White Paper Autofrettage
What is meant by autofrettage and what
happens inside the component?
Autofrettage is a process that creates an internal
After relieving the autofrettage pressure from the
stress in a component, similar to the shot blasting.
component, the elastically formed areas try to
Autofrettage is used in most cases for the inner
return to their original state while the plastically
pressure active components without (tubes) and
formed areas prevent this process. Therefore
with cross borings (rails).
internal stresses are created in a huge part of the
wall thickness which tries to work against the
When
component
is
pressurized
by
an
stresses that arise from normal working pressure.
autofrettage pressure, which is much higher than
the working pressure and is dependent on the
Under working pressure the stresses inside the
material used, hardness, and the geometry of the
component do not move between 0 and a maximal
component, the inner boring will be formed
value any more, but start in the pressure area
plastically and the deeper areas of the component
below 0 and end at a much lower maximal value.
wall will be formed elastically.
Pressure Time Table
with
Tube
(pressurized)
without
Stress Table
without
max. stress without Autofrettage
max. stress with Autofrettage
with
Picture 1
MAXIMATOR Test, LLC + 1350 Tri State Packway, Suite 130 + Gurnee, IL 60031 + p 847.855.2700 + e [email protected]
As you can see from picture 1, the resulting
If autofrettaged after bending, the internal
working loads (e. g. in the pipe) can be reduced
stresses of autofrettage will overlie or neutralize
considerably.
the
internal
stresses
and
the
effects
of
autofrettage will be lost.
A working pressure which would have led to a
failure of the component prior to autofrettage can
If you have components with cross cutting there
now be used endlessly at least for a
will be an additional effect: On those areas
considerably longer time without failure. This
around
can lead the design engineer to look for cost
concentration.
the
drill
hole
there
is
stress
saving strategies (i.e. material selection, material
Therefore these are the weak sections inside a
reduction etc.).
component. Cracks in this part are very often the
If you want to use the same positive effects of
reason for failure. If you have high dynamic
autofrettage for bent pipes, the autofrettage has
working pressures even the autofrettage cannot
to be done after the bending.
prevent a crack in these cross cuttings.
Stressloads after autofrettage which
are acting against each other
Picture 2: Simplified view of stress loads after autofrettage
MAXIMATOR Test, LLC + 1350 Tri State Packway, Suite 130 + Gurnee, IL 60031 + p 847.855.2700 + e [email protected]
The crack will just grow up to a certain length
As the pressures of autofrettage are calculated in
and will then be stopped by the pressure internal
that way that a huge part of the wall thickness is
stresses that are inside the wall, picture 3.
plastic, the pressure does not have to be
reached with absolute exactness.
The internal stresses press the crack together.
To receive the requested internal stresses by an
Which deviations are acceptable and which not,
autofrettage, the pressure of the autofrettage just
depends on every single case. The autofrettage
has to be held a short time.
of a component in more than just one case
should be avoided.
A longer time does not increase the internal
stresses inside the component, but leads to a
strong widening of the inner boring.
Crack
Stress loads which were influenced during
autofrettage are pressing the crack
together. The crack doesn`t grow anymore
Picture 3: Stress load prevents crack propagation
MAXIMATOR Test, LLC + 1350 Tri State Packway, Suite 130 + Gurnee, IL 60031 + p 847.855.2700 + e [email protected]
Summarization
What are the advantages?
The following effects can be received by
autofrettage:
The following improvements can be achieved:
The working pressure stays the same - the
The working pressure that could be held by
the autofrettaged components without failure,
increases. (with pipes up to 1.8 times higher,
with components with cross boring up to 2.5
wall thickness can be reduced.
The working pressure stays the same -
cheaper material can be used.
In general there is the possibility to increase
the working pressure.
times higher)
The finishing of borings and surfaces can be
The spreading of the achievable pressure
changing numbers in the time solidity area of
the Whler line decreases. That means the
fracture pressure changing numbers on the
eliminated eventually.
The life time of a component can be
increased at a corresponding working
pressure.
pressure horizon, where the autofrettage
components fail, come next to each other.
The spreading is the proportion of the
pressure changing numbers N90% (90% of
all parts survive) to N10% (10% of all parts
survive). Non-autofrettage parts have in
general a spreading of T=1,3. Autofrettage
components had in tests a spreading of
T<=1,1.
The notch sensitivity decreases strongly.
For further information please consult
www.maximator-test.com
MAXIMATOR Test, LLC + 1350 Tri State Packway, Suite 130 + Gurnee, IL 60031 + p 847.855.2700 + e [email protected]
