for characterizing and modeling residual stress relaxation under elevated temperature loading, near and above the monotonic yield strength of nickel-base superalloy IN100. The model incorporates the dominant creep deformation mechanism, coupling between the creep and plasticity models, and effects of prior plastic strain. The initial room temperature residual stress and plastic strain profiles provide the initial conditions for relaxation predictions using the coupled creep-plasticity model. Model predictions correlate well with experimental results on shot-peened dogbone specimens subject to single cycle and creep loading conditions at elevated temperature. The predictions accurately capture both the shape and magnitude of the retained residual stress profile.


1962 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-202
Author(s):  
A. E. Dapprich ◽  
Joseph Marin ◽  
Tu-Lung Weng

This paper develops a theory for the determination of the plastic pressure-deformation relation in a thick-walled cylindrical pressure vessel subjected to internal pressure and made of an anisotropic material. In this theory, large or finite strains are considered and a closed solution is found for the pressure-strain relation based on a modified log-log tensile stress-strain relation. Theory is also developed for predicting the maximum pressure which the vessel can withstand.


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