THE RESULTS OF A ROUND-ROBIN EXERCISE ON PRESSURE-VESSEL DEFECT ASSESSMENT

A full scale fatigue test on a 3·66-m diameter, 25-mm wall thickness, 11·38-m-long pressure vessel containing defective welds has been carried out by British Gas. The prime intention of the test was to demonstrate the ability, or otherwise, of a grossly defective pressure vessel to withstand large cyclic and static loads. However, the test also provided a good vehicle for evaluating defect assessment methods. The Department of Trade and Industry awarded British Gas a grant under the Department's Support for Innovation for the above pressure vessel test. This grant was used to organise a 'round-robin' exercise in which five organisations conducted fatigue assessments on defects in the vessel. This round-robin and a report on the vessel test, are presented in this paper. The major conclusion of the 'round-robin' exercise was that the analysis of pressure vessel defects requires a high degree of skill and judgement and there is a need for a documented, generally accepted, pressure vessel defect assessment procedure. © 1990.