Failure of a high strength low alloy steel pressure chamber

✍ Scribed by V.M.J. Sharma; G. Venkatanarayana; V. Diwakar; S. Arumugham; T.S. Lakshmanan

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 567 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1350-6307
• DOI: 10.1016/s1350-6307(97)00030-7

✦ Synopsis

The premature failure of a high strength low alloy steel (HSLA) pressure chamber has been analysed using standard metallographic and failure analysis techniques. The chamber used in the upper stage of a satellite launch vehicle had a premature failure during routine proof pressure testing. The failure occurred in the welded portion at an internal pressure of 110 bar against a design proof pressure of 165 bar. Investigations revealed welding defects as the origin of failure. The welding defect had grown into a semi-elliptical surface crack during the fabrication process of the pressure chamber, resulting not only in a localised reduction of the wall thickness of the chamber, but also acting as a stress raiser, due to which the chamber had failed at a pressure much below its design level.