Failure bending stresses for small diameter thick-wall pipes

Yamaguchi, Yoshihito ; Hasegawa, Kunio; Li, Y. ; Lacroix, V.*

Four-point bending tests without internal pressure were performed for Type 304 stainless steel pipes with circumferential flaws at room temperature. The specimens are 1-inch diameter (33.7 mm) Schedule 160 pipes (6.3 mm wall thickness). The flaws were part-through flaws located at the pipe external side. The flaw angles are from 120 to 240, and the flaw depths are two cases of 50% and 75% of the wall thickness. Plastic collapse stresses obtained from experiments were compared with those calculated using Limit Load Criteria from Appendix C of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Code Section XI. Limit Load Criteria were developed using flow stress at flawed section of the pipe. The plastic collapse stress test results were larger than those of the calculation results. For flaws with flaw depths less than 50% of the wall thickness, the experimental stresses were significantly large. The Limit Load Criteria given by Section XI provide conservative collapse stresses and could be improved.