Analysis and Experiments on the Plastic Limit Load of Elbows under Combined Pressure and In-Plane Closing Bending Moment

This paper discusses the plastic limit load of elbows without defects and with local thinned area (LTA) in the extrados under combined pressure and in-plane closing bending moment. Finite element analysis (FEA) and experiments have been used. The results of FEA show that, for the elbows without defects, when the ratio of pressure to the limit pressure (P/PL) is smaller than 0.469, the limit moment of elbows increases with the increasing pressure; when the ratio (P/PL) is bigger than 0.469, the limit moment of elbow decreases with the increasing pressure. For the elbows with LTA, the FEA results show that with different LTA the variation of the limit load of elbows to the pressure is different. Perhaps, the limit moment of elbows always decreases with the increasing pressure. It is also likely that the limit moment of elbows increases with the increasing pressure and then decreases with the increasing pressure. The results of FEA are consistent with the experimental results. By fitting the results of PEA, the safety assessment figure for elbows under combined pressure and in-plane closing bending moment is drawn.