Plastic collapse analysis in multiaxially loaded defective pipe specimens at different temperatures

A comprehensive numerical investigation is carried out using a newly developed constitutive model to describe failure at low temperatures in multiaxially loaded cracked pipes made of 316L stainless steel. The kinetic phase transformation and the temperature-dependent fracture criterion are implemented to accurately capture the mechanical response at different temperature levels. Although experimental observations of these simulations were not available, their results were quite consistent with some already published results obtained on similar materials and loading conditions at room temperature. The results indicate that the existing multiaxial plastic collapse failure criterion, including shearing, still provides a fail-safe design margin for low temperature loading conditions, including internal pressure. Moreover, martensite kinetic phase transformation plays an important role, especially during straining at low temperatures.