Influence of internal uniform corrosion on stability loss of a thin-walled spherical shell subjected to external pressure

• Stability loss of a loaded thin-walled spherical shell, subjected to internal corrosion, is shown.
• The critical time of stability loss of the shell is found.
• Increase in the safety coefficient for stability yields reduction of the relative durability.
• Temperature growth leads to corrosion rate increase and yields reduction of the vessel “life-time”.
• The shell thickness increase yields an increase of the vessel critical time.

Stability loss of a thin-walled spherical shell, subjected to external pressure and internal corrosion, is studied. The critical time of stability loss of the shell is found by combining the upper critical load value for static stability loss of the shell without corrosion, and the corrosion rate law. Numerical results, obtained for carbon steel shells with different wall thickness at different temperatures and corrosion activation energy values, indicate that increase in the safety coefficient for stability yields reduction of the relative durability. Temperature growth leads to corrosion rate increase and yields reduction of the vessel “life-time”. The value of activation energy of corrosion has great impact on the vessel critical time t∗t∗ − the less is this parameter the less is the critical time.