Evaluation of Alternate Interpretations Regarding the Conditions for Exclusion of Thermal Bending Stresses in Simplified Elastic-Plastic Stress Analyses

The ASME Code permits the range of primary plus secondary stress to exceed the stress limit of 3S_m, provided that several key conditions are satisfied. These conditions are provided in Paragraph NB-3228.5, “Simplified Elastic-Plastic Analysis”. The first condition is that the range of primary plus secondary stress intensity, excluding thermal bending stresses, shall be less than 3S_m. The term “thermal bending” is not clearly defined in the Code and at least two Code Interpretations have been issued with differing viewpoints. The first interpretation is that only those stresses due to the radial through-wall temperature distribution may be excluded; the second is that all thermal bending stresses, including thermal discontinuity stresses, may be excluded. In order to investigate the suitability of these two interpretations, elastic-plastic analyses are conducted of a highly restrained sample geometry. First, the sample problem is evaluated using the ASME Code rules for simplified elastic-plastic analysis for thermal ratcheting and fatigue, as required by NB-3228.5. Subsequently, cyclic elastic-plastic finite element analyses are conducted to determine if the simplified analysis rules provide adequate protection with regard to thermal ratcheting and fatigue. These analyses are performed using both interpretations to determine if adequate designs can be achieved for the sample problem selected.