Residual stress effects in containment analysis.

The manufacturing of steel containment vessels starts with the forming of flat plates into curved plates. A steel containment structure is made by welding individual plates together to form the sections that make up the complex shaped vessels. The metal forming and welding process leaves residual stresses in the vessel walls. Generally, the effect of metal forming residual stresses can be reduced or virtually eliminated by thermally stress relieving the vessel. In large containment vessels this may not be practical and thus, the residual stresses due to manufacturing may become important. The residual stresses could possibly affect the response of the vessel to internal pressurization. When the level of residual stresses is significant it will affect the vessel's response, for instance the yielding pressure and possibly the failure pressure. This paper will address the effect of metal forming residual stresses on the response of a generic pressure vessel to internal pressurization. A scoping analysis investigated the effect of residual forming stresses on the response of an internally pressurized vessel. A simple model was developed to gain understanding of the mechanics of the problem. Residual stresses due to the welding process were not considered in this investigation