ABSTRACT
In the paper the analysis is performed of cylindrical vessels with internal cracks, with the flat endplates with circular stress relief grooves. The analysis is made for different crack sizes and locations. Special attention is paid for cracks, which are located in the vicinity of the weld joining the endplate and the vessel tube, and in the groove area (stress concentration). The study is made for both ductile and brittle materials. The obtained results show the risk of possible premature failure of boilers with cracks. Particularly strong influence of the material properties (brittle or ductile material) on the failure resistance is observed.
