Problem Statement: Strain gaging, one of the primary experimental methods of

determining stress, is duly considered when modelling pressure

vessels since it is useful in evaluating primary membrane stress as
well as secondary bending stresses in pressure vessels. These have
the advantage of ease of application and adaptability to difficult
locations, such as measuring stress as well as strain in sharp corners
or the inside wall of pressure vessels.

Case-Study: A mock-up of hydrostatic pressure test is to be carried out on a pipe

with plates welded at both ends to simulate pressure vessel installed
with two strain gages on the inner diameter (90 apart) and two
strain gauges on the outer diameter (again 90 apart) of the
pipe[Ref].
The pipes geometry has the following characteristics: It has an inner diameter of 260 mm, having wall thickness of
32 mm, with a length of 600 mm.
The two welded plates have 400 mm diameter having
thickness of 40 mm.
The pipe is then subjected to an internal pressure of 157 bars at a
temperature of 60C. Both, the pipe and the two welded plates are
made up of Carbon Steel (SA516 Grade 70). Here, expansion of the
pipe due to an internal pressure is to be examined using finite
element analysis.

Objective: Determine the principal stresses, strains and corresponding

deformation in the pipe due to the applied loading and boundary
conditions using: a) Simulation software ANSYS
b) Analytic Solution
Analyse all the obtained results and compare them with the
experimental data from the 4 strain gauges on grounds of which is
more efficient and why.