Finite element analysis (FEA) in the structural integrity and fitness-for-service assessments is often used by engineers and designers as a tool to provide more realistic evaluation of the stresses and deformations than would be obtained by simplified geometry/loading/material behavior. The FEA itself is typically based on a validated computational code, yet it involves several assumptions and options, such as the element size and meshing, constitutive model, etc. Also, various required engineering inputs have associated uncertainties. As such, there exists some uncertainty in the FEA calculated results. Since this type of FEA is used with more realistic inputs the impact of uncertainty becomes more significant consideration in assessing the resulting safety margin. At the same time, doing a Monte Carlo analysis with FEA model can be quite expensive as an option in this assessment of uncertainty and/or related sensitivity insights. Therefore, a simplified approach would be useful while benefiting from the FEA model. This is explored in the current paper with a limited parametric evaluation in the case of a swage type nozzle analysis to assess the uncertainty due to various inputs as well as some key assumptions/options of the finite element model used in this work. Significance of the results and limitations of the approach are discussed in addressing uncertainty considerations in applying the FEA for realistic margins in engineering applications.


Simplified Analysis for Uncertainty Quantification in Fea for a Realistic Engineering Assessment

Division / Sponsors: 
Pressure Vessels & Piping (PVP)


Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/PVP/PVP2020/volume/83815

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