An experimental study of the failure strength of flawed steel plates

The results of tensile tests on flawed wide steel plates are reported. The plates were, in general, 7 ft wide and 4 ft long, and flaws of 12 to 36 in, in length were investigated. Detailed consideration of the failure stress results revealed a number of features which did not appear consistent with other work. An experimental stress analysis on one specimen showed that these inconsistencies were due to the distribution of the applied load along the specimen. When the load was distributed uniformally across the specimen the results agreed very closely with the results of similar tests carried out on 5 ft dia. vessels. The work has been done in view to assess the influence of flaws on the strength of reactor pressure vessels.