STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY ASSESSMENT OFFERS TANGIBLE BENEFITS

摘要

Many structures and components subject to service conditions contain defects which can lead to catastrophic failures. For example, take the case of the Liberty ships, cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. They were mass-produced using novel welding techniques rather than the more traditional riveting process (welding rather than riveting enabled much faster fabrication times and in total eighteen American shipyards built some 2,751 Liberties between 1941 and 1945). During the second world war, brittle fractures occurred due to the presence of crack-like flaws growing from poorly designed welds in low toughness material. A total of 19 ships broke in half during active service and one, the SS Schenectady, failed after just a So single day in service.