Integral Mean of Yield Concept Applied to Thermal Hot Spots: Validation of a Level 2 Damage Assessment Method

Abstract

The overall framework for a Level 2 assessment of local thermal hot spot in pressure vessels was first developed by Seshadri [1]. The assessment procedure invokes the concept of integral mean of yield and the concept on a reference volume to determine the reduction of load capacity caused by hot spot damage. This paper investigates the accuracy of this assessment by comparing the results of the Level 2 assessment with a Level 3 assessment (inelastic finite element analysis). Three examples with varying pressure component and hot spot sizes are considered. The comparison yielded a low variance between the Level 2 and Level 3 assessments with the Level 2 assessment being more conservative.