Thermal Shock
DOE-HDBK-1017/2-93
THERMAL STRESS
Summary
The important information in this chapter is summarized below.
Thermal Stress Summary
Two types of stress that can be caused by thermal shock are:
Tensile stress
Compressive stress
Causes of thermal shock include:
Nonuniform heating (or cooling) of a uniform material
Uniform heating (or cooling) of a nonuniform material
Thermal shock (stress) on a material, can be calculated using Hooke's Law from
the following equation. It can lead to the failure of a vessel.
F/A =
EaDT
Thermal stress is a major concern due to the magnitude of the stresses involved
with rapid heating (or cooling).
Operational limits to reduce the severity of thermal shock include:
Heatup and cooldown rate limits
Temperature limits for placing systems into operation
Specific temperatures for specific pressures for system operation
Rev. 0
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MS-03
