1.

General Introduction of
Pressure Vessel
 INTRODUCTION [1]

• Vessels, tanks, and pipelines that carry, store, or receive fluids are called
pressure vessels.
• A pressure vessel is defined as a container with a pressure differential
between inside and outside.
• The inside pressure is usually higher than the outside, except for some
isolated situations.
• Pressure vessels often have a combination of high pressures together with
high temperatures.
• Because of such hazards it is imperative that the design be such that no
leakage can occur.
• Pressure vessels and tanks are, in fact, essential to the chemical, petroleum,
petrochemical and nuclear industries. It is in this class of equipment that the
reactions, separations, and storage of raw materials occur.
CLASSIFICATION OF PRESSURE VESSEL [3]

Pressure vessel

Function Geometry Construction Service

Storage tank Cylindrical Monowall Cryogenic

Process vessel Spherical Multi Wall Steam

Heat Exchanger Conical Forged Lethal

Horizontal/Vertical Fired/Unfired
COMPONENTS OF PRESSURE VESSELS

• The main components of pressure vessel are [4]

i. Shell
ii. Heads
iii. Nozzles
iv. Stiffening rings
v. Supports

Photo courtesy: www.theculminates.com

Shell
• The shell is the primary component that contains the pressure.
• Pressure vessel shells are welded together to form a structure that has a
common rotational axis.
• Most pressure vessel shells are cylindrical, spherical and conical in shape

Head
• All pressure vessel shells must be closed at the ends by heads (or another
shell section).
• Heads are typically curved rather than flat.
• Curved configurations are stronger and allow the heads to be thinner,
lighter, and less expensive than flat heads. Heads are usually categorized
by their shapes.
 Fig: Different types of heads.
(Modified from ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, ASME, New York.)
 Support
• The type of support that is used depends primarily on the size
and orientation of the pressure vessel.
• the pressure vessel support must be adequate for the applied
weight, wind, and earthquake loads.
• Typical kinds of supports are as follow:
a. Skirt
b. Leg
Leg
c. Saddle
d. Lug

Saddle

Figure showing various

pressure vessel supports.
Lug
Skirt
Photo courtesy: www.pressurevesslesconsulting.com
Nozzle
• A nozzle is a cylindrical component that penetrates the shell or heads of a
pressure vessel.
• The nozzle ends are usually flanged to allow for the necessary connections
and to permit easy disassembly for maintenance or access.
• Nozzles are used for attaching piping for flow into or out of the vessel and
attach instrument connections, (e.g., level gauges, thermowells, or pressure
gauges).

Stiffener Rings
• Rings made of flat bar or plate or structural shapes welded around the
Circumference of the vessel.
• These rings are installed on vessels operating under external pressure to
prevent collapse of the vessel.

Photo courtesy: www.pressurevesslesconsulting.com

Following parts of ASME Code SECTION VIII DIV-1 are used in design [5]

U-1 Scope for the design of pressure vessels

UG-16 General regarding design
UG-20 Design temperature
UG-21 Loadings
UG-22 Maximum allowable stresses
UG-23 Maximum allowable stresses
UG-27 Thickness of shells under internal pressure
UG-28 Thickness of shells under external pressure
UG-29 Stiffening rings for cylindrical shells under external pressure
UG-32 Formed heads, pressure on concave side
UG-33 Formed heads, pressure on convex side. Graph in Appendix V
UG-45 Nozzle neck thickness
UW-12 Welded Joint efficiencies
UG-45 Nozzle neck thickness
UW-12 Welded Joint efficiencies
Appendix V Charts for determining shell thickness of cylindrical and spherical vessels under
external pressure
DESIGNING A PRESSURE VESSEL IN
INDUSTRY
 Software used in designing the pressure vessels:

Fig:
Screenshot of
PV-Elite Software

• Intergraph PV Elite is a complete solution for pressure vessel

design, analysis and evaluation. Users of PV Elite have designed equipment
for the most extreme uses and have done so quickly, accurately and profitably.
2. Materials Selection
 Selection of materials
The broad classification of these materials can be done in following categories:
1. Boiler Quality Materials
2. Structural Quality Materials
1. Boiler Quality Materials [5]
• These are the materials employed for pressure carrying components.
a) Carbon Steel – Principal element is carbon, generally ranging from 0.2 to 0.4.
b) Low Alloy Steel – Alloying elements are used, but the total alloy content is
limited to generally 5 %.
c) High alloy steel‐ heavy alloying is done for example Stainless Steels.
• Commonly used stainless steels for refinery, petrochemical services are:-
 Austenitic Stainless Steels
 Ferritic Stainless Steels.

2. Structural Quality Materials [5]

• These are the materials employed for very general services and non ‐pressure
services.
• The Structural quality materials are generally only of Carbon steel.
• They are very economical .
 Material testing for Pressure vessel [5]

1. PWHT‐ Post Weld Heat Treatment.

• Radiographic testing is done of the welding joints according to the pressure
vessel.
• If Vessel is designed according to ASME sec 8 div only spot radiography will
be done for ASME sec 8 div 2 full radiographic testing is being done.
• After this test heat treatment is done on the welding joints to relieve the
stresses.
• Recommended for corrosive services like HS, amine, caustic services etc.

2. Impact Testing‐
• The impact testing of materials is done to take care of low temperature
service. This is because the material tend to become more brittle at low
temperature.
• Charpy V notch impact test is the most common type of test used.
3. Stresses in Pressure
Vessels
Mainly there are 2 types of stresses involved in a pressure vessel

1. Primary stress
 Primary stresses are generally due to internal or external pressure or produced
by sustained external forces and moments.
 These stresses act over the full cross section of the vessel. They are produced
by mechanical loads and are the most hazardous of all types of stress.

Types of primary general stress

1.Primary general membrane stress, P :
a. Circumferential and longitudinal stress due to pressure.
b. Compressive and tensile axial stresses due to wind.
2. Local primary membrane stress, PL
It is the combination of primary membrane stress, P, plus secondary membrane stress, Q,
produced from sustained loadings.
2. Secondary stress
 Secondary mean stresses are developed at the junctions of major components of
a pressure vessel and are produced by sustained loads other than internal or
external pressure.

Types of secondary stresses:

1. Secondary membrane stress, Q
These are the stress which are
a. Thermal stresses.
b. Membrane stress in the knuckle area of the head.
c. Membrane stress due to local loads.
2. Secondary bending stress, QL
These include :
• a. Bending stress at a gross structural discontinuity:
• b. The stress variation of the radial stress due to internal pressure.
• d. Discontinuity stresses at stiffening or support rings.
 STRESS/FAILURE THEORIES [5]
The major theories of failures used to design a pressure vessel are :

1. Maximum principle stress theory:

Both ASME Code, Section VIII, Division 1, and division use the maximum stress theory
as a basis for design. While it accurately predict failure in brittle materials, but it is
not always accurate for ductile materials.

2. Maximum shear stress theory

This theory asserts that the breakdown of material depends only on the
maximum shear stress attained in an element. It is mainly used for Ductile
material
MAJOR FAILURES ASSOCIATED WITH
PRESSURE VESSELS [5]
Major Failures associated with pressure vessel can usually be classified as 5 types :
1. EXCESSIVE ELASTIC DEFORMATION
• It is a type of expansion of vessel till limit of proportionality.
• It affects the volume and density of fluid inside the vessel, hence the purpose of the
vessel will fail and effect the process. So excessive elastic deformation is
undesirable.
2. PLASTIC INSTABILITY :
• Plastic deformations occur in a pressure vessel if the Internal or external pressure
becomes so high that resultant stresses acting on the pressure vessel exceeds the
yield point.
• Elastic instability in vessels is usually associated with the use of thin shells.
• Plastic instability
3. BRITTLE RUPTURE :
If the material used for the vessel is brittle than instead of plastic or elastic deformation,
vessel will ruptured instantly after increasing the slight load after yield point.
Hence for brittle material stresses should be kept low below the yield point.
4. CREEP:
• Creep is a failure of material due to constant loading and unloading of
material kept at one place for long time.
• It arises due to periodic loading and loading. It starts initially from grain
boundary where abnormal grains are there.
• It increases to cracks in the material after some time and finally material
fails on load much lower than the yield point stress.

5. CORROSION:
• If excessive corrosion occurs than material thickness will decrease
constantly and after a certain limit the material will fail
• Due to this the vessels are provided with corrosion allowance thickness.
Generally taken 3mm at inside boundary layer.
• At outside some corrosion resistant material are used to prevent the
rusting.
4. Design of Shell
 VESSEL NOMENCLATURE

E = Joint Efficiency Factor

P = internal pressure (kg/cm2).
Ri, Ro = inside and outside radius with
corrosion allowance. (in)
Di, Do = inside and outside diameter.
S = allowable stress in the material
t = thickness of the cylinder (mm)
ρ=Density of liquid
H=Height of liquid level
CA = Corrosion allowance
n = number of stiffening rings
Leff = Overall effective length of pressure vessel
L = Length of pressure vessel
σhoop= Hoop or circumferential stresses
σlong= Longitudinal stresses
Pa, Pa1, Pa2 = Allowable external pressure
 Shell Design
Basically the design of shell consists of following steps-
Design of shell under internal pressure.
Minimum thickness is calculated using ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code,
Section VIII Division 1, UG-27.
Design of shell under external pressure.
For a optimum thickness the pressure vessel under external pressure is analyzed for
satisfying the design using ASME BPV Code, Sec. VIII Div. 1, UG-28.
Or for the optimum thickness no. of stiffening rings is calculated.

Pe

Pi

1 2
 SHELL UNDER INTERNAL
PRESSURE

LONGITUDINAL
HOOP STRESS
STRESS
Classical Equation
Calculate internal 𝑃𝑟 Classical Equation
design pressure 𝜎 h𝑜𝑜𝑝 = 𝑃𝑟
𝑡 𝜎 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 =
2𝑡
P = Pi + Pliquid level
ASME CODE EQUATION
ASME CODE EQUATION
𝑷𝑹𝒊 𝑷 𝑹𝒊
𝒕= 𝒕=
(𝑺𝑬 − 𝟎 .𝟔 𝑷 ) (𝟐 𝑺𝑬+ 𝟎 .𝟒 𝑷 )
 Design of cylindrical shell under
external pressure
• Designing vessels for external pressure is an iterative
procedure [8].

• External pressure on cylindrical shells causes compressive

forces that could lead to buckling [9].

• . In the ASME code, the critical pressure is calculated for two

situations, involving the ratio of the outside diameter to the
thickness (Do/t).
 Case-I: External Pressure for Cylinders with
Steps [9]-
1) Assume a value of t for the cylinder.
2) Calculate the quantities L/Do and Do/t.
3) Use Fig. with the calculated values of L/Do and Do/t and establish an A
value.
4) Use an External Pressure Chart to determine the A value and determine
the B value from the appropriate temperature chart.
5) Calculate the allowable external pressure from the equation
4𝐵
𝑃 𝑎=
3( )
𝐷𝑜
𝑡
6) When A falls to the left of the curves, the value of P a is determined from
2 𝐴𝐸
𝑃 𝑎=
3( )
𝐷𝑜
𝑡
7) Compare the calculated value of Pa (Allowable Pressure) obtained in
Steps 6 or 7 with P. If Pa is smaller than P, select the thickness.
if Pa > P assumed thickness is optimum
FACTOR A CHART [5]
FACTOR B CHART [5]
 Case-II: External Pressure for Cylinders with
For values of Do/t less than 4, the value of factor A can be calculated using
the following formula [9]:

For values of A greater than 0.10, use a value of 0.10.

When Do/t is less than 10, the allowable external pressure is taken as the
smaller of the values determined from the following two equations:

Where B is obtained as discussed above.

 SUMMARY OF DESIGN PROCEDURE FOR SHELL

Step-1: Calculate the total internal design pressure (P).

Total internal pressure, P = pressure inside the vessel+ pressure due to liquid

Where ρ=Density of liquid

H=Height of liquid level

Step-2: Calculate the minimum shell thickness considering hoop or

circumferential stress when the shell is under internal pressure.
 SUMMARY OF DESIGN PROCEDURE FOR SHELL
Step-3: Calculate the minimum shell thickness considering longitudinal stress
when the shell is under internal pressure.

Step-4: Select the maximum thickness as obtained from the step-1 & 2.

t = maximum (thoop ,tlong)

 SUMMARY OF DESIGN PROCEDURE FOR SHELL
Step-5: Calculate the allowable external pressure when the shell is under external
pressure.

Calculate the ratio Do/t assuming the thickness obtained in step 4.

Then consider one of the case from below conditions.

Case-I: External Pressure for Cylinders with

Case-II: External Pressure for Cylinders with

Follow the steps as described in the section design of cylindrical shell under
external pressure.
 SUMMARY OF DESIGN PROCEDURE FOR SHELL

Step-6: Select the assumed thickness if Pallowable > Pexternal .

But if Pallowable < Pexternal

Either (a) select a new thickness and start the procedure from the beginning to
satisfy the design. or
(b) Elect to use stiffening rings to reduce the L dimension.

Step-6(a) Select a new thickness and repeat step-4 to 6 for calculating allowable
pressure

Step-6(b) Calculation for the use of stiffening rings

i) Taking number of stiffening rings = n

iii) Repeat step-4 to 6 for calculating allowable pressure using new value
of L.
Fig: A pressure vessel with the use of stiffening rings. [8]
 Calculation Program using Mathcad.

Program 1: Design of shell under internal pressure.

Program 2: Design of shell under external pressure

 POST SEMINAR PROSPECT WILL COVER

• Design of Stiffening rings

• Design of Heads
• Design of Nozzles
• Design of various types of supports
• Programming the various design procedure and
calculation involved.
• Sample data results, comparison and validation
• Conclusion
 References
1. Nitant M. Tandel, Jigneshkumar M. Parmar, A Review on Pressure Vessel Design and Analysis, Paripex -
Indian Journal Of Research, May 2013
2. J. Philip Ellenberger PE, Robert Chuse, Bryce E. Carson Sr., Pressure Vessels – The ASME code
simplified, 8th edition, Mc Graw- Hill Professional Engineering
3. B.S.Thakkar, S.A.Thakkar, DESIGN OF PRESSURE VESSEL USING ASME CODE, SECTION VII
DIVISON 1, International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Studies, 2012.
4. Ghader Ghanbari, Mohammad Ali Liaghat, Ali Sadeghian, “Pressure Vessel Design, Guides &
Procedures”
5. Dennis R. Moss, Pressure Vessel Design Manual, 3rd Edition-2004, Gulf Professional Publishing (An
imprint of Elsevier)
6. Dr. R. K. Bansal, A Textbook of Strength of Materials, 4th Edition-2009.
7. Somnath Chattopadhyay, Pressure Vessel Design and Practice, CRC Press.
8. Henry H. Bednar, Pressure Vessel Design Handbook, 2nd Edition-1991. Krigerer Publishing company
9. James R. Farr and Maan H. Jawad, Guidebook for the design of ASME Section VIII pressure vessels, 2nd
Edition-2001, ASME Press New York.
10. An international code 2010 ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code, 2010 Edition, VII Section VIII,
Div.1, Rules for Construction of Pressure Vessels, ASME New York
Thank You