Creep fatigue life assessment of hydrogenation reactor manufactured of 2.25Cr-1Mo steel using the linear matching method framework

This paper presents a creep-fatigue life assessment of a typical hydrogenation reactor made of 2.25Cr-1Mo steel and subjected to inner pressure and thermal gradient using the Linear Matching Method (LMM) framework. The LMM framework has been implemented as a plug-in with a graphic user interface within the commercial finite element software ABAQUS for improved usability and accuracy. The study is performed with the latest developed extended Direct Steady Cycle Analysis (eDSCA) module for creep-fatigue interaction assessment. The design operating condition is determined by the shakedown analysis using corresponding modules in the LMM framework. The creep-fatigue analysis is then conducted using the Ramberg-Osgood (R-O) model considering temperature-dependent stress-strain relationship for cyclic steady-state plastic behaviour and non-isothermal Norton-Bailey model for creep strain evaluation. Damage assessment considers time fraction rule for creep damage evaluation, ε-N curve and total strain range for fatigue damage evaluation, and bi-linear damage rule for total creep-fatigue damage evaluation. The influence of dwell time and internal pressure on the number of cycles to failure has been studied. Based on that, a series of analytic functions have been formulated for practical use in the petrochemical industry.