12/8/2014 Understanding the basics of autofrettage

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Understanding the basics of autofrettage
Machine Design
Kenneth Korane
Kenneth J. Korane
Tue, 2011-04-05 23:18
Autofrettage lets engineers reduce tubing thickness in high-pressure applications without sacrificing
strength, life, or safety.
Authored by:
Vieri Wanke
Genova, Italy
Edited by Kenneth J. Korane
ken.korane@penton.com
Key points:
Autofrettage compresses a containers inner surface, making better use of the materials structural
properties.
The process can reduce fatigue concerns in pulsating applications.
Resources:
Dr. Wanke is a retired engineer and engineering professor experienced with high-pressure machines
operating to 60,000 psi. He has a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Genoa.
Contact the author at bukovac@virgilio.it
Here are some links to companies experienced in autofrettage processes and machines:
Interlaken Technology Corp.
Maximator GmbH
Poppe + Potthoff
Autofrettage is a little-known metalworking process that typically applies only to components subject
to pressures above 15,000 psi pulsating at frequencies above 5 Hz. Common examples include cannon
and gun barrels, liners and jackets for high-pressure pumps, and automotive common-rail injection
components for cars and trucks.
In French, frettage means the hooping of casks or cylindrical containers to increase
strength against internal pressure. Auto means the material itself withstands the stresses without
external devices such as the above-mentioned hoops.
In the engineering world, autofrettage alters a containers inside surface by inducing permanent
compression to the materials inner layers even in the absence of internal pressure. The process
artificially strains the material with stresses above the elastic limit, taking them just into the plastic
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region. It is similar to the process of prestressing concrete for building bridges.
One approach to autofrettage involves peening the surface with metallic or ceramic spheres. (Recall the
famous swords of Toledo and Damascus were made by hammering, first by hot forming and then by
cold working, to give them hardness and flexibility.) Another technique is based on forcibly inserting a
mandrel that is larger than the hole, straining the inner material layers (and, to a smaller extent, the
outer material structure.)
As a starting point, consider the stresses in tubes with a 1.0-in. inner diameter and 10,000-psi internal
pressure. Outer diameters are 1.5, 4.0, and 6.0 in.
(As stresses are proportional to internal pressure, this round number 10,000 psi makes it easy to
determine new stresses if pressure changes. For instance, with a pressure of 14,000 psi, simply multiply
the stresses by 1.4.)
Curves are drawn using the well-known relationships for tubes that have nonnegligible thickness with
respect to diameter. The Z (stress along the tubes main axis) is considered zero, meaning the two ends
are held by external supports.
From the stress curves, one can make the following observations:
For relatively thin tubes, there is little difference between the highest and lowest stresses, and the
material is more uniformly stressed.
For thicker tubes, its just the opposite. There is a wide difference between the highest and lowest
stresses. Inner layers handle most of the load while the outer ones do little work. Such designs,
therefore, waste a large amount of material and unnecessarily increase cost, weight, and size.
Comparing tubes with outer diameters of 1.5 and 6 in., the highest tangential stress on the inner surface
of the larger tube decreases about 50%, but material mass increases about 2,800%!
Inner and outer radial stresses are the same for all tubes. (It is also intuitive: the inner one is same as
pressure, the outer one is always zero.) And they are compression stresses pressure pushes inner
layers against the outer layers.
The tangential stress is tensile. Therefore, material grains in the same layer try to move away from one
another, encouraging the formation of cracks from inside to outside. Such cracks propagate quickly if
pressure is pulsing.
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Under static pressure high stresses may be tolerated, provided engineers apply an appropriate safety
factor. But if pressure swings between high and low values at frequencies higher than 5 Hz, the material
is stressed such that fatigue becomes a dangerous concern. Autofrettage helps alleviate the problem.
As an example of how autofrettage reduces internal stresses, consider a tube of AISI 316L austenitic
stainless steel. A strain-stress curve of this steel shows that the region of normal use (strain <1%) has an
upper limit of allowable stress of about 40,000 psi. And if the tube is part of a pump (for instance:
valves, liners, or seal seats) or the barrel of a rapid-fire gun, it is not uncommon to have pressure
pulsating at approximately 10 Hz.
In this dynamic case, for a reasonable life (109 cycles) allowable stress should be about half that for
static conditions, or 20,000 psi. And with an appropriate safety factor, it is advisable not to exceed a
stress of 14,000 psi.
With such limitations, a conventional tube must have an outer diameter about 4.0 in. for 10,000 psi of
inner pressure. (See the stress-analysis in the accompanying Without autofrettage graphic under the
heading, Effects of autofrettage.) The OD will be even larger at higher pressures with an absurd waste of
material, as mentioned above.
Thus, there is great interest in alternatives such as autofrettage. The second graphic,
With autofrettage, shows the stress analysis of an equivalent tube postprocessed by auto-frettage,
with and without internal pressure.
Here are some interesting observations concerning the autofrettage tube, as it compares to the
untreated tube:
With no internal pressure (rest conditions), autofrettage highly compresses the tubes inner surface,
with residual stress at about the yield limit.
Subjected to pressure, the dangerous
T
spike (that without autofrettage is just on the inner surface of
the tube, possibly triggering a crack) is now well into the thickness, and therefore less harmful than at
the inner surface.
T
becomes a compression stress instead of a tensile stress and, therefore, compacts
the material fibers without cracking the wall.
The outer layers, which contribute little to the tubes structural integrity without autofrettage, now
substantially help withstand the stresses.
It moves the point of maximum radial stress
R
away from the tubes interior surface, making more-
rational use of the material.
Estimates are that autofrettage postprocessing increases the ability to withstand pulsating pressure
spikes by a factor of 1.8 in tubes with substantial thicknesses. This gives engineers the leeway to reduce
thickness without sacrificing performance.
2011 Penton Media, Inc.
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