Evaluation of limit load analysis for pressure vessels - Part II: Robust methods

Determining limit load for a pressure bearing structure using elastic-plastic finite element analysis was computationally very expensive. A series of robust methods using elastic modulus adjustment techniques (EMAP) to identify the limit load directly were proposed. The numerical implementation of the robust method had the potential to be an attractive alternative to elastic-plastic finite element analysis since it was simple, and required less computational effort and computer storage space. Another attractive feature was that the method provided a go/no go criterion for the limit load, whereas the results of an elastic-plastic analysis were often difficult to interpret near the limit load since it came from human sources. To explore the performance of the method further, it was applied to a number of configurations that include two-dimensional and threedimensional effects. In this study, limit load of cylinder with nozzle was determined by the robust methods.