Finite Element Analysis of Plastic Collapse and Crack Behavior of Steel Pressure Vessels and Piping Using XFEM

摘要

This article aims to study the plastic collapse and crack behavior of steel pressure vessels and piping using the extended finite element method (XFEM). First, the plastic collapse loads of steel cylinders under the internal pressure are predicted, and the numerical results are compared with experimental data. In addition, the computational efficiency and accuracy using different methods including the XFEM, nonlinear stabilization algorithm, and arc-length algorithm are compared. Particularly, effects of different initial crack configurations, element sizes, damage initiation, and evolution criteria on the crack behaviors are investigated. Second, the crack initiation and propagation properties of buried pipelines due to deflection in the landslide area are explored, and the numerical results are compared between testing data and current study. Besides, the effects of internal pressure, wall thickness, soil property, and width of landslide area on the critical deflection displacement of buried pipeline are studied. This research provides a fundamental support for safety evaluation and life prediction of pressurized structures.