NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF STRESS CONCENTRATION FACTOR AT IRREGULAR CORROSION PIT UNDER TENSION-TORSION LOADING

Finite element analysis is adopted to study the stress concentration of pit area under tension-torsion loading. The stress concentration factors under regular evolution and irregular evolution of pits are investigated by conducting a series of three-dimensional semi-elliptical pitted models. Based on the finite element analysis, it can be concluded that pit aspect ratio (a/2c) is a significant parameter affecting stress concentration factor (SCF) for regular evolution pits. Pits, having higher aspect ratio, are very dangerous form and can cause significant reduction in the load carrying capacity. When local dissolution occurs in the pitting area, SCF will have a sharp increase, it is more probable for a crack to initiate from these areas compared with pits for regular evolution. Furthermore, local dissolution coefficient is proposed to study effect of local dissolution within the pit on SCF.