Net-Section Limit Pressure and Engineering J Estimates for Axial Part-Through Surface Cracked Pipes

Abstract

This paper provides net-section limit pressures and a reference stress based J estimation method for pipes with internal axial surface cracks under internal pressure. Based on systematic small strain FE limit analyses using elastic-perfectly plastic materials, closed-form approximations of net-section limit pressures are presented. Then, based on proposed net-section limit moments, a method to estimate elastic-plastic J is proposed based on the reference stress approach. Comparison with extensive FE results shows overall good agreement.