Effect of Local Wall Thinning on Low-Cycle Fatigue Behaviors of Elbow With Internal Pressure: Estimation of Fatigue Life Based on Revised Universal Slope Method

Low-cycle fatigue tests and finite element analysis were conducted using 100A elbow specimens made of STPT410 with local wall thinning in order to investigate the influences of local wall thinning on the low-cycle fatigue behaviors of elbows with internal pressure. Local wall thinning was machined on the inside of the elbow in order to simulate metal loss by flow-accelerated corrosion. The local wall thinning located in three different areas, called extrados, crown and intrados. Eroded ratio (eroded depth/wall thickness) was 0.5 and 0.8. The elbow specimens were subjected to cyclic in-plane bending under displacement control with internal pressure of 0 or 9 MPa. Fatigue failure was classified into two types. The one is the type of fatigue crack initiation and another is the type of crack initiation after local buckling. In the type of fatigue crack initiation, fatigue crack initiated at crown and propagates to the axial direction. In the type of crack initiation after local buckling, at first local buckling occurs and secondary, crack initiates at the same place and propagates to the circumferential direction. The low-cycle fatigue lives of elbows were predicted conservatively by the revised universal slope method.