API Standard 6X API/ASME Design Calculations 1 General This Standard describes the design analysis

methodology used in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, 2004 with 2005 and 2006 addenda,
Section VIII, Pressure Vessels, Division 2, Alternative Methods, Appendix 4, Methods are included for
both elastic and elastic-plastic analysis, and for closed-form as well as finiteelement analysis methods of
calculation, in accordance with the rules of Appendix 4 of the 2004 Code, Section VIII Division 2. API has
adopted different stress limits from the 2004 ASME Code. The criteria used assume defect-free, tough,
and ductile material behavior. For the purpose of this international standard, the basic stress limits are
based on Sm and St , which are defined as follows: 1.1 Sm, the design stress intensity The design stress
intensity is 2/3 of the minimum specified yield strength Sy. For materials with high ratios of yield
strength to tensile strength, reduction of the design stress intensity should be considered. 1.2 St , the
maximum allowable general primary membrane stress intensity at test pressure API limits this stress to
90% of the yield strength for all materials. 1.3 Temperature effects The effect of temperature on the
mechanical properties of the material shall be considered. 2 Elastic Analysis For elastic analysis stress
components are calculated, combined, and compared to limits for each category of stress based on
multiples of the Design Stress Intensity, Sm, for the material in use and for the category of stress. Stress
components are combined to find the stress intensity, which is defined as twice the maximum shear
stress. This can be calculated as the difference between the largest and smallest of the three principal
stresses. 2.1 Stress Categories The following categories are used to classify stresses based on the
consequences of exceeding the yield strength in various manners: API Std 6X Draft November 20, 2012 2
2.1.1 Primary Stress The basic characteristic of primary stress is that it is not self-limiting, and failure, or
at least gross distortion, can occur from one application of the loading. Primary stress is stress caused by
the application of mechanical pressure, forces and moments. Primary stress includes both membrane
and bending stress and is linearly distributed across the wall section. Local primary stress can
redistribute, like in a threaded connector. Thermal stresses are not primary stresses. 2.1.1.1 Primary
Membrane Stress Intensity Primary membrane stress intensity is calculated from the average values of
the stress components through the wall of the vessel. Depending on the extent of the stress, it can be
classified as either General or Local.  General Primary Membrane Stress Intensity, Pm: Membrane
stress distributed in a way such that load redistribution cannot occur, and loading beyond the yield
strength can proceed to failure. Pm is limited to Sm.  Local primary Membrane Stress Intensity, PL: The
following is a direct quote from ASME Section VIII Division 2 Appendix 4: “Cases arise in which a
membrane stress produced by pressure or other mechanical loading and associated with a primary
and/or a discontinuity effect would, if not limited, produce excessive distortion in the transfer of load to
other portions of the structure. Conservatism requires that such a stress be classified as a local primary
membrane stress even though it has some characteristics of a secondary stress. A stressed region may
be considered as local if the distance over which the stress intensity exceeds 1.1 Sm does not extend in
the meridional direction more than 1.0(Rt)1/2, where R is the midsurface radius of curvature measured
normal to the surface from the axis of rotation and t is the minimum thickness in the region considered.
Regions of local primary membrane stress which exceed 1.1 Sm shall not be closer in the meridional
direction than 2.5(Rt) 1/2 where R is defined as (R1 + R2)/2, and t is defined as (t1+ t2)/2, where t1 and
t2 are the minimum thicknesses at each of the regions considered, and R1 and R2 are the midsurface
radii of curvature measured normal to the surface from the axis of rotation at these regions where the
membrane stress exceeds 1.1 Sm. Discrete regions of local primary membrane stress, such as those
resulting from concentrated loads acting on brackets, where the membrane stress exceeds 1.1 Sm shall
be spaced so that there is no overlapping of the areas in which the membrane stress exceeds 1.1 Sm. An
example of a local primary membrane stress is the membrane stress in a shell produced by external load
and moment at a permanent support or at a nozzle connection.”  Local primary stress intensity PL is
limited to 1.5 Sm. 2.1.1.2 Primary Bending Stress Intensity The components of primary bending stress
intensity Pb are calculated from the linear primary stress component distributions that have the same
net bending moment as the actual stress component distribution. Bending stress components are
defined as being proportional to the distance from the centroid of a solid section. When the bending
stress components are combined with the membrane stress components at each surface, the resulting
stress intensities Pm+Pb are limited to 1.5 Sm. 2.1.2 Secondary Stress Secondary stress Q is caused by
the constraint of adjacent parts or by self-constraint of the structure, and yielding can cause the
magnitude of the stress to be reduced. One load cycle can cause local yielding and stress redistribution
but cannot result in failure or gross distortion. API Std 6X Draft November 20, 2012 3 Secondary stresses
are membrane plus bending stresses that can occur at gross structural discontinuities, from general
thermal stress, from mechanical preload conditions, or from combinations of these sources. The
secondary stress variation, for any sequence of test or operating conditions, is limited to 3 Sm. 2.1.3
Peak Stress Peak stress is the increment of stress added by a stress concentration or other source that
does not cause noticeable distortion. Such sources include thermal stress in a cladding material with a
different coefficient of expansion from the base material; transient thermal stress, or the non-linear
portion of a thermal stress distribution. The only concern with peak stress is that it may cause the
initiation of a fatigue crack or brittle fracture. The total stress, including peak stress, may be used in
fatigue analysis, which is beyond the scope of this standard. 3 Special stress limits 3.1 Bearing Stress
Bearing stress is allowed to exceed the yield strength of the material provided that the other stresses in
the vicinity of the bearing load are within acceptable limits. When bearing loads are applied to parts
having free edges, the possibility of a shear failure shall be considered. 3.2 Pure Shear The average
primary shear stress across a section loaded under design conditions in pure shear (for example, keys,
shear rings, or screw threads) shall be limited to 0.6 Sm. The maximum primary shear under design
conditions, exclusive of stress concentration at the periphery of a solid section in torsion, shall be limited
to 0.8 Sm. For hydrostatic test conditions shear stress is limited to 0.6 St . 3.3 Progressive distortion of
non-integral connections Screwed-on caps, screwed-in plugs, shear ring closures, breech lock closures,
clamps and unions are examples of non-integral connections which are subject to failure by bell-
mouthing or other types of progressive deformation. If any combination of loading produces yielding,
such joints are subject to ratcheting because the mating members may slip at the end of each complete
cycle, and start the next cycle in a new relationship with one another. Additional distortion may occur at
each subsequent cycle so that interlocking parts like threads may lose engagement. Therefore, primary
plus secondary stress intensities which could produce slippage shall be limited to Sy. API Std 6X Draft
November 20, 2012 4 3.4 Triaxial Stresses The algebraic sum of the three primary principal stresses
(σ1+σ2+σ3) shall not exceed four times the design stress intensity Sm. The sum of the local primary
membrane plus bending principal stresses shall be used for checking this criterion. 3.5 Stress
Linearization When it is necessary to extract the membrane and bending stresses from finite-element
analyses, a numerical technique called “linearization” is used. This procedure involves numerical
integration of the stress components to separate the membrane and bending portion of the stress from
the total stress. The total stress includes the non-linear peak stress. Guidance on linearization can be
found in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section VIII, Division 2, Annex 5A. 4 Non-linear
analysis 4.1 General The limits on primary and secondary stresses need not be satisfied if thorough non-
linear finite element analyses are performed. Limit Analysis can be used for determining the actual rated
load capacity but not assessing local strain, ratcheting or shakedown. Plastic Analysis can be used for
assessing local strain, ratcheting and shakedown but not determining the actual rated load capacity. 4.2
Limit analysis Limit analysis assumes elastic-perfectly plastic material properties, and may be based on
smalldisplacement analysis. The stress-strain curve that is used has a bi-linear representation. This
curve, for stress less than the yield strength has a slope equal to the elastic modulus of the material.
Above yield, the slope is as near zero as practical. A zero slope can cause numerical problems in most
finite-element programs when yield is exceeded. The yield strength to be used is 1.5 Sm, which for non-
standard materials may be less than the actual specified minimum yield strength. Loading is
incrementally increased until the model diverges, which is the collapse load. Actual rated load capacity
can be no more than 2/3 of the limit analysis collapse loading. Limit analysis may be used to justify high
primary stresses but not secondary stresses. In addition, limit analysis cannot be used to justify a wall
thickness thinner than that calculated on an elastic membrane stress basis. 4.3 Plastic Analysis Plastic
analysis is a method of structural analysis by which the structural behaviour under given loads is
computed by considering the actual material stress-strain curve and may assume small or large
deformation theory as required. This method is more accurate than limit analysis because strain
hardening effects are included. The material stress-strain curve may be obtained by either actual
material test data or approximated via analytical methods using minimum specified yield and ultimate
tensile strength values (for example, ASME, Sect. VIII Div.2, Annex 3D). API Std 6X Draft November 20,
2012 5 If a stress-strain curve from actual testing is used, appropriate corrections may be needed to
ensure that the data used in the analysis is representative of the minimum specified yield strength of
the material. The effect of temperature on material properties shall be considered. The design is
satisfactory if the design loads do not exceed two-thirds of the elastic-plastic collapse load as defined
below and the limit analysis is satisfactory. The elastic-plastic collapse criterion is defined as follows: Plot
one or more curves of deformation vs. loading. Deflection may be the actual deflection at a point or it
may be the strain at a highly-stressed location. The loading should be applied in steps and should
include all loads on the product. Select a point Y in the elastic (linear) portion of the curve. Call the
deformation at that point “x”. Plot another point at a distance of 2x from the vertical axis. Now extend a
line from the origin through the new point until it reached the actual load-deformation curve. The load
at that point is the elastic-plastic collapse load. 4.4 Shakedown Analysis Shakedown analysis can be used
to justify high local primary and secondary stresses. Actual true-stress and true-strain curves are to be
used as they are used for plastic analysis in section 4.3. API Std 6X Draft November 20, 2012 6 The
design is acceptable if shakedown occurs. That is, after successive applications of the design loading,
there is no progressive distortion or stress ratcheting. In addition the deformations which occur prior to
shakedown shall not exceed specified functional limits of the design. It is acceptable to include the effect
of hydrostatic testing as well as operational loading