Discussion on Plastic Collapse Criterion at High Temperatures in FFS Assessment Rules

There are several Fitness-For-Service (FFS) standards with evaluation rules in terms of plastic collapse for a pressure vessel or piping component possessing a local metal loss area simultaneously subjected to internal pressure and bending moment. The authors have already reported the results of a comparative study of FFS rules, including the remaining strength factor (RSF) approach in Part 5 of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 and the p-M diagram method, which pointed out that there could be significant differences in allowable flaw sizes. This paper describes an additional comparative study on the difference of allowable flaw size for local metal loss assessment between the RSF approach in Part 5 of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 and the p-M diagram method, focusing on the effect of decreasing yield strength of the material at high temperatures, such as 350 degrees C. The allowable flaw depth at high temperatures derived from API579-1/ASME FFS-1 is larger than that derived by means of the p-M diagram method. However, it is verified by the finite element analysis that the allowable flaw size of the p-M diagram method is set on the stress state of general yielding near a local metal loss area if safety factor is not considered and it is possible to evade ratcheting due to cyclic bending moment in service, such as that caused by earthquake, etc.