PRESSURE VESSELS

 Pressure vessels are the containers for fluids

under high pressure.

 They are used in a variety of industries like

 Petroleum refining
 Chemical
 Power
 Food & beverage
 Pharmaceutical
 TYPES OF PRESSURE VESSELS

There are three main types of pressure vessels

in general

 Horizontal Pressure Vessels

 Vertical Pressure Vessels
 Spherical Pressure vessels

However there are some special types of Vessels like

Regeneration Tower, Reactors but these names are given
according to their use only.
HORIZONTAL PRESSURE VESSEL
Layout
 VERTICAL PRESSURE VESSEL

 The max. Shell

length to diameter
ratio for a small
vertical drum is
about 5 : 1
 TALL VERTICAL TOWER

 Constructed in a wider
range of shell diameter
and height.
 They can be relatively
small in dia. and very
large (e.g. 4 ft dia. And
200 ft tall distillation
column.
 They can be very large in
dia. and moderately tall
(e.g. 3 ft dia. And 150 ft
tall tower).
 Internal trays are
needed for flow
distribution.
 VERTICAL REACTOR

 Figure shows a typical

reactor vessel with a
cylindrical shell.

 The process fluid

undergoes a chemical
reaction inside a
reactor.

 This reaction is normally

facilitated by the
presence of a catalyst
which is held in one or
more catalyst beds.
SPHERICAL PRESSURIZED
STORAGE VESSEL
 MAIN COMPONENTS OF
PRESSURE VESSEL

Following are the main components of pressure

Vessels in general

 Shell
 Head
 Nozzle
 Support
 SHELL

 It is the primary component that contains the

pressure.

 Pressure vessel shells in the form of different

plates are welded together to form a
structure that has a common rotational axis.

 Shells are either cylindrical, spherical or

conical in shape.
 SHELL

 Horizontal drums have cylindrical shells and

are constructed in a wide range of diameter
and length.
 The shell sections of a tall tower may be
constructed of different materials, thickness
and diameters due to process and phase
change of process fluid.
 Shell of a spherical pressure vessel is
spherical as well.
 HEAD

 All the pressure vessels must be closed at

the ends by heads (or another shell section).
 Heads are typically curved rather than flat.
 The reason is that curved configurations are
stronger and allow the heads to be thinner,
lighter and less expensive than flat heads.
 Heads can also be used inside a vessel and
are known as intermediate heads.
 These intermediate heads are separate
sections of the pressure vessels to permit
different design conditions.
 NOZZLE

 A nozzle is a cylindrical component that

penetrates into the shell or head of pressure
vessel.
 They are used for the following applications.

 Attach piping for flow into or out of the vessel.

 Attach instrument connection (level gauges,
Thermowells, pressure gauges).
 Provide access to the vessel interior at
MANWAY.
 Provide for direct attachment of other equipment
items (e.g. heat exchangers).
 SUPPORT

 Support is used to bear all the load of

pressure vessel, earthquake and wind loads.

 There are different types of supports which

are used depending upon the size and
orientation of the pressure vessel.

 It is considered to be the non-pressurized part

of the vessel.
 TYPES OF SUPPORTS

SADDLE SUPPORT:

 Horizontal drums are typically supported at two

locations by saddle support.

 It spreads over a large area of the shell to prevent an

excessive local stress in the shell at support point.

 One saddle support is anchored whereas the other is

free to permit unstrained longitudinal thermal
expansion of the drum.
 TYPES OF SUPPORTS
LEG SUPPORT:

 Small vertical drums are typically supported on legs

that are welded to the lower portion of the shell.
 The max. ratio of support leg length to drum diameter
is typically 2 : 1
 Reinforcing pads are welded to the shell first to
provide additional local reinforcement and load
distribution.
 The number of legs depends on the drum size and
loads to be carried.
 Support legs are also used for Spherical pressurized
storage vessels.
 Cross bracing between the legs is used to absorb wind
or earth quake loads.
 TYPES OF SUPPORTS

LUG SUPPORT:
 Vertical pressure vessels may
also be supported by lugs.

 The use of lugs is typically

limited to pressure vessels of
small and medium diameter (1
to 10 ft)

 Also moderate height to

diameter ratios in the range of
2:1 to 5:1

 The lugs are typically bolted to

horizontal structural members
in order to provide stability
against overturning loads.
 TYPES OF SUPPORTS

SKIRT SUPPORT:

 Tall vertical cylindrical pressure vessels are typically

supported by skirts.

 A support skirt is a cylindrical shell section that is

welded either to the lower portion of the vessel shell
or to the bottom head (for cylindrical vessels).

 The skirt is normally long enough to provide enough

flexibility so that radial thermal expansion of the shell
does not cause high thermal stresses at its junction
with the skirt.
 THIN WALLED PRESSURE
VESSELS
 Thin wall refers to a vessel having an inner-radius-to-wall-
thickness ratio of “10” or more (r / t ≥ 10).

 When the vessel wall is thin, the stress distribution

throughout its thickness will not vary significantly, and so
we will assume that it is uniform or constant.

 Following this assumption, the analysis of thin walled

cylindrical and spherical pressure vessel will be carried out.

 In both cases, the pressure in the vessel will be considered

to be the gauge pressure, since it measure the pressure
above atmospheric pressure existing at inside and outside
the vessel’s walls.
 THIN WALLED PRESSURE
VESSELS
 The above analysis indicates that an element of material
taken from either cylindrical or spherical pressure vessel is
subjected to biaxial stress, i.e. normal stress existing in only
two directions.

 Actually material of the vessel is also subjected to a radial

stress, σ3, which acts along a radial line. This stress has a
max. value equal to the pressure p at the interior wall and
decreases through the wall to zero at the exterior surface of
the vessel, since the gauge pressure there is zero.

 For thin walled vessels, however, the redial stress

components are ignored because r / t = 10 results in σ1 & σ2
being, respectively, 5 & 10 times higher than the max. radial
stress, (σ3)max = p
 THIN WALLED PRESSURE
VESSELS

 It must be emphasized that the formula derived for thin

walled pressure vessels should be used only for cases
of internal pressure.

 If a vessel is to be designed for external pressure as in

the case of vacuum tank, or submarine, instability
(buckling) of the wall may occur & stress calculations
based on the formulae derived can be meaningless.
 Spherical pressure vessels
• Pressure vessels are closed structures containing liquids or
gases under pressure
• Examples include tanks, pipes, beverage containers and
pressurized cabins in aircraft and space vehicles
• If pressure vessels have walls that are thin in comparison to
their overall dimensions they are known as shell structures
• In this section we consider thin – walled (r/t>10) pressure
vessels of spherical shape

Cross section of
spherical pressure
vessel showing inner
radius r, wall thickness
t, and internal pressure
p

Spherical pressure vessel

 Spherical pressure vessels
•Formula for calculating the tensile
stresses in the wall of a spherical
shell

pr
2t

• The wall of a pressurized spherical

vessel is subjected to uniform tensile
stresses σ in all directions (because
of spherical symmetry)
• Stresses that act tangentially to the
curved surface of a shell are known
as membrane stresses. The name
 Stresses at the outer surface

Stresses in a spherical pressure vessel at (a) the

outerin
• Element surface and
fig is in (b) the
biaxial inner No
stress. surface
in-plane
shear stresses acting on the thin element
• Every plane is a principal plane and every
direction ispr a principal direction  pr
1   2  , 3  0  max  
2t 2 4t
Principal stresses for the Out of plane maximum
element shear stresses
 General comments

1. The wall thickness must be small in

comparison to the outer dimensions.
Ratio r/t should be greater than 10
2. The internal pressure must exceed the
external pressure in order to avoid inward
buckling
3. We consider the effects of internal
pressure only. The effects of external
loads, reactions, the weight of the
contents and the weight of the structure
*
are not considered
 Cylindrical pressure vessels
• Cylindrical pressure vessels with a circular cross-
section are found in industrial settings (compressed air
tanks, rocket motors), in homes (fire extinguishers,
spray cans) and in the countryside (propane tanks, grain
silos)
• Pressurized pipes are also classified as cylindrical
pressure vessels

Cylindrical pressure
vessels with circular
cross sections

Copyright 2005 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited

Stresses in a circular
cylindrical pressure
vessel

Copyright 2005 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited

 Circumferential and longitudinal
1
stress
• The stress σ is called the circumferential stress or th
hoop stress
• The stress σ2 is called the longitudinal stress or the
axial stress
 Stresses at the outer surface

• The principal stresses σ1

and σ2 at the outer surface
of the cylindrical vessel are
shown on the stress element
where σ3 = 0 (i.e. biaxial
stress state)
• The maximum out of plane
shear stresses is; Stresses in a circular cylindrical
FIG. 8-8
pressure vessel at (a) the outer surface
and (b) the inner surface

Copyright 2005 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited

Treatments to boundary stress:
i. Treatments locally in structure
(1)Improving the structure of joint
boundary
(2)Strengthening the boundary locally
1.Semi-spherical head
i. Molding of heads
Small diameter and
thin wall S

Integrally heat-pressing Di
molding
Large diameter
—— Spherical petal
welding
Geodesic polyhedron
2.Thickness calculating equation
of elliptical head

ho hi (b)
i. Calculating
equation R (a)
i

for thickness: D i S

For the elliptical

heat
pa  a 
 max m=
whose a / b
m   
2S  b 
≤2
4.Conical head
i. Structure
*without hem (suitable for  ≤ 30 o )

without local strength

with local strength
*with hem (suitable for  > 30
o)
—— Adding a transition arc
and a
straightedge between
the joint
ii. Calculating equation for thickness
The maximum stress is  in the main
aspect
of conical head. m 

pD 1
 max    max  
2 S cos 

According to the strength

condition:
pD 1
 max    max    [ ]t
2S cos 
 Then pD 1
S 
2[ ] cos 
t

Replacing P with Pc, considering ,

and
changing
pc DD into D1c ，
S  c

D=Dc+S 2[ ]   p cos 
t
c
 This equation only contains the
membrane
stress but neglects the boundary stress at
the
joint of cylinder and head. Therefore the
complementary design equation should
be
established:
(1)Discriminating whether the joint of
cylinder and head should be reinforced
or not.
(2)Calculation for the local reinforcement.
 4.Flat head
Characteristics of load
(1)There are two kinds of bending
stress states,
distributing linearly along the wall.

(2)Radial bending stress r and hoop

bending
stress t distributing along the radius.
ure
▲Fastening the periphery
max = r.max p
The maximum stress is

S
at the edge of disk. R

 
2 t
D
 r .max   0.188P  0

r.max
S r
 R  PD 
 0.75  
 S  2 S 
▲ Periphery with simply supported ends
max = r.max = t.max P
The maximum stress is

S
in the center of disk.
R
2
D
 r . max  0.31P   t
S

r.max
 R   PD  r
 1.24    
 S   2S  0
iii. Calculation equation for
thickness
From the condition of strength
0.188 P
max ≤ []S 
t , D
[ ]t
getting:
Periphery with simply supported
Fastening
ends the periphery
0.31P
S D
[ ] t

In fact, the supporting condition at

i. Connection Structure
Three parts:
(1)Connected parts
—— a couple of flanges
(2)Connecting parts
—— several couples of
bolts and nuts
(3)Sealing parts
—— gasket
ii. Sealing Theory
Taking the bolts’ forced sealing as an
example to illustrate the Sealing
Theory:

(1)Before (2)After (3)After

installing installing mediu
charging
m
The Structure and
Classification of Flanges
According to the connection ways of
flanges and equipment (pipelines)
(1)Integrated flange
—— S.O.flange (slip on flange)
W.N.flange (welding neck
flange)
Pipeline Flange
Vessel Flange
S.O.flange W.N.flange
(2)Simple [loose (type), lap joint, lapped] flange

On the welding ring Interlink on the

turn-down rims
 (3)Screwed flange

Square flange Elliptical flange

Factors effect the sealing of
flanges
i. Bolt load under pretension condition
(bolt load for gasket sealing)
The bolt load is too small to seal
specific pressure; the bolt load is
too large to avoid the gasket being
pressed or extruded.
Increasing the bolt load
appropriately can strengthen the
sealing ability of gasket.
So under the condition of certain bolt
load, decreasing the diameter of
bolts or increasing the number of
them are both beneficial for sealing.
ii. The types of sealing face
(1)plain (face) flange
(2)M&F (male and female)
(3)T&G (tongue and groove
face)
(4)Conical face
(5)Trapezoidal groove face
iii. Properties of gasket
(1)The common-used materials of gasket
*Non-metal Material
—— Rubber, Asbestos, Synthetic
resins.
Advantages: soft and corrosion resistant
Disadvantages: the properties of high-T
resistance and pressure
resistance is inferior to the
metallic materials.
Used in: Common and Medium T; Flange

sealing of Medium and Low P

devices and pipes.
*Metal (Metallic) Material
—— soft aluminum, copper, iron (soft
steel), 18-8 stainless steel.
Advantages: high-T resistant, with high
strength
Demands: Excellent soft toughness
Used in: Medium and high T; Flange sealing
subjected to medium and high P
(2)Gasket Types (Classifying according to
the
properties of materials)
*Non-metal Gasket
—— such as rubber gasket, asbestos-
rubber
gasket.
*Compound Gasket (Metal and non-metal
compound gasket)
—— such as metal jacketed gasket and
Metal spirotallic [spiral-
wound] gasket
Metal jacketed gasket, i.e.
wrapping the metal slice around the
asbestos
gasket or asbestos-rubber gasket

Metal spirotallic [spiral-wound] gasket

, i.e. making by alternately rolling
thin steel belt and asbestos
*Metal gasket
—— such as octagon ring gasket, elliptical
gasket, lens ring (washer) [grooved
metallic gasket]
(3)Selection of gasket
*Factors of working pressure and
temperature
Medium and low P; common and medium T
—— Non-metal gasket
Medium P; Medium T
—— Metal and non-metal compound gasket
High P; high T —— Metal gasket
High vacuum; cryogenic —— Metal gasket
*Degree of demands for sealing
*Demands for the types of sealing face
*Properties of gasket

Concrete selection should be referred

to
JB4704-92, JB4705-92, JB4706-92.
At the same time, the practical
experience
should be taken into account.
iv. Rigidity of flange
(1)If the rigidity of flange is not enough, there
will occur the serious buckling
deformation, as well the specific pressure
will
decrease and the sealing face will be loose,
as
a result, the sealing will fail.
(2)Measures to increase the rigidity of flange
(3)Strengthening the rigidity of flange to
increase the weight of flange as well the
value
of whole-flange’s sealing.
v. Effect of working conditions

Temperature
Temperature
Pressure
Pressure
Corrosive
Corrosive
Characteristics
Characteristics of
Penetrant
Penetrant medium
Characteristics
Characteristics
Combined
Greatly affecting the
effect
sealing