Finite Element Analysis of High Pressure Titanium Spherical Pressure
Vessel
D.krishna Vamshi1, D.Ajay Kumar 1, L.Lokesh, T.Dinesh Kumar2, J Soni3
1 Students, 2 Assistant Professor, 3 Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Bharat Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Mangalpally, Ranga Reddy, Telangana - 510501.
Abstract— Pressure Vessel is a enclosed container designed
to hold or to store compressed air at a pressure substantially
different from the ambient pressure. Different shapes of
pressure vessel exist but mostly cylindrical and spherical are
used. Spherical pressure vessel are theoretically 2 times
stronger than cylindrical ones.In this paper, we designed a
spherical thin walled pressure vessel made of Titanium using
design software CREO and analysis is done using ANSYS.
Structural analysis is done on Spherical Pressure vessel made
of Titanium and the results are compared with the pressure
vessel made of Structural Steel at a pressure of 100 bar and
440 bar.
The fluid analysis is also done on Spherical Pressure
Vessel and Velocity streamline flows, Pressure due to
flow and Inner wall temperatures are obtained.
Keywords: Pressure Vessel,FEA,ANSYS,Structural
ANALYSIS.
I. INTRODUCTION
Pressure Vessels have been in wide use for many
years in chemical, petroleum, military industries as well as in
nuclear power plants. They are generally subjected to high
pressures and temperatures which may be constant or variying.
Factors such as material, shape, chemical composition and
physical substances used in it, the atmospheric conditions of
Pressure Vessels and etc. are the factors which can have
different effects on performance of Pressure Vessels. The fluid
being stored may undergo a change of state inside the Pressure
Vessels.
The Pressure Vessels are designed with great care
because rupture of Pressure Vessels causes an explosion which
may cause loss of life and property. The material of Pressure
Vessels may be brittle such as cast iron or ductile such as mild
steel. Cylindrical or spherical Pressure Vessels (e.g., hydraulic
cylinders, gun barrels, pipes, boilers and tanks) are commonly
used in industry to carry air under pressure. When the Pressure
Vessel is exposed to this pressure, the material comprising the
Pressure Vessels is subjected to pressure loading, and hence
stresses will be formed from all directions. The normal
stresses resulting from this pressure are functions of the radius
of the element under consideration.
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The basic requirements for design of
Pressure Vessels are safety, reliability, efficiency and
economy. Two types of analysis are commonly applied to
Pressure Vessels. The most common method is based on a
simple mechanics approach and is applicable to thin-walled
Pressure Vessels by definition have a ratio of inner radius “r”,
to wall thickness “t”, of r/t 10. The second method is based on
elasticity solution and is always applicable regardless of the r/t
ratio and can be referred to as the solution for thick walled
Pressure Vessels. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a practical
tool in the study of air bottles, especially in determining
stresses in local areas such as cavities, O-ring grooves and
other areas which are difficult to analyze manually.
1.2 APPLICATIONS:
1. Spherical Pressure Vessels are used in domestic hot
water storage tanks.
2. Mining operations- Diving cylinders, recompression
chambers, Distillation towers, pressure reactors etc.
3. Marine applications- used in submarines, space ship
habitats.
4. Reservoirs- Pnuematic, hydraulic, rail vehicle
airbrake reservoirs etc.
5. Liqufied gasses storage like ammonia, LPG.
6. Major in Oil refineries, petro chemical plants, nuclear
reactors.
II. OVERVIEW
2.1 SPHERICAL PRESSURE VESSEL:
Depending on the ASME boiler and pressure vessel
code (BPVC), Code Section VIII, pressure vessels are
containers for containment of pressure, internal or external.
This pressure can be obtained from an external source or by
the application of heat from a source as a result, directly or
indirectly from a process, or any combination.
The ASME code is a construction code for pressure
vessels and includes mandatory requirements, specific
prohibitions and non-mandatory guidelines for the design of
pressure vessels, manufacture, testing, inspection, testing and
Certification.
 Consider the stresses on one half of the thin spherical
2.2 SHAPE OF PRESSURE VESSEL: pressure vessel of inner radius r and wall thickness t.
Pressurized containers can theoretically be almost all
shapes, but spherical section shapes, cylinders and cones are
usually used. A common configuration is a cylinder having
end pieces called heads. Main forms often either
hemispherical or stamped (torispherical). More complex
shapes have always been much more difficult to analyze for
safe operation and are generally much more difficult to build.
In theory, a SPHERE is the best form of a pressure
vessel. Unfortunately, a spherical shape is difficult to produce,
therefore, more expensive, so that most of the pressure vessels
are cylindrical with 2: 1 of the semi-elliptical heads or end
caps at each end. Less pressure vessels are collected from a
pipe and two lids. One disadvantage of these ships is that big
banks are more expensive.

2.3 WHY SHOULD WE USE SPHERICAL PRESSURE

VESSEL?
This type of vessel is preferred for the storage of high
pressure fluids. A sphere is a very strong construction. The
uniform distribution of the tension on the heel surfaces, both
internally and externally, generally means that there are no
weak points. Spheres are less expensive to manufacture than
cylindrical containers.
Storage Spheres use auxiliary equipment
corresponding to the storage tank - for example access gates,
pressure / vacuum vent which is set to prevent loss of boiling
ventilation and daily breathing breaths or changes Barometric
pressure, access scales, earthed points, etc.
Fig.2 Forces applied in Spherical Pressure vessel
Static equilibrium requires that the load generated
from the tensile stress in the wall be equal to the load applied
by the pressure. Since the vessel is thin, the load due to the
tensile stress in the wall is 2πrtσ . The load due to the pressure
in the vessel is πr2p . Balancing these gives the expression for
the stress in a spherical vessel as
Due to symmetry in the spherical pressure vessel, the
stress in all directions tangent to the surface of the vessel is the
same. Depending on weather one takes a stress element from
the inside or outside surface of the vessel, one will get one of
the two following states of stress.

Fig.1 Layout of spherical Pressure Vessel

An advantage of spherical storage tanks is that they

have a smaller area per unit volume than any other type of Fig.3 Stresses developed inside pressure vessel
container. This means that the amount of heat transferred from
the warmer environment to the liquid in this area will be less Maximum Stress on Outside Surface:
than that of the cylindrical or rectangular storage tanks.

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 The in and out-of-plane Mohr’s circles for a stress As can be seen, the maximum and minimum normal stresses
element taken from the outside surface of the pressure vessel and maximum shear stress are
will look as follows.

2.4 PARTS OF SPHERICAL PRESSURE VESSEL:

A Spherical Pressure Vessel considered in this project
has the following parts:
1) TOP HEMISPHERE
2) BOTTOM HEMISPHERE
3) CAP
4) GASKET
5) BOLTS AND NUTS

2.5 MATERIALS USED FOR SPHERICAL PRESSURE

VESSEL:
In general, the materials used for manufacturing a
Pressure Vessel are:
1) Stainless Steel
2) Aluminium
Fig.4 Shear stresses on the pressure vessel 3) Cast Iron
As can be seen, the maximum and minimum normal stresses 4) Titanium
and maximum shear stress are
So in this project, we considered a Spherical Pressure
Vessel made of Titanium (Ti-6Al-4V).

2.6 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS FOR SPHERICAL

As can also be seen, the maximum shear stress is on a 45o out-
of-plane incline as shown in the figure.
PRESSURE VESSEL:
In this project, the Spherical Pressure Vessel is
designed in the designing software called CREO 3.0. So, the
following are design requirements that are to be considered to
fulfill the objectives of this project.

1) Pressure Vessel:

Internal Diameter: 9.86 meters

Thickness (Diameter): 0.10 meters
Neck Length: 2 meters
Inlet Diameter: 1 meters
Fig.5 Shear stress on 45o plane Flange Length: 6 meters
The in and out-of-plane Mohr’s circles for a stress element
taken from the inside surface of the pressure vessel will look 2) Cap:
as follows.
Diameter of hole for Bolt : 1 meters

3) Gasket:

Inner Diameter: 1 meters

Outer Diameter: 2 meters
Thickness: 0.25 meters

4) Bolt and Nuts

Diameter: 0.25 meters

Fig.6 Tension and shear stress in Mohr’s Circle

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2.7 PROPERTIES OF TITANIUM ALLOY: 4) Anlysis done: Hoop Stress
Titanium is a chemical element with 5) Comparision done between: Titanium and Structural
symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It is a lustrous transition Steel
metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength.
Titanium is resistant to corrosion in sea water, aqua regia,
III. METHODOLOGY
and chlorine.
It can be alloyed with iron, aluminium, vanadium,
and molybdenum, among other elements, to produce strong, 3.1 PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:
lightweight alloys for aerospace (jet engines, missiles, The project is to analyze the spherical pressure vessel
and spacecraft), military, industrial process (chemicals and made of Titanium and to compare it with pressure vessel made
petrochemicals, desalination plants, pulp, and paper), of Structural Steel and also to perform CFD on Spherical
automotive, agri-food, medical prostheses, Pressure vessel.
orthopedic implants, dental and endodontic instruments and Hence, to obtain the above results the methodology is
files, dental implants, sporting goods, jewelry, mobile phones, as follows:
and other applications. 1) Designing in CREO.
The two most useful properties of the metal are 2) Structural analysis of Spherical Pressure vessel made of
corrosion resistance and strength-to-density ratio, the highest Titanium and Structural Steel in ANSYS.
of any metallic element. In its unalloyed condition, titanium is 3) Compare the results of both Titanium and Structural Steel.
as strong as some steels, but less dense. 4) CFD of Spherical Pressure Vessel in ANSYS.
The composition of TITANIUM alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) is:
1) Titanium- 90% 3.2 SOLUTION METHODOLOGY :
2) Aluminium- 6%
1)Designing
3) Vanadium- 4% The designing is as follows:
The following are the properties of Titanium:
1) TOP PART:
Name Of Property Metric Open CREO→select new→select name→select top
Poisson’s Ratio 0.342 plane→click sketch
Young’s Modulus 113.8 Gpa
Density 4.43 g/cc Select→circle→click on origin→give radius as 9.86→draw
Tensile Yield strength 880 Mpa another circle→give radius as 9.96
Compressive Yield Strength 970 Mpa
Tensile ultimate strength 950 Mpa select→line→draw line from outer circle parallel to vertical
Table No.1 Properties of Ti-6Al-4V axis→give length as 2→draw line parallel to horizontal axis
away from vertical axis→give length as 3→draw line parallel
2.8 PROPERTIES OF STRUCTURAL STEEL: to vertical axis away from horizontal axix→give length as
The percentage of Carbon present in Structural Steel 0.5→draw line parallel to horizontal axis towards vertical
is 0.3-0.6%. axix→ give length as 4→draw line joining inner circle→esc.
The properties of Structural Steel is as follows:
Name of Property Metric Select→trim→remove unnecessary arcs→click ok.
Poisson’s Ratio 0.3
Young’s Modulus 2E+11 Pa Select→revolve→select 360 degrees→click ok.
Density 7.85 g/cc
Tensile Yield strength 250 Mpa select→top plane→click sketch→draw circle of diameter
Compressive Yield Strength 250 Mpa 3→click ok.
Tensile ultimate strength 460 Mpa
Table No.2 Properties of Structural Steel Select→centre lines→draw 2 centrelines at 45 degrees.

2.9 ANALYSIS REQUIREMENTS FOR SPHERICAL select→8 circles→give diameter 0.25→click ok.
PRESSURE VESSEL:
select→extrude→select through the body→click ok.
The following are the basic requirements for
undergoing Analysis:
1) Pressure maintained inside Spherical Pressure Vessel: 2) BOTTOM PART:
400 Bar
2) Nodes taken : Random Open CREO→select new→select name→select top
3) No of Nodes to be considered: 8 plane→click sketch

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Select→circle→click on origin→give radius as 9.86→draw By taking axis and faces as reference assemble all the parts.
another circle→give radius as 9.96 Always use coincident for assembling the parts. The
assembled figure is as follows:
Select→trim→remove unnecessary arcs

select→line→draw line joining two circles→click ok.

select→ revolve→select 360 degrees→click ok.

3) GASKET:

Open CREO→select new→select name→select top

plane→click sketch

Select→circle→click on origin→give radius as →draw

another circle→give radius as
2→click ok
Fig.7 Assembly
Select extrude→give distane as 0.25→click ok
3.3 STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS :
4) CAP:
3.3.1 ANALYSIS OF PRESSURE VESSEL MADE OF
Select→line→draw line of 1.5 on horizontal axis from TITANIUM
origin→draw line of 6 parallel to vertical axis→draw line
parallel to vertical axis of 0.5 length→draw line parallel to STEPS IN ANSYS WORKBENCH:
vertical axis of 8→draw line of 1.5 parallel to horizontal Step 1:Static Structural
axis→draw line joining other one→click ok. 1. Engineering data= Titanium Alloy

Select→centre lines→draw horizontal and vertical centre Step 2: Geometry

lines→esc. 1. Insert =import part

Select→revolve→select 360 degrees→click ok. Step 3:Mesh

1) Generate mesh
Select→top plane→click sketch→draw circle of diameter
3→click ok. Step 4: Static Structural
1) Selected inlet nozzle as Fixed Support
Select→centre lines→draw 2 centrelines at 45 degrees. 2) Selected remaining body as pressure applied

Select→8 circles→give diameter 0.25→click ok. Pressure Applied = 100 bar, 440 bar, 1000 bar
Step 5: Solution
Select→extrude→select through the body→click ok. 1) Total deformation
2) Von mises Stress
3) Von mises Strain
5) Bolt:
3.3.2 ANALYSIS PROCEDURE FOR TITANIUM
Draw a bolt of diameter 0.25 according to the formulas and SPHERICAL PRESSURE VESSEL:
calculations. Selection of analysis type, element type, defining
material properties, defining geometric properties (real
6) NUT: constants) are common steps for all blade geometries.

Draw a nut of diameter 0.25 according to the formulas and

calculations.
1) Selection of Analysis Type:
The analysis type used for straight wind turbine blade
6) ASSEMBLY: model is static structural steady state analysis. By using

5
following GUI path, the analysis type is selected as shown in The nozzle part is given fixed support. Select all the 3
fig faces of the nozzle.
GUI Path: Main menu> tool box >structural GUI Path: Main Menu >AQAV >static structural >fixed
support>Apply
2) Defining Material Properties:

The material properties of materials are specified as

below table. Double click Geometry and enter the properties
of Titanium.
Name Of Property Metric
Poisson’s Ratio 0.342
Young’s Modulus 113.8 Gpa
Density 4.43 g/cc
Tensile Yield strength 880 Mpa
Compressive Yield Strength 970 Mpa
Tensile ultimate strength 950 Mpa

3) Importing The File:

The blade models created in CATIA V5 SOFTWARE can be
Fig.9 Fixed Support
imported for the analysis in the ANSYS WORKBENCH. The
Remaining body is given pressure at different pressures.
blade importing procedure is given in the following GUI
GUI Path: Main Menu >AQAV >static structural>pressure
path .The imported is shown the following figure 3.9.
>Apply > Structuralarea>ok
GUI Path: geometry>right click> Import > I.G.E.S > Ok >
Browse the file > Open > Ok>model>right click>edit.
4) Meshing:
Mapped meshing (hexahedral elements) is carried out
as illustrated below, which is common procedure for all the
modeled straight wind turbine blade geometries. The analysis
taken up is symmetric analysis of half of the U shaped shell
model because the geometry is symmetry. For meshing
straight wind turbine blade models, the following GUI Path is
used as shown in fig 3.10.
GUI Path: Main menu> tool
box>structural>geometry>aqua>meshing>generate
meshing>ok.

Fig.10 Pressure Applied

Solution: Form the above given boundary conditions the

problem can be solved.

Main Menu > Solution (A6) > Solve > Ok.

Case 2: The same method is applied for Pressure vessel made
of Structural Steel. The properties are as follows:
Name of Property Metric
Poisson’s Ratio 0.3
Fig.8 Meshing
Young’s Modulus 2E+11 Pa
Density 7.85 g/cc
Elements Nodes
Blade Tensile Yield strength 250 Mpa
model Compressive Yield 250 Mpa
Solid 3349 1497 Strength
Table No.3 Elements and Nodes Tensile ultimate strength 460 Mpa

5) Solution:
6) Deformations Obtained:

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 (a) Select the Save... option under the File menu in ANSYS
Von mises Stress: Workbench.
File →Save...
This display the Save As dialog, where you can browse to a
specific folder and enter a specific name for the ANSYS
Workbench project.

STEP: 1 Click on Geometry → Import geometry→ browse the

file→ prompted to select the desired system of length units to
work → select Meter → Ok.
If it is not prompted then click → units →meters.
Click on generate and the object is imported.
STEP: 2 Click on mesh → generate mesh → object has been
meshed.

Fig.11 Stresses on Pressure Vessel

Von mises Strain:

Fig.13 Meshing

Then click on mesh right click and chose edit option and
create Inlet, walls and Outlet through name and selection
option.
Fig.12 Strains induced in Spherical
Pressure Vessel

3.3.3 FLUID ANALYSIS :

1. Start ANSYS Workbench by choosing the Start menu, then
select the Workbench option in the ANSYS program group.
Start → All Programs → ANSYS 17.2 →Workbench.
2. Create a new fluid flow analysis system by double-clicking
the Fluid Flow (FLUENT) option under Analysis Systems in
the Toolbox.

3. Double click on Fluid Flow (FLUENT) it creates a new

ANSYS FLUENT-based fluid flow analysis system in the
Project. Fig.14 Fixed support
4. Name the analysis.
(a) Double-click the Fluid Flow (FLUENT) label underneath
the analysis system (if it is not already highlighted).
(b) Enter the name of the analysis system.
5. Save the project.

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 Select Components from the Velocity
Specification Method drop-down list.
The Velocity Inlet dialog box will expand.
(i) Enter 100 m/s for X-Velocity. ii. Retain the
default value of 0 m/s for both Y-Velocity and Z-
Velocity

 Set up solution parameters for the CFD

simulation. (a) Change the convergence criteria
for the continuity equation residual. Monitors →
Residuals → Edit.
 Initialize the flow field, using the boundary
conditions settings at the inlet (velocity-inlet-
large) as a starting point.

STEP: 4 Calculate a solution. Start the calculation by

requesting 500 iterations.
(i) . Enter 500 for Number of Iterations. (ii).
Click Calculate.
As the calculation progresses, the residuals will
be plotted in the graphics window and a popup
appears on the screen as calculations done and
the solution gets converged.

STEP: 5 Displaying Results in ANSYS FLUENT and ANSYS

CFD-Post
1. Display results in ANSYS FLUENT. With
ANSYS FLUENT still running, we can
perform a simple evaluation of the velocity
and temperature contours on the symmetry
plane. Later, we will use ANSYS CFD-Post
(from within ANSYS Workbench) to
perform the same evaluation.
Fig.15 Walls and Outlet

STEP: 3 Click on Setup→ Edit→ Double precision→

Serial→ok.
 General→ check → Report quality → Aspect Ratio
→ 2.82360e+01→materials →air→ create/edit→
ρ=1.225→ν=1.7894e-0.5→ change/create→ close
 Set some general settings for the CFD analysis.
Select General in the navigation plane to perform
the mesh-related activities and to choose a
solver.

 Set up your models for the CFD simulation.

Models → Energy → Edit.

 Select viscous and select turbulent flow. Graph.1 Residuals for the Converged
Solution
 Set up the boundary conditions for the CFD
analysis
Boundary Conditions → velocity-inlet-large →
Edit.

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 Fig.16 Velocity Streamline Flow
Fig.19 Inner wall temperature

IV. RESULTS
4.1 COMPARISION BETWEEN SPHERICAL
PRESSURE VESSEL MADE OF TITANIUM AND
STEEL:

1) At Pressure 100 Bar:

TITANIUM STRUCTURAL
STEEL
MAX MIN MAX MIN
STRESS 5.3839e8 92000 5.3928e8 1.1026e5
STRAIN 0.005037 2.221e- 0.002931 1.110e-6
6
Fig.17 Velocity with volume rendering Table No.2 Comparison between Spherical Pressure Vessel
made of Titanium and Structural Steel at 100 bar

2) At pressure 440 Bar

TITANIUM STRUCTURAL
STEEL
MAX MIN MAX MIN
STRESS 2.3689e9 4.480e5 2.2738e9 4.4555e5
STRAIN 0.022165 9.537e- 0.012896 4.885e-
6 6
Table No.3 Comparison between Spherical Pressure Vessel
made of Titanium and Structural Steel at 440 bar

Fig.18 Pressure with Volume rendering

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4.2 COMPARISON USING GRAPHS:
1) Stresses developed

Graph.2 Stresses produced

Fig.20 Velocity Streamline Flow
2) Strains induced:

Graph.3 Strains induced

FLOW ANALYSIS RESULTS: Fig.21 Velocity with volume rendering

Graph.4 Residuals for the Converged Solution

Fig.22 Pressure with Volume rendering

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Fig.23 Inner wall temperature
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11
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