As a part of an ongoing activity to develop ASME Code rules for the hydrogen infrastructure, the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Committee approved new fracture control rules for Sec. VIII, Division 3 vessels in 2006. These rules have been incorporated into new Article KD-10 in Division 3. The new rules require determining fatigue-crack-growth rate and fracture resistance properties of materials in high pressure hydrogen gas. Test methods have been specified to measure these fracture properties, which are required to be used in establishing the vessel fatigue life. An example has been given to demonstrate the application of these new rules.

Issue Section:
Codes and Standards
Keywords:
boilers, fatigue cracks, fracture mechanics, pressure vessels, standards
Topics:
Design, Fracture (Materials), Fracture mechanics, Hydrogen, Vessels, High pressure (Physics), Fracture (Process), Pressure
1.
ASME Sec. VIII, Division 3 Code, 2004 Edition, “
Alternative Rules for Construction of High Pressure Vessels
,”
ASME
, New York.
2.
API RP 941, 2004 Edition, “
Steels for Hydrogen Service at Elevated Temperatures and Pressures in Petroleum Refineries and Petrochemical Plants
,”
American Petroleum Institute
, Washington, DC.
3.
ASTM E399, “
Standard Test Method for Linear-Elastic Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness KIC of Metallic Materials
,”
ASTM
, West Conshohocken, PA..
4.
ASTM E 1820, “
Standard Test Method for Measurement of Fracture Toughness
,”
ASTM
, West Conshohocken, PA.
5.
ASTM E 338, “
Standard Test Method of Sharp-Notch Tension Testing of High-Strength Sheet Materials
,”
ASTM
, West Conshohocken, PA.
6.
ASTM E 602, “
Standard Test Method for Sharp-Notch Tension Testing With Cylindrical Specimens
,”
ASTM
, West Conshohocken, PA.
7.
ASTM E 1681, “
Standard Test Method for Determining Threshold Stress Intensity Factor for Environment-Assisted Cracking of Metallic Materials
,”
ASTM
, West Conshohocken, PA.
8.
ASTM E 647, “
Standard Test Method for Measurement of Fatigue Crack Growth Rates
,”
ASTM
, West Conshohocken, PA.
9.
API RP-579, “First Edition 2000, “
Recommended Practice for Fitness-for-Service
,”
American Petroleum Institute
, Washington, DC.
10.
McIntyre
,
P.
, and
Pumphrey
,
P. H.
, 1988, private communication.
Copyright © 2008
 by American Society of Mechanical Engineers
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