Abstract:
The yield or limit load is a key parameter with respect to the accuracy of flaw assessment based on R6
type procedures such as the R6 routine, the SINTAP and FITNET method, the standard BS 7910 and others.
In a number of previous papers two of the present authors proposed the use of a reference load instead of
the common limit load, which not only provided more exact fracture mechanics predictions, but showed
also a wider and more general application range than the conventional parameter. Here the method has
been extended to biaxial tensile loading and it has been successfully validated by a thorough comparison
with finite element results and alternative solutions available in the literature.
