The J-integral fracture methodology was applied to evaluate the stability of postulated flaws in mild steel storage tanks. The material properties and the J-resistance JR curve were obtained from the archival A285 Grade B carbon steel test data. The J-integral calculation was based on the center-cracked panel (CCP) solution of Shih and Hutchinson (1976, ASME J. Eng. Mater. Technol. 98, pp. 289–295). A curvature correction was applied to account for the cylindrical shell configuration. A finite element analysis of an arbitrary flaw in the storage tank demonstrated that the curvature-corrected CCP solution is a close approximation. The maximum storage tank fluid level for a postulated flaw size can be established based on the J-integral flaw stability methodology. [S0094-9930(00)00502-3]

Issue Section:
Technical Papers
Keywords:
carbon steel, fracture mechanics, petroleum industry, nuclear engineering, cracks, flaw detection, stability
Topics:
Fracture (Materials), Stability, Storage tanks, Steel, Finite element analysis, Stress, Carbon steel, Fluids
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