Jh. Underwood et al., YIELD-BEFORE-BREAK FRACTURE-MECHANICS ANALYSIS OF HIGH-STRENGTH STEELPRESSURE-VESSELS, Journal of pressure vessel technology, 117(1), 1995, pp. 79-84
Case study examples of fracture mechanics testing and analysis of Ni-C
r-Mo high-strength steel cannon tubes are presented. The testing and a
nalysis include the situation of significant plastic deformation accom
panying fracture, which often occurs when high pressure is applied to
high-toughness steel pressure vessels. The analysis is based on a comp
arison of the size of the Irwin crack-tip plastic zone with the remain
ing ligament of the tube in the area of the critical fatigue crack whi
ch causes final failure. The results of the study show that the type o
f final failure can be predicted-as either a relatively safe, yield-be
fore-break failure or a less safe running-crack type of failure-for a
variety of material, configuration, and loading conditions.