Limit loads for cracked piping branch junctions under pressure and branch out-of-plane bending

Results are presented from a study on the influence of through-wall cracks on the limit loads of piping branch junctions. The junctions have branch/ru n pipe diameter ratio equal to 0.5 and the loads are internal pressure and out-of-plane branch bending. From the results, two simple formulae have bee n presented from which the influence of crack length on the limit loads can be assessed. Data is also presented from a study of the limit loads under combined pressure and branch moment loading from which it is shown that cir cular interaction is relevant for components with small cracks but that the behaviour tends towards linear interaction as the crack length increases. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.