f Neutrium

ARTICLES PODCAST CONTACT DONATE

VOLUME AND WETTED AREA OF PARTIALLY FILLED HORIZONTAL VESSELS

SUMMARY
The calculation of a horizontal vessels wetted area and volume is required for
engineering tasks such fire studies and the determination of level alarms and control
set points. However the calculation of these parameters is complicated by the
geometry of the vessel, particularly the heads. This article details formulae for
calculating the wetted area and volume of these vessels for various types of curved
ends including: hemispherical, torispherical, semi-ellipsoidal and bumped ends.

1. DEFINITIONS
A : Wetted Area
Di : Inside Diameter of Vessel
Do : Outside Diameter of Vessel
h : Liquid level above vessel bottom
L : Length of vessel, tan-line to tan-line
Lf : Straight Flange
R : Inside Vessel Radius
Rc : Inside crown radius
Rk : Inside knuckle radius
t : Vessel Wall Thickness
Vp : Partially Filled Liquid Volume
Vt : Total Volume of head or vessel
z : Inside Dish Depth
ε : Eccentricity of elliptical heads

2. INTRODUCTION
The calculation of the liquid volume or wetted area of a partially filled horizontal
vessel is best performed in parts, by calculating the value for the cylindrical section of
the vessel and the heads of the vessel and then adding the areas or volumes together.
Below we present the wetted area and partially filled volume for each type of head
and the cylindrical section.

The partially filled volume is primarily used for the calculation of tank filling times
and the setting of control set points, alarm levels and system trip points.

The wetted area is the area of contact between the liquid and the wall of the tank.
This is primary used in fire studies of process and storage vessels to determine the
emergency venting capacity required to protect the vessel.

The volume and wetted area of partially filled vertical vessels is covered separately.

3. HEMISPHERICAL HEADS - HORIZONTAL VESSEL

Hemispherical heads have a depth which is half their diameter. They have the highest
design pressures out of all the head types and as such are typically the most expensive
head type. The formula for calculating the wetted area and volume of one head are
presented as follows.

3.1 Wetted Area

Di
A = πh
2

3.2 Volume

1 2
Vp = πh (3R − h)
6

2 3
3 π
(3 ( ) − 2 ( ) )
h h
Vp = D i
12 Di Di

4. SEMI-ELLIPSOIDAL OR ELLIPTICAL HEADS - HORIZONTAL VESSEL

The semi-ellipsoidal heads are shallower than the hemispherical heads and deeper
than the torispherical heads and therefore have design pressures and expense lying
between these two designs.

The most common variant of semi-ellipsoidal head is the 2:1 elliptical head which has
a depth equal to 1/4 of the vessel diameter. The formula for calculating the wetted
area and volume for one 2:1 semi-elliptical head are presented as follows.

4.1 Wetted Area

For a 2:1 semi-ellipsoidal head ε is equal to 0.866, for other geometries the formula
below may be used to calculate ε.

⎛ h ⎛ ( Di − 0.5) + B ⎞⎞
h
πDi2 1 4ε
Aw = ⎜ ( − 0.5) B + 1 + ln ⎜ ⎟⎟
8 ⎝ Di 4ε ⎝ 2− 3 ⎠⎠
2
1 + 12 ( − 0.5)
h
B=
Di
4z 2
ε= 1− 2
Di

The wetted area calculated using this method does not include the straight flange of
the head. The length of the straight flange must be included in the calculation of the
wetted area of the cylindrical section.

4.2 Volume

2 3
(3 ( ) − 2 ( ) )
π h h
Vp = Di3 C
12 Di Di

Where,

for ASME 2:1 Elliptical heads:

C = 1/2

for DIN 28013 Semi ellipsoidal heads:

t 2
+ 2.3227 ( )
t
C = 0.49951 + 0.10462
Do Do

The volume calculated does not include the straight flange of the head, only the
curved section. The straight flange length must be included in the calculation of the
volume of the cylindrical section.

5. TORISPHERICAL HEADS - HORIZONTAL VESSEL

Torispherical heads are the most economical and therefore is the most common head
type used for process vessels. Torispherical heads are shallower and typically have
lower design pressures than semi-elliptical heads. The formula for the calculation of
the wetted area and volume of one partially filled torispherical head is presented as
follows.

5.1 Wetted Area

We can approximate the partially filled surface area of the torispherical head using
the formula for elliptical heads. This approximation will over estimate the surface
area because a torispherical head is flatter than a ellipsoidal head. This assumption is
conservative for pool fire relieving calculations.

⎛ h ⎛ ( Di − 0.5) + B ⎞⎞
h
πDi2 1 4ε
Aw = ⎜ ( − 0.5) B + 1 + ln ⎜ ⎟⎟
8 ⎝ Di 4ε ⎝ 2− 3 ⎠⎠
2
1 + 12 ( − 0.5)
h
B=
Di
4z 2
ε= 1− 2
Di

The wetted area calculated using this method does not include the straight flange of
the head. The length of the straight flange must be included in the calculation of the
wetted area of the cylindrical section.

5.2 Volume

2 3
Vp = D i C ( 3 ( ) − 2 ( ) )
3 π h h
12 Di Di

Where,

for ASME Torispherical heads:

Rk − 0.06Do t 2
+ 0.98997 ( )
t
C = 0.30939 + 1.7197 − 0.16116
Di Do Do

for DIN 28011 Torispherical heads:

t 2
+ 1.3762 ( )
t
C = 0.37802 + 0.05073
Do Do

The volume calculated does not include the straight flange of the head, only the
curved section. The straight flange length must be included in the calculation of the
volume of the cylindrical section.

top
6. BUMPED HEADS - HORIZONTAL VESSEL
Bumped heads have the lowest cost but also the lowest design pressures, unlike
torispherical or ellipsoidal heads they have no knuckle. They are typically used in
atmospheric tanks, such as horizontal liquid fuel storage tanks or road tankers.

Here we present formulae for calculated the wetted area and volume for an arbitrary
liquid level height in a single Bumped head.

6.1 Wetted Area

We can approximate the partially filled surface area of the bumped head using the
formula for elliptical heads. This approximation will over estimate the surface area,
which is conservative for pool fire relieving calculations.

⎛ h 1 ⎛ ( Di − 0.5) + B ⎞⎞
h
πDi2 4ε
Aw = ⎜ ( − 0.5) B + 1 + ln ⎜ ⎟⎟
8 ⎝ Di 4ε ⎝ 2− 3 ⎠⎠
2
1 + 12 ( − 0.5)
h
B=
Di
4z 2
ε= 1− 2
Di

6.2 Volume

1 2
Vt = πz (3Rc − z )
3

3Vt h 2
( ) (1 − )
h
Vp =
4 R 3R

The partially filled volume equation is an approximation, but will give a reasonable
accuracy for vessel volume calculations.

7. CYLINDRICAL SECTION - HORIZONTAL VESSEL

Here we present formulae for calculated the wetted area and volume for an arbitrary
liquid level height in the cylindrical section of a horizontal drum.

7.1 Wetted Area

R−h
Ap = 2LRcos −1
( )
R

(1 − 2 )
−1 h
Ap = LDi cos
Di

7.2 Volume

R−h
Vp = L (R cos 2 −1
( ) − (R − H) 2Rh − h2 )
R

⎛1 1 h 2⎞
Vp = LDi ⎜ cos (1 − 2 ) − ( − ) −( ) ⎟
2 −1 h h h
⎝4 Di 2 Di Di Di ⎠

Where the vessel has torispherical or ellipsoidal heads the straight flange length of the
head should be included in the cylindrical section length when calculating the volume
or surface area.

8. REFERENCES
1. B Wiencke, 2009, Computing the partial volume of pressure vessels

2. R Doane, 2007, Accurate Wetted Areas for Partially Filled Vessels

3. E Ludwing, 1997, Applied Process Design for Chemical and Petrochemical Plants (Volume
2)

4. E Weisstein, 2013, Cylindrical Segment. From MathWorld

Article Created: March 1, 2013

  

ARTICLE TAGS

Bumped Cylindrical Dished Hemispherical Horizontal Drum Liquid Level

Partially Filled Torospherical Vessel Vessel Head Volume Wetted Area

9. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MAILING LIST

Email
Name

Subscribe

© 2020 Native Dynamics | Contact | Copyright and Disclaimer