Low-Cycle Fatigue Behavior of Internally Pressurized Boxes

Abstract

One phase of a continuing study of the low-cycle fatigue behavior of metals for deep submergence structural applications involves the validity of simple specimen results when applied to complex structures. As a part of this study, the low-cycle fatigue performance of twelve internally pressurized boxes was investigated. The boxes were constructed from 1-in-thick plate of six materials consisting of three steels, one aluminum alloy, and two titanium alloys. The boxes were cyclically pressurized at peak nominal stresses up to about 80 percent of the yield strength of the base metal. The results are compared with data previously obtained for simple laboratory specimens. The results of the box tests tend to confirm two general conclusions reached previously from simple specimen tests, that is: (1) Increases in low-cycle fatigue strength for a given life are not commensurate with increases in yield strength, and (2) low-cycle fatigue life is closely related to total strain range and appears to be independent of both structural metal and strength level in the life range of 1000 to 30,000 cycles.