Numerical evaluation of stress intensity factor for vessel and pipe subjected to thermal shock

Abstract

The thermal weight function method and the finite element method were employed in the numerical computation of the stress intensity factor for a cracked vessel and the cracked pipe subjected to thermal shock. In the weight function technique, the necessary information on the fundamental loading was computed from the finite element analysis. The shape function used for the calculation of the fundamental loading was incorporated into the numerical evaluation of the stress intensity factor in the weight function technique. The stress intensity factor was also computed by the finite element method for the methodological comparison with the weight function method. A wall subjected to thermal shock was analyzed, and it has been shown that the effect of thermal shock on the stress intensity factor is dominant for the crack with small crack length to thickness ratio. Convection at the crack face had an influence on the stress intensity factor in the early stage of thermal shock.