Stress distribution in the neighborhood of a corrosion pit on the outer surface of an elastic spherical shell

Modern materials of nuclear installations are highly resistant to general corrosion but they are very sensitive to specific types of electrochemical corrosion, e.g., pitting formation. The presence of geometrical imperfections (e.g., a corrosion pit) may cause serious damage and significantly decrease the strength and durability of mechanical structures. This paper studies the stress distribution caused by a single corrosion pit on the outer surface of a linearly elastic thick spherical shell. The influence of various geometrical parameters of the problem on stress concentration is investigated. Two stress concentration factors are introduced to analyze the stress increase caused by the presence of the pit. Calculations are performed using ANSYS.