Evaluation of the fatigue strength of multiphase pump components under corrosive conditions using a short crack fracture mechanics approach

Components of multiphase pumps, employed in oil and gas fields, often suffer from wear and localized corrosion, which is caused by the aggressive media to be pumped. To ensure a safe operation, analytic stress assessments are required. However common guidelines do not include a general way to take the influence of corrosion into account up to now. this paper presents both a calculation and an experimental method to evaluate the actual fatigue strength considering the mechanical impact of corrosion pits for components of stainless steel. The experimental method delivers material-parameters and is used to validate the calculation method. Both of these methods are applied to a weak-notched specimen.