Experimental research on mechanical properties of 5083 aluminum alloy for fitness-for-service assessment of cryogenic pressure vessel after fire exposure

The fitness-for-service (FFS) is the concept to judge whether an equipment is suitable to contribute to service safety or not, under the situation of that the equipment is suspected to have been deteriorated by aging or unexpected incident during its service period, such as accidental fire. The evaluation technical of FFS assessment for pressure vessels with fire damage was considered to be on basis of the material deterioration and performance degradation associated with the known and unknown fire exposure conditions. Therefore, the present research was conducted on the influences of fire exposure testing under different thermal conditions on the mechanical performance evolution of 5083 aluminum alloy for cryogenic pressure vessel. The quantitative degradation of mechanical properties was investigated. The material thermal degradation mechanism and fitness-for-service assessment process of fire damage was further discussed.