Design of Pressure Vessels for Low-Cycle Fatigue

Abstract

Methods are described for constructing a fatigue curve based on strain-fatigue data for use in pressure vessel design. When this curve is used, the same fatigue strength-reduction factor should be used for low-cycle as for high-cycle conditions. When evaluating the effects of combined mean and alternating stress, the fatigue strength-reduction factor should be applied to both the mean and the alternating component, but then account must be taken of the reduction in mean stress which can be produced by yielding. The complete fatigue evaluation of a pressure vessel can be a major task for the designer, but it can be omitted, or at least drastically reduced, if certain requirements can be met regarding design details, inspection, and magnitude of transients. Although the emphasis in this paper is on pressure vessel design, the same principles could be applied to any structure made of ductile metal and subjected to limited numbers of load cycles.