Pressurized thick-walled

cylinders (1)
G. Catalanotti

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Thick-walled cylinders:

• They are long and thick-walled cylinders subjected to

internal and external pressures
• They are of considerable importance in pressure vessels
and gun barrels
• Stresses in this components are solved by use of
equilibrium, compatibility and appropriate boundary
conditions

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Stress distribution
Subjected to uniformly distributed internal and external pressure, it is possible
to discriminate between two different cases:
• Cylinder with end caps • Cylinder with piston

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and are principal stresses
 Equilibrium equation
• Equilibrium in the radial direction

We need to relate
stresses to strains and
strains to
displacement
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Compatibility equations
• Strains in polar coordinates
Let denote the radial displacement

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Constitutive equations

• Stress-strain relation

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Stresses expression … 1/3
• Differentiating with respect to :

• But and then:

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Stresses expression … 2/3
Subs.

• From equilibrium equation

Subs.

• Also differentiating and imposing gives:

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Stresses expression … 3/3
• Let’s integrate the last expression:

• That substituted in the equilibrium

equation gives:
multiplying
by

After integration:

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Boundary conditions
• Internal surface
Substituting in the
expression of radial

• Outer surface stresses

• That allow the determination of the constants of

integration:

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Stress expressions

where

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Stress distribution
• General case (both pressure, internal higher in value)
5
4
3
2
1
stress 0
-1 0 1 2 3 4
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
radius, r

sigma_r sigma_theta sigma_r+sigma_theta

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Stress distribution
• Normal condition (external pressure null)
1.5

0.5

stress
0
0 1 2 3 4
-0.5

-1

-1.5
radius, r

sigma_r sigma_theta sigma_r+sigma_theta

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Stress distribution
• Beneficial condition (external pressure higher than
internal) 0
0 1 2 3 4
-1
-2
-3

stress
-4
-5
-6
-7
radius, r

sigma_r sigma_theta sigma_r+sigma_theta

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More info at:
Benham, Crawford, Armstrong, pp:382-387

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