The Combined Stress Intensity Factors of Multiple Longitudinally Coplanar Cracks in Autofrettaged Pressurized Tubes Influenced by the Bauschinger Effect

Abstract

The influence of the Bauschinger effect (BE) on the three dimensional, Mode I, combined stress intensity factor (SIF) distributions for arrays of longitudinal coplanar, surface cracks emanating from the bore of a fully or partially autofrettaged thick-walled cylinder is investigated. The combined SIFs, KIN, that depend on pressure effects and the “realistic”—Bauschinger effect dependent Autofrettage (BEDA), or, that depend on pressure effects and the “ideal”—Bauschinger effect independent autofrettage (BEIA), are obtained and compared for crack depth to wall thickness, a∕t=0.01–0.25; crack ellipticity, a∕c=0.5–1.5; crack spacing ratio, 2c∕d=0.25–0.75; and autofrettage level, e=30%, 60%, and 100%. The 3D analysis is performed via the finite element method and the submodeling technique, employing singular elements along the crack front. Both autofrettage residual stress fields, BEDA and BEIA, are simulated using an equivalent temperature field. The combined SIF, KIN, is found to vary along the crack front with the maximum determined by the crack ellipticity, crack depth, and crack spacing ratio. For a partially autofrettaged cylinder, the influence of the BE on the combined SIF, KIN, is substantially reduced as the level of overstrain becomes smaller. For some cases, when comparing like crack distributions, the KIN values obtained from the BEDA model are found to be as much as 100% higher than the KIN values that are computed using the BEIA model. A pressurized thick-walled cylinder with BEDA can be most critical when small cracks are farther apart. As crack depth increases, or when the spacing between cracks is smaller, the SIFs increase. Though the differences in the BEDA SIF, KIA, between e=100% and 60% are small (7–15%, in most cases), the increased level of autofrettage produces a 23–30% decrease in the combined SIF values, KIN. In certain cases, the BEIA model implies an infinite fatigue life, whereas the BEDA model for the same parameters implies a finite life. Therefore, it is important to perform a full 3D analysis to determine the real life cycle of the pressurized cylinder for materials that exhibit the BE.