Thin-walled Pressure Vessels

Prepared by:
Engr. Darrel Jay M. Balbin
Engr. Dezirre P. Padilla
Pressure Vessels

Cylindrical Gas Storage Tanks

A Pressure Vessel is a pressurized container, often cylindrical or

spherical.
Thin-walled Pressure Vessels
• Thin wall refers to a vessel having an inner-radius-to-wall-thickness ratio
of 10 or more .
ri
 10
Thin wall: t

ri
Thick wall:  10
t

• Few example of thin walled applications:

➢ Pressure pipes
➢ Aircraft fuselages
➢ Compressed gas container
Cylindrical Vessels
Circumferential Stress (σc)
Also known as Hoop Stress or Tangential Stress
Cylindrical Vessels
Longitudinal Stress (σl)
Cylindrical Vessels

Cylindrical pressure vessel made of

curved sheets.
Spherical Vessels
Sample Problem 1
A cylindrical steel pressure vessel has hemispherical end-caps.
The inner radius of the vessel is 24 in. and the wall thickness is
constant at 0.25 in. When the vessel is pressurized to 125 psi,
determine the stresses of
(a) the cylinder; and
(b) the end-caps.

Ans: a. σc=12,000 psi σl=6,000 psi b. σ=6,000 psi

Solution 1
Sample Problem 2
The cylindrical tank with a spherical end-cap has an outer
radius of 2 m and a wall thickness of 25 mm. If the tank is
pressurized to 1.5 MPa, determine the longitudinal and
circumferential stresses in the cylinder, and the stress in the
end-cap.

Ans: a. σc=118.5 MPa σl=59.25MPa b. σ=84.85MPa

Solution 2
Sample Problem 3
The spherical gas tank is made of steel. The inner radius of the
tank is 20 ft and its wall thickness is 1.0 in. If the working
stress of the steel is 9000 psi, determine the maximum safe
pressure for the tank.

Ans: p=75 psi

Solution 3
Sample Problem 4
Calculate the minimum wall thickness for a cylindrical vessel
that is to carry a gas at a pressure of 1,400 psi. The diameter
of the vessel is 2 ft and the stress is limited to 12 ksi.

Ans: t=1.4 in
Solution 4
Sample Problem 5
The scuba tank has a cylindrical body and a spherical end-cap,
each of 7.5 in. outer diameter. The wall thickness of the tank is
0.5 in. The tank is made of an aluminum alloy which has an
ultimate tensile strength of 56 ksi. Determine the factor of
safety against bursting when the tank is pressurized to 3000
psi.

Ans: N=2.87
Solution 5
Practice Problem
To determine the strength of the riveted joints in a cylindrical
vessel, tensile tests were performed on the 6-in.-wide
specimens, as shown in the figure. The tensile force P at failure
was found to be 32 kips for the longitudinal joint specimen and
16 kips for the circumferential joint specimen. Determine the
largest allowable inner diameter of the cylinder that can
support a pressure of 150 psi with a factor of safety of 2.0.