Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Piping elbows represent an essential role in pipework systems. These structures are part of the plant
process in all industries. High safety standards in design are inherent to these projects due to complex
mechanical or thermal loading. When these accessories carry defects, project engineers should assess
their integrity in duty. This paper present a contribution in fracture mechanics applied to piping
systems. Stress intensity factors are determined along cracked surfaces in piping elbows subjected to
bending moment using a developed finite curved pipe element. This element is based in high order
polynomial and trigonometric functions for rigid beam displacement and Fourier series modelling the
transverse section warping or ovalization. Computational effort is saved with this element in the
evaluation of the stresses or strains. Numerical tests are performed for different standard pipe elbows
containing an axial or longitudinal crack. This study is compared with analyses reported by other
authors.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Fonseca, E.M.M.; Melo, F.J.M.Q. de ; Valente, R.A.F. (2006). Determination of stress intensity factors along cracked surfaces in piping elbows structures. In 10th Portuguese Conference on Fracture. Guimarães.