Verification of a Finite Element Analysis Procedure for Modeling the Nonlinear, Monotonic In-Plane Behavior of 4 Inch, Schedule 10, Stainless Steel, 90° Elbows

A project has been conducted to verify a finite element analysis procedure for studying the nonlinear behavior of 90°, stainless steel, 4 inch schedule 10, butt welding elbows. Two displacement controlled monotonic in-plane tests were conducted, one closing and one opening, and the loads, displacements, and strains at several locations were recorded. Stacked 90° tee rosette gages were used in both tests because of their ability to measure strain over a small area. ANSYS shell element 181 was used in the FEA reconciliations. The FEA models incorporated detailed geometric measurements of the specimens, including the welds, and material stress-strain data obtained from the attached straight piping. Initially, a mesh consisting of sixteen elements arrayed in 8 rings was used to analyze the elbow. The load-displacement correlation was quite good using this mesh, but the strain reconciliation was not. Analysis of the FEA results indicated that the axial and hoop strain gradients across the mid-section of the elbow were very high. In order to generate better strain correlations, the elbow mesh was refined in the mid-section of the elbow to include 48 elements per ring and an additional six rings, effectively increasing the element density by nine times. Using the refined mesh produced much better correlations with the strain data.