Presentation

on Dished Ends (Heads)

K V Raghava
Authorized Inspector - TPI Dept.
 Objective and
Basis of Presentation
The objective is to provide insight on Dished ends for beginner and
intermediate experts .

Topics included in this Presentation :

Conceptual Design, Types, Process, Materials, Welding,

NDE, Inspection, Good Engineering Practices,
Mandatory requirements, Dimensional tolerance,
Name plate / Stamping details / Data Reports and prohibition by code.
Certification requirements
PDO requirements

Basis of this presentation

- ASME Section VIII Division 1
- Restricted to P1 materials application
 Dished Ends (Heads)

What is a Dished End/ Heads?

The end element or caps on a cylindrically shaped Pressure

Vessel are commonly known as Heads

It is pressure retaining component, which is end connection to a

Pressure Vessel.

Dished end need not be a formed shape, it can also me a flat

end or cone, which are also under broad classification of heads.
 Classification of Heads

Classification based on ASME Section VIII Division 1 Code

(Ellipsoidal, Torispherical, Hemispherical, Conical,
Toriconical)
 Classification based on
Fabrication
- Petal Construction - Single Piece
 Classification based on
forming methods
Point Pressing Die Pressing

- Spinning

S
 Classification based
method of forming (HT)
Cold forming Hot forming
 How to Order
an Dished End

Minimum ordering Information

2:1 Elliptical, Cold formed, Single piece (seamless), spun Head with
following dimensions as a minimum
XX ID, XX Thickness (Min), XX Depth, XX Straight Face (SF).

Additional requirements:
Heat Treatment if any
NDE requirements if any
Test Coupons if any (important if dish is normalized)
Marking / Stamping / Shipping details / Code stamping (if welded)
Certification requirements
 Ellipsoidal Head

Inside depth of your ellipsoidal head (h) will be one-fourth of

head inside diameter (h = D/4).

2:1 Ellipsoidal head knuckle radius is 0.17D and a spherical

radius is 0.9D (acceptable approximation for code). It is good
practice not to indicate ICR and IKR for this type of head. ICR
and IKR location to location.
 Torispherical Head

Torispherical heads are the most common type of head used for the
manufacture of pressure vessels and usually the most economical to
form.
The I.C.R is equal to the I.D of the head or less. Normally suggest
I.C.R is equal to OD of the Shell or nearly 90-95% of ID of head.
The I.K.R is 6% of I.C.R of the head.

But not for PDO

 Hemispherical Head

Hemispherical heads allow more pressure than any other head.

However, the hemispherical head is the most expensive to form
The depth of the head is half of the diameter.
When the thickness of a hemispherical head does not exceed 0.356L,
or P does not exceed 0.665SE to use code formula.
L- Inside sphere radius.
 Design by Rules
Code reference : UG- 32 & Appendix 1-4 (f)
The minimum required thickness at the thinnest point after forming

Ellipsoidal Head:
t = PD / 2SE − 0.2P
Torispherical Head:
t =0.885PL / SE − 0.1P
Hemispherical Head:
t =PL / 2SE − 0.2P

D- Inside Diameter , P – Internal Pressure, S- Stress value @

temperature , E- Joint efficiency, L - Inside sphere or crown radius.

In general for given pressure and temperature rating the thickness of

Ellipsoidal will be equal to shell thickness and Torispherical will be 1.77
time shell thickness and Hemispherical head thickness will be half of the
shell thickness.
 Dimensional Tolerances

Code Reference : UG-81

The inner surface of a torispherical, hemispherical, or ellipsoidal head shall

not deviate
Outside of the specified shape by more than 11⁄4% of D
nor
Inside the specified shape by more than 5⁄8% of D,
where D is the nominal inside diameter of the vessel.

The knuckle radius shall not be less than that specified.

Out-of-roundness shall be not exceed 1% D (Diff. between Max & Min D)

Example: if ID is 1000mm then tolerance on profile will be 12.5mm / 6.25 mm

At no point of the Head, under tolerance on thickness is permitted.

 Joint Category

All Weld seams in all types of Heads are Category “A” i.e. petal construction
i.e. Welds seams between Petals & Crown and petals is Cat-A.

Circular seam between Head and Shell for Hemispherical head is Cat A and
for all other Heads it is Cat B.
 PWHT Requirements
a) Thickness – Heads formed form plates above 38mm shall be heat
treated.
b) When service requirement calls for (Ex lethal service)
c) Fibre elongation is more than 5%. For P1 it can be as high as 40%
provided all rules of UCS-79 (d) are met.
 Good Engineering Practices

Good Engineering Practice:

1. No weld joint between 1/3rd to 3/4th of chord length.

2. MPI & LPI on Knuckle portion & Straight face
3. UT after forming (For large thickness)
4. Normalizing after forming (if hot formed above AC3 temp)
5. Stress relieving after forming (even if thickness is less)
6. Certification (if code job it mandatory to refer UG-79- Heat treatment
certification)
7. Verification or validation of profile template
8. Verification of profile with full template (Code provides tolerance for all
location of head – Profile (incl. ICR) , SF, IKR
 NDE Requirements

- RT when thickness is greater than 32mm.

- RT when called for service requires (Lethal and other requirement as per
UW-11(a)
- LPI on finished weld of plug hole (UW-34)
 Prohibitions as per code

• Carbon & Alloy steel heads shall not be formed by cold blows – UG-79(b)
• Straight face shall not be less than 3xTh or 38mm – Fig UW-13.1
• No under tolerance on knuckle radius (IKR)
• Profile tolerance & Out off roundness as per UG-81
• Maximum diameter of spin hole 60 mm
• The ICR shall be not greater than the outside diameter of the skirt of the head.
• The IKR of a torispherical head shall be not less than 6% of the OD of head but
in no case less than 3 times the head thickness.
• SF less than 3Ts
• Prohibited ends connections
 DEP/ SP Requirements

DEP / SP Requirements (Major):

1. Minimum corrosion allowance 1.5mm
2. Unless otherwise specified by the Principal, heads shall be ellipsoidal
3. Tori spherical heads shall not be used in the following situations for
pressure vessels constructed to Division 1:
a) DP> 525 kPa (75 psi), DT >345°C (650°F)
c) Bottom heads of vertical vessels supported by a skirt & Vessel
diameters greater than 2.4 m.
4. Only Type 1 joint is permitted (Type 2 is permitted if approved by Principal)
5. Fabrication of dish is permitted with maximum of 3 piece (2 joints)
6. Normalizing and tempering if fiber elongation is more than 5%
7. All cold formed heads shall have the I/S & O/S surfaces of the knuckle
region examined by MT after forming and any heat treatment.
8 All welds in cold formed heads shall have the
inside and outside surfaces of the weld examined for their full length by MT
after forming and any heat treatment.
 Head Connection to shell
and SF calculations
• Min Taper length 3y
• Max Taper length = Length of SF
• Min SF = 3x Thk of Head but not less than 38mm
 Flat Spot calculation
Maximum permitted diameter of flat spot on Heads

T= Min Thickness of Head, d= diameter of spot, C=0.25,

P= Internal Pressure, S= Allowable Stress, E= Efficiency
 Head Blank Ø Calculations
• Blank Diameter calculations
• For Tori & 2:1
ID + ID/24 + 2/3KR + 2xSF + 20mm
Or
1.2 x OD + 1.5 SF + 30mm

• Hemispherical
1.414 (OD+T) + 0.3 T +45mm
 Certification Requirements

• Manufacturer is required (UG-79)

• Certificate shall mention whether HT is performed or not
• Cold forming temperature
• Min thickness recorded (Thickness survey)
• Code stamping (if applicable) to be stamped as “ASME” “U” “Part”
• MDR (Partial data report)
UG-79 (c) When the vessel shell section, heads, or other pressure boundary
parts are cold formed by other than the manufacturer of the vessel, the required
certification for the part shall indicate whether or not the part has been heat
treated (see UCS-79, UHA-44, UNF-79, and UHT-79).
 Quiz
• Why is Hemi head to Shell joint cat A?
• When should RT be performed i.e. before or
after forming
• What should be done if thickness of dish falls
below minimum thickness
• If a dish is Normalized and SR done, Does PTC
require similar HT