E. Capurro et al., FRACTURE-MECHANICS EVALUATION OF IN-SERVICE INSPECTION ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA, International journal of pressure vessels and piping, 63(1), 1995, pp. 17-24
The aim of this paper is to analyse and compare, in terms of their str
uctural integrity significance, the flaws acceptance/rejection criteri
a defined by in-service inspection (ISI) standards. The analysis is ma
de by evaluating, by means of fracture mechanics, the impact on struct
ural integrity induced by the presence of the maximum allowable flaws
defined by ISI acceptance rules. Two codes (ASME and RSEM), three comp
onents (vessel, pressurizer and piping) and three different operating
conditions (A+B,C,D) were selected for analysis. In performing the com
parison between ASME and RSEM, some general considerations are outline
d.