Official Answer
Answer
Cracking during installation is almost always due to over-expansion (external) or over-compression (internal) beyond the material's rupture point. For high-carbon steel, this is often linked to 'Quench Cracks' from manufacturing or hydrogen embrittlement. If the crack surface is crystalline and bright, it is a brittle fracture. The installation stress $S_{inst}$ must be recalculated. For example, if $S_{inst} = \frac{E t (D_g - D_i)}{(D_g - t) D_i}$ exceeds the UTS, the ring will fail. Using a more ductile material like 302 Stainless or reducing the radial wall width can prevent this.
