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Introduction to Stress Linearization

February 24, 2016 by Cyprien 1 Comment

In the nite element method, when structural elements are used in an analysis, the total
stress distribution is obtained. Therefore, to produce membrane and bending stresses,
the total stress distribution shall be linearized on a stress component basis and used to
calculate the equivalent stresses.

If shell elements (shell theory) are used, then the membrane and bending stresses shall
be obtained directly from shell stress resultants.

Membrane and bending stresses are developed on cross sections through the thickness
of a component. These sections are called stress classi cation planes (SCPs). In a planar
geometry, a Stress Classi cation Line (SCL) is obtained by reducing two opposite sides of
a SCP to an in nitesimal length.

SCPs are at planes that cut through a section of a component and SCLs are straight lines
that cut through a section of a component. SCLs are surfaces when viewed in an
axisymmetric or planar geometry.

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Understanding stress linearization

Stress linearization is the separation of stresses through a section into constant
membrane and linear bending stresses. To linearize stresses, the following procedure is
used:

You de ne a section through your model. You specify the endpoints of the section
by selecting nodes in the model, coordinates in space, or a saved path.
Your EA software de nes the stress line by interpolating between the two
endpoints to obtain a user-speci ed number of equal intervals along a straight line.
You can save the stress line as a path; the saved path includes the endpoints and
each interval point along the stress line.
The speci ed stress results are obtained at equally spaced intervals along the line in
a local coordinate system de ned by the line.
Your FEA Softwareperforms stress linearization calculations and displays the
results in the form of anXYplot. You can choose to save the data and/or to write it
to a le.

If you linearize stresses across multiple part instances, the results will be averaged for
any points that exist in more than one part instance.

Stress Integration Methods

The following three approaches are provided for linearization of nite element results.

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(1) Stress Integration MethodThis method can be used to linearize stress results from
continuum nite element models [Ref. WRC-429].

(2) Structural Stress Method Based on Nodal ForcesThis method is based on processing
of nodal forces, and has been shown to be mesh insensitive and correlate well with
welded fatigue data [Ref. WRC-474].

(3)Structural Stress Method Based on Stress IntegrationThis method utilizes the Stress
Integration Method, but restricts the set of elements that contribute to the line of nodes
being processed.

*The Structural Stress Method based on Stress Integration is recommended unless

another method can be shown to produce a more accurate assessment for the given
component and loading condition. This method matches the Structural Stress Method
Based on Nodal Forces, which is insensitive to mesh re nement. In addition, this method
can be performed with post-processing tools typically provided by commercial nite
element analysis software.

SELECTION OF STRESS CLASSIFICATION LINES

Pressure vessels usually contain structural discontinuity regions where abrupt changes
in geometry, material or

loading occur. These regions are typically the locations of highest stress in a component.
For the evaluation of failure modes of plastic collapse and ratcheting, Stress Classi cation
Lines (SCLs) are typically located at gross structural discontinuities. For the evaluation of
local failure and fatigue, SCLs are typically located at local structural discontinuities.

For SCLs that span a material discontinuity (e.g. base metal with cladding), the SCL should
include all materials and associated loadings. If one of the materials, such as cladding, is
neglected for strength calculations, then only the base metal thickness should be used to
calculate the membrane and bending stresses from the linearized forces and moments
across the full section for the evaluation of plastic collapse.

To most accurately determine the linearized membrane and bending stresses for
comparison to elastic stress limits, the following guidelines should be followed. These
guidelines can be used as a qualitative means to evaluate the applicability of different
SCLs. Failure to comply with any of these criteria may not produce valid membrane
and/or bending stresses. Application of the limit load or elastic-plastic analysis methods in
Part 5 is recommended for cases where elastic stress analysis and stress linearization
may produce ambiguous results.

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*SCLs should be oriented normal to contour lines of the stress component of highest
magnitude. However, as this may be dif cult to implement, similar accuracy can be
obtained by orienting the SCL normal to the mid-surface of the cross section. SCL
orientation guidelines are shown in Figure 5-A.3.

Here is a video tutorial about stress linearization:

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For more details and background on this method, you should check this reference paper
by Hollinger et al The ASME Code and 3D Stress Evaluation

Hope this is useful !

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FEA Basics - Stress Linearization explained simply - FEA for All says:
December 4, 2016 at 3:47 am
[] Introduction to Stress Linearization []

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