Shakedown Boundary of a 90–Degree Back–to–Back Pipe Bend Subjected to Steady Internal Pressures and Cyclic Out–of–Plane Bending Moments
Ninety degree back–to–back pipe bends are extensively utilized within piping networks of modern nuclear submarines and modern turbofan aero–engines where space limitation is considered a supreme concern. According the author’s knowledge, no shakedown analysis exists for such structure based on experimental data. In the current research, the pipe bend setup analyzed is subjected to a spectrum of steady internal pressures and cyclic out–of–plane bending moments. A previously developed direct non–cyclic simplified technique, for determining elastic shakedown limit loads, is utilized to generate the elastic shakedown boundary of the analyzed structure. Comparison with the elastic shakedown boundary of the same structure, but subjected to cyclic in–plane bending moments revealed a higher shakedown boundary for the out–of–plane bending loading configuration with a maximum bending moment ratio of 1.4 within the low steady internal pressure spectrum. The ratio decreases towards the medium to high internal pressure spectrum. The simplified technique outcomes showed excellent correlation with the results of full elastic–plastic cyclic loading finite element simulations.