Investigation Of Strength Characteristics For Lateral Connection Under Internal Pressure

Lateral connections are widely used in process, power, nuclear and other industries. The symmetry of the standard 90° nozzle will be broken by laterals, which causes much higher stress concentration than the standard nozzle. The juncture area becomes the weak area of the whole structure. Because of its complicated configuration, it is difficult to analyze its stress status completely and its strength endurance of the juncture area. A lot of experimental investigations on lateral insertions have been done by international experts and scholars. However, the studies on the lateral connections with large diameter rate (d/D>0.5) and low angle are seldom done. The specification and description in all countries standards and codes is lack or not detail. Therefore, it is invaluable for academe and factual engineering to make thoroughly the investigation on lateral connections.Herein the investigation on lateral vessels with different diameter rates and angles was made by means of resistance strain gauges and finite element models. The main work in this paper follows as,1. The burst experiments were made on the three (3) vessels which lateral connections are welded by emplacement with the different angles θ of 30°, 45° and 60° between the axis of laterals and the normal of shells respectively, and with the corresponding diameter rates (d/D) of 0.65, 0.47 and 0.32 respectively. Their stress distribution rules of the juncture area under internal pressure are found out. Their maximum stress values and locations are obtained; thereby their stress concentration factors are calculated. In addition, their limit loads and burst pressures and burst failure locations are got.2. The simulation analysis models same as the parameters of test vessels are set up by the three-dimension nonlinear finite element analysis software, and analyzed and compared with test data and results.The conclusions are obtained from the above studies as follows,1. The stress concentration is obviously located around the juncture area between...