PD 5500:2012 36 3.6.1 Section 3 Vessels under external pressure General Shells subject to external pressure shall conform to the requirements of 3.6. These requirements apply to stiffened and unstiffened cylinders and cones, spherical components and dished ends. Where other loadings listed in 3.2.1 are resent, support shall be provided, if necessary, by increasing the shell thickness fr by other means. The thickness of a component subject to external pressure shall not be less than the thickness calculated to the relevant equation of 3.5.1, 3.5.2 or 3.5.3 using a design internal pressure equal to the design external pressure. Using a chosen thickness the allowable external pressure for the component shall be calculated in accordance with the requirements of 3.6 and shall not be less than the design external pressure. For external pressure the component dimensions shall meet the following tolerances. a) The procedures given in 3.6.1 and 3.6.2 for cylinders, cones and their stiffeners only apply if they are circular to within 20.5% on radius as measured from the true centre; a procedure to measure and calculate this departure from a true circle is given in 3.6.8. This radial tolerance of 0.5% may be increased at the design stage if the design external pressure is increased in the ratio of (increased % radial tolerancel0 5). For stiffeners ‘only, an alternative to increasing the design external pressure is to replace the figure of 0.005 (i.e. 0.5% tolerance/100) in Equations (3.6.2-15) or (8.6.35) by the figure (increased % tolerance/100), When the tolerances of the cylindrical components are outside these limits {an allowable external pressure shall be calculated using the procedure given in Annex M. NOTE 1 The method given in Annex M is a more refined method but requires ‘measurements of the as-built shape. Calculations to Annex M often show that the 0.5% tolerance on radius can be exceeded without penalty, but this should not be assumed without calculation since the result depends upon the deformed shape as well as the achieved tolerance. b) The specified tolerances and procedure for increased tolerances for spherical shells are given in 3.6.4 Any allowable deviation from shape or increased tolerance assumed in the design shall be specified on the relevant drawing and associated documentation. The compensation of openings in components subject to external pressure, shall be in accordance with 3.5.4.6. NOTE 2 In cases where the design strength is time dependent, components designed by the procedure specified in this clause should be reviewed to ensure that creep deformation (local or general) will be acceptable throughout the agreed design lifetime. NOTE 3 For more information on the background to this section see proceedings of LMech.£. Conference, 7 December 1972, on Vessels under Buckling Conditions, and in particular the following papers. a) C187/72, Buckling under external pressure of cylinders with either torispherical or hemispherical end closure, by G.D. Galletly and R.W. Aylward. 3/96 + © The British Standards Institution 2012