Analysis of simple creep stress calculation methods for creep life assessment

Creep analysis takes much more time than elastic or elastic-plastic analysis. In this study, we conducted elastic and elastic-plastic analysis and compared the results with creep analysis results. In the elastic analysis, we used primary stress, which can be classified by the Mα-Tangent method and stress intensities recommended in the ASME code. In the elastic-plastic analysis, we calculated the parameters recommended in the R5 code. For the FE models, a bending load, uniaxial load, and biaxial load were applied to the cross shaped welded plate, and a bending load and internal pressure were applied to the elbow pipe. To investigate the element size sensitivity, we conducted FE analysis for various element sizes for the cases where bending load was applied to the cross shaped welded plate. There was no significant difference between the creep stress and the alternative methods; however, in the Mα-Tangent method, the results were affected by the element size.