This paper presents results obtained from a laboratory investigation conducted on material from a pressure vessel after longterm operation in the oil refinery industry. The tested material contained structural defects which arose from improper heat treatment during steel plate manufacturing. Complex tensile tests with acoustic emission signal recording were conducted on both notched and unnotched specimens. The detailed analysis of different acoustic emission criteria allowed as to detect each stage of plastic deformation and microstructural damage processes after a long-term operation, and unused carbon steels during quasi-static axial tension testing. The acoustic emission activity, generated in the typical stages of material deformation, was correlated by microscopy observations during the tensile test. The results are to be used as the basis for new algorithms for the assessment of the structural condition of in-service pressure equipment.

The present work has the objective of studying the effect of shot peening with glass microspheres on SAE 1020 steel in its resistance to fatigue. Fatigue tests were carried out by rotary bending with load control and loading on balance in specimens with and without shot peening. A rotation speed of approximately 750 rpm (12.5 Hz) was employed in the fatigue tests. Vickers microhardness tests were performed in order to verify the surface hardening produced by shot peening with glass microspheres. Analysis of the steel surface and fatigue fractures was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Fatigue tests were performed in order to obtain S-N curves (Wöhler curves). It was observed that shot peening with glass microspheres improved the fatigue strength of the steel at high cycle.