In order to investigate the optimum condition of the autofrettage process for the diesel engine fuel injection pipe, different values of autofrettage pressure, pressure rising time, pressure holding time, and repetition of autofrettage process were applied. Autofrettage was performed by applying the hydrostatic internal pressures of 604MPa, 535MPa, 500MPa on the fuel injection pipe, corresponding to theoretical 50%, 30%, and 20% overstrain levels, respectively. The autofrettage residual stresses in the injection pipe were experimentally determined by using X-ray diffractometer. As the overstrain level increased, the magnitude of compressive residual stress at the bore increased. It was found that the rising time to reach the autofrettage pressure, holding time at the autofrettage pressure, and repeated application of the autofrettage pressure on the pipe had no significant influence on the residual stress distributions.

Thick-walled pressure vessel has been autofrettaged in order to improve the fatigue life of the pressure vessel. The compressive tangential residual stress near the bore of the pressure vessel due the autofrettage process is benefical to the fatigue crack initiation and propagation of the pressure vessel. However, a reverse yielding due to the Bauschinger effect during the unloading process in autofrettage causes the reduction of the compressive residual stress near the bore. In order to evaluate the fatigue crack propagation life of the autofrettaged thick-walled pressure vessel, the Bauschinger effects were considered. Stress intensity factors of the crack at the inside surface of the pressure vessel due to operating pressure loading of 707 MPa and autofrettage loading with different levels of overstrain were calculated by using finite element methods, and used for evaluating fatigue crack propagation lives. Fatigue lives of the pressure vessel with the Bauschinger effects resulted in 45% to 67% reductions in fatigue life compared to those of the pressure vessel with ideal residual stress distributions depending on the autofrettage level.

Application of a very high internal pressure on the thick-walled pressure vessel induces beneficial compressive tangential residual stresses near the bore of the pressure vessel after unloading the internal pressure. However, a reverse yielding due to the Bauschinger effect during the unloading process causes the reduction of the compressive residual stress near the bore. In order to evaluate the autofrettage residual stress distributions of the thick-walled pressure vessel, the Bauschinger effects were considered. Magnitudes of the compressive residual stresses at the bore determined by considering the Bauschinger effects decreased by about 25 percent, compared to the case of linear elastic unloading, i.e., without Bauschinger effects. Measured residual stress distributions agreed fairly well with the calculated distributions considering the Bauschinger effects.