Fracture analysis of a pressure vessel rejected after inservice inspection

As part of a research project aimed to validate fracture analysis methods as used for structures containing defects, a pressure vessel has been tested by pressurizing it till failure. The vessel (heat exchanger) was made available by DSM and was taken out of operation after defects had been found in the transition between the cylinder wall and the tube sheet of the vessel. Three different fracture analysis methods have been applied to predict the failure pressure of this vessel, viz. section XI of the ASME code, British Standards PD-6493 (1980) and CEGB R6-revision 3 (1986). To show the influence of the available information on the predicted critical load, 3 information levels have been defined varying from minimal to maximal information. The main difference between these levels involves the extent and the accuracy of the information necessary for the failure analysis. (author).3 refs.; 6 figs