Sustainable development of pressure equipment using 3D Digital Image Correlation method

Abstract

As pressure equipment is most commonly used in various industrial fields, making manufacturing processes eco-friendlier (e.g., mass reduction of the final product, material and energy savings, etc.) and transitioning to sustainable production by developing eco-innovative products will have a positive effect on the environment. The aim of this paper is to analyze globe valve housing exposed to internal pressure using full-field experimental 3D digital image correlation (3D-DIC) method and numerical strain and stress data in order to propose improvements for more sustainable development, with respect to practical engineering application of EN standards. The highest von Mises strain values around 0.03% were measured on the point of highest geometrical discontinuity, sphere/cylinder intersection. Stresses of the examined globe valve using numerical and theoretical approach are significantly below material yield limit and allowable stress for internal pressure values of 30 bar, that is significantly higher than nominal operating pressure of 6 bar, proving that structure is over-dimensioned and can be optimized. New experimental procedure development and application in full-field strain analysis contributes to increased valve housing reliability, mass reduction and material and energy savings during manufacturing which directly affects its eco-friendliness, lowers manufacturing price and increases market competitiveness.