Pressure Vessels

• Pressure vessels are leak-proof containers designed to hold fluids at a

pressure substantially different from atmospheric (<3000 Psig)
• Types: spherical, cylindrical and conical pressure vessels

Choice of the Vessels depending on

(i) intended service, (ii) location, (iii) nature of the fluid to be
contained, (iv) pressure and temperature requirements and (v) volume of
fluid to be stored

• Most commonly used: Cylindrical shells due to lower manufacturing

costs, lower floor space requirement and good stability

• Cylindrical Shells are provided with flat, round or conical closures

and may be horizontal or vertical
 Pressure Vessels
• Spherical vessels are primarily used for storing large volumes under pressure,
e.g., storage of liquid ammonia and LPG

• Spherical shape distributes the stress evenly and leads to lower wall thickness
compared to cylindrical vessels for the same pressure rating

• Fabrication cost of spheres is higher compared to cylindrical vessels, and

hence, spheres are economic only under higher pressure and large volume

• The material of construction is decided based on service conditions (wear,

corrosion, operating temperature), availability, strength requirements and cost

• Generally, fabricated from carbon steel or stainless steel and assembled

by welding
Classification of closed top thin-
walled pressure vessel.
 Criteria for selecting the orientation of
cylindrical vessels.
Vertical vessel Horizontal vessel

• High vapour-liquid ratio, especially Low vapour-liquid ratio/large liquid

when flashing vapour enters the drum. volume
• Stable vapour-liquid separation, even if Low downward liquid velocity, e.g.,
liquid level fluctuates frequently. handling foaming liquid or difficult
• When re-vaporization or re-mixing of liquid-liquid separation.
fluids is to be avoided. Large liquid surface area required,
• Limited floor area - Gas-liquid separator e.g., degassing purposes.
Restricted headspace - Liquid drum
Components of Pressure Vessels
 Pressure Vessel Main Components
Shell
• Comprises of several plates welded together with a common
rotational axis in order to contain pressure
• Commercial pipes can be used as vessel shell for diameter below
610 mm (24’’)
End closures/Heads
• Cylindrical vessels can have flat or rounded heads
• The rounded heads can be hemispherical, semi-ellipsoidal or tori
spherical, Conical closures are also used
Nozzles
• Provided at specific vessel locations to serve different purposes,
 Pressure Vessel Main Components
Vortex breakers
• Liquid exiting through a nozzle at a high flow rate often creates a
vortex
• Strong vortex at gas-liquid interphase drags vapour into the liquid
stream
• The two-phase flow, offering higher resistance, reduces the liquid
flow rate
• Any entrained gas/vapour carried to a pump would lead to cavitation
Manholes:
• Human access to column/vessel internals during fabrication,
erection, assembling (dumping/stacking packings), maintenance and
inspection of equipment, as well as repair/replacement of damaged
internals
Head types of cylindrical vessels
 Pressel Vessel Supports
• Supports are non-pressure parts to carry the weight of vessel and
contents, withstand loads like wind, earthquake, etc.,

• Allow easy access to vessel and fittings for inspection and maintenance

• Since these impose localised loads on the vessel wall, it is important to

check that the resulting stress is below the maximum allowable design
stress

Support type selection:

• size, shape and weight of the vessel

• vessel location and arrangement

• internal and external fittings and arrangement

 Pressure Vessels Supports

Bracket/ Lug Support

Skirt Support
Saddle Support Ring Support
Mechanical Design of Pressure
vessel
• Pressure vessel codes are not only used by the designers but are also
required to be followed by fabricators and inspection and certification
agencies
• Insurance agencies require information on the code that has been
followed in designing the vessel
• The codes contain mandatory requirements, prohibitions, as well as
some non-mandatory guidelines for the material of construction, design,
fabrication, inspection, testing and certification
 Design Parameters
• An optimum design considering safety and economics requires an
understanding of the parameters, which affect pressure vessels due to the
varying loads, pressure and thickness
Operating pressure
• is the maximum pressure, internal or external to which a vessel is
subjected during its service
• This is based on the ambient temperature, operational variations
encountered during service, pressure variations due to change in the state of
the fluid, shut off pressure due to pump/ compressor, static head due to
liquid level in vessel and system pressure drop and pre-operating conditions
Operating temperature

• Refers to the minimum and maximum temperature that the vessel

material is expected to encounter during its service life

Design temperature

• Refers to the maximum and minimum design temperature

• The maximum design temperature is the maximum fluid temperature,

which occurs during normal operating conditions or the temperature that
corresponds to design pressure

• The minimum design temperature is the lowest expected service

temperature in the vessel

• Different codes suggest the incorporation of different allowances to the

minimum and maximum working temperature for fixing the design
Design pressure

• is ‘the pressure (internal or external), including the static head used in the design
calculations of a vessel for purpose of determining the minimum thickness of the
various component parts of the vessel’ and is obtained ‘by adding a minimum of five
percent or as may be agreed between the purchaser and the manufacturer to the
maximum working pressure’

• The maximum working pressure is ‘the maximum gauge pressure, at the co-incident
metal temperature, that is permitted for the vessel in operation

As per the ASME Code

Design pressure = 1.1* Operating Pressure

Hydrostatic test pressure = 1.3*Design Pressure

Maximum allowable stress
• is the upper limit of stress that can be imposed by loading on the pressure
vessel
• The loadings may be applied over large portions or at localised regions of
the vessel and include (i) internal/external pressure (ii) dead loads due to
weight of vessel and contents (iii) external load from piping, attachments
and supports, as well as wind and earthquakes, (iv) operating type load,
e.g., vibration and sloshing of contents and (v) start-up and shutdown loads.
The maximum allowable stress is a function of temperature and is specified
for different materials in the codes
 Design loads:
A structure must be designed to resist gross plastic deformation an collapse
under all the conditions of loading.
Major loads( must be considered)
1. Design pressure: including any significant
static head of liquid.
2. Maximum weight of the vessel and contents,
under operating conditions.
3. Maximum weight of the vessel and contents
under the hydraulic test conditions.
4. Wind loads.
5. Earthquake (seismic) loads.
6. Loads supported by, or reacting on, the
vessel.
Subsidiary loads:
1. Local stresses caused by supports,
internal structures and connecting
pipes.
2. Shock loads caused by water hammer, or
by surging of the vessel contents.
3. Bending moments caused by eccentricity
of the centre of the working pressure
relative to the neutral axis of the vessel.
4. Stresses due to temperature differences
and differences in the coefficient
expansion of materials.
5. Loads caused by fluctuations in
temperature and pressure.
 Design of vessels subjected to combined loading

• Pressure vessels are subjected to other loads in addition to pressure and must be
designed to withstand the worst combination of loading without failure.
The main sources of load to consider are:
Pressure
Dead weight of vessels and contents
Wind
Earthquake(seismic)
External loads imposed by piping and attached equipment

Primary stresses for a cylindrical vessel:

1.The longitudinal stress:
PDi
L  P: Internal pressure, Di: Mean dia=O.D- t
4t
PDi
The hoop stress: h 
2t
2. The direct stress is due to weight of the vessel, its contents and any
attachments. The stress will be tensile (+ve) for points below the plane of
the vessel supports, and compressive(-ve) for points above the support
Wz
w 
 Di  t t

• Where Wz is the total weight supported by the vessel wall at the plate
considered.
3. Bending stresses resulting from the bending moments to which the vessel is
subjected. Bending moments will be caused by the following loading
conditions:
(a) The wind loads on tall self-supported vessels.
(b) Seismic (earthquake) loads on tall vessels .
(c) The dead weight and wind loads on piping and equipment which is
attached to the vessel, but offset from the vessel centre line.
(d) For horizontal vessels with saddle supports, from the disposition of dead-
weight load.

• The bending stresses will be compressive or tensile, depending on location,

and are given by:

Where, M= total bending moment

And Iv is the second moment of area of the vessel about the plane of bending
4. Torsional shear stress  resulting from torque caused by loads offset
from the vessel axis.

T= the applied torque.

Ip= polar second moment of area = (

Principal stresses:
the principal stresses are given by

σz = total longitudinal stress

=  L w b
Third principal stress is radial stress which will be negligible for for thin
walled vessel , an approximate value= 0.5P
• Compressive stresses and elastic stability:
Under conditions where the resultant axial stress σZ due to combined
loading is compressive, the vessel may fail by elastic instability( buckling).
Local buckling can occur at a lower stress than that required for overall
buckling.
For curved plates , the critical buckling stress

Where Rp is radius of curvature,

For a poisons ratio of 0.3 and E=200000 N/mm², and adding a safety factor
of 12,
• Weight loads:
The major sources of dead weight loads are:
1. The vessel shell.
2. The vessel fittings: man ways, nozzles.
3. Internal fittings: plates (plus the fluid on the plates); heating and cooling
coils.
4. External fittings: ladders, platforms, piping.
5. Auxiliary equipment which is not self-supported; condensers, agitators.
6. Insulation.
7. The weight of liquid to fill the vessel. The vessel will be filled with water
for the hydraulic pressure test; and may fill with process liquid due to mis-
operation.
• For preliminary calculations the approximate weight of a cylindrical vessel
with domed ends and uniform wall thickness can be estimated by the
following eqn.:
 Typical values for weight of fittngs:
(a) caged ladders, steel, 360 N/m length,
(b) plain ladders, steel, 150 N/m length,
(c) platforms, steel, for vertical columns, 1.7 kN/m² area,
(d) contacting plates, steel, including typical liquid loading, 1.2 kN/m² plate
area.
 Typical densities (kg/m³) of insulating materials:

• Wind loads:
Wind loading will be important in tall columns installed in open. For a uniformly
loaded cantilever, the bending moment at any plate is given by:

Where x is the distance measured from free end and W the load per unit length.
• Dynamic wind pressure:
The load imposed on any structure by the action of wind will depend on the
shape of the structure and the win velocity:

Where,
• Pw = wind pressure (load per unit area),
• Cd = drag coefficient (shape factor),
• ρa = density of air,
• Uw = wind velocity.
Cd= fn(Nre, shape of the structure)

• For a smooth cylindrical column or stack the following semi-empirical

equation can be used to estimate the wind pressure:

• Pw — wind pressure, N/m2,

• uw = wind speed, km/h.
• If the column outline is broken up by attachments, such as ladders or pipe
work factor of 0.05 is increased to 0.07.
• The column must be designed based to withstand the highest wind speed on
the location site provided by meteorological records.
• A wind speed of 160 km/h (lOO mph) can be used for preliminary design
studies; equivalent to a wind pressure of 1280 N/m2 (25 lb/ft2).
• The load per unit length of the column

• Deff = Do+allowance for thermal insulation

• Earth quake loading:
• The movement of the earth's surface during an earthquake produces
horizontal shear forces on tall self-supported vessels, the magnitude of
which increases from the base upward. The total shear force on the vessel
will be given by:

where ae = the acceleration of the vessel due to the earthquake,

g = the acceleration due to gravity,
W = total weight of the vessel.
• Eccentric loadings:
• Ancillary equipment attached to a tall vessel will subject the vessel to a
bending moment if the centre of gravity of the equipment does not coincide
with the centre line of the vessel

• We — dead weight of the equipment,

• Lo = distance between the centre of gravity of the equipment and the
column centre line.
• Solution:

Given data: operating pressure = 10 bar (abs)

Therefore, design presuure = (10-1)*1.1= 9.9 bar or 1N/mm²

Minimum thickness required for P loading according to ASME BPV CODE:

PDm
Thickness = 2J  1.2 J
= 7.4 mm

Dead weight of vessel:

Cv = 1.15, vessels with plates
Height = 50 m
t=14 mm
• Weight of paltes


Plate area = d2
4

Weight of a plate including liquid on it = 1.2*3.4= 3.8 KN

For 100 plates, 380 KN

Weight of insulation:
Mineral wool density: 130kg/m³

Volume of insulator: ?
Weight of insulator:?

Total weight:
Shell:
Plates and columns:
Insulation:
• Wind loading:
Take dynamic wind pressure as 1280N/m²
Mean diameter, including insulation:
Loading: 1280*2.18= 2790N/m

Bending moment at bottom tangent line: Mx= 2790/2 * 50² =

Pressure stresses:
Longitudinal stress=
Hoop stress=
Wv
Dead weight stress=  ( Di  t )t

Bending stresses:
Do=2000+2*18=2036mm

Iv=second moment of area= 

( Do4  Di4 )
64
M  Di 
Bending stress =    t) 
Iv  2 
• Resultant longitudinal stress is:

 z   L w b
If bending stress is tensile:
If bending stress is compressive:

Principal stresses:

Check elastic stability:

Critical buckling stress =
• A vertical vessel with a cylinrical shell and hemispherical heads is to be
installed in a closed shed. Internal diamter of the vesssel is 1800 mm and
its thickness is 12mm, tangent to tangent length of vessel is 10.5 mts. The
vessel contains a liquid of density 800 kg/m³. the vessel is filled to 75% of
its capcacity. Determine the total weight of the vessel and the longitudinal
stress in the cylindrical shell above and below the support which is at the
lower head of the junction.
• Permissible stress= 1040 kg/cm², density of material=7800 kg/m³, J=0.85
Soln:
Volume occupied by cylindrical shell=π/4*D² *Hv= 26.72m³

Weight of cylindrical shell= π*D*Hv*t*ℓ*g= 54520 N

Volume of hemispherical heads=π/6*D³= 3.05 m³

Weight of hemispherical heads= π*D²*t*ℓ*g= 9346 N

Volume of liquid filled in the vessel= 29.77*0.75=22.33 m³

Height of cylindrical shell upto which liquid is filled in the vessel=

• Internal design pressure= P= 1148.6 KN/m²

Longitudinal stress= PD/4t=43073 KN/m²

Dead weight of the vessel above the supports= shell weight +hemisphpericla head weigh
=54520N+ 4673N= 59.193KN

resultant longitudinal stress (above the skirt): 43073KN/m² - 59.193/(πDt)

= 42200.7 KN/m²

Weight of fluid = 22.33*800*9.81= 175.24 KN

Weight of hemispherical shell= 4.67KN

Resultant Longitudinal stress (below the skirt) : 43073 KN/m²+ (175.24+4.67)/πDt

= 45724 KN/m²
 Vessel supports

• Vessel support:
• Types of support to be provided to a vessel depend upon its
a) configuration,
b) H/ D ratio of a vessel,
c) convenience of location,
d) operating temperature and MOC

Design of support for vessel:

The 4 types of vessel commonly used:
1. Skirt support 2. saddle support
3. Bracket or lug support 4. leg support.
• Skirt support: a skirt support consists of a cylindrical or conical shell
welded to the base of the vessel. A flange at the bottom of the skirt
transmits the load to the foundations
Skirt supports are recommended for vertical vessels, as they do not impose
concentrated loads on vessel shell; they are practically suitable for use with
tall columns subjected to wind loading.
• Skirt thickness:
• The skirt thickness must be sufficient to withstand the dead weigh loads
and bending moments imposed on it by the vessel; it will not be under the
pressure vessel
• Resultant stresses in the skirt will be:

• Bending stress in the skirt, σbs

• The dead weight stress in the skirt,σws

• where Ms — maximum bending moment, evaluated at the base of the skirt
(due to wind, seismic and eccentric loads, see Section 13.8 Coulson &
Richardson, Vol.6),
• W = total weight of the vessel and contents (see Section 13.8),
• Ds = inside diameter of the skirt, at the base,
• ts = skirt thickness
Example : Design a skirt support for the column specified in Pressure vessel.

• The maximum dead weight will fall on the skirt when the vessel is under
full load.
• Tangent to tangent height: 50m
• Diameter of vessel: 2m
 2
• Therefore, approx weight: 4 D H    g = kN
• Weight of vessel : 842 kN from ex:
• Wind load : 2.79 kN/m
• Bending moment at the base of the skirt. Take the height as skirt as 3 mts.
Therefore total height is 53 mts
• Bending moment at base of skirt is: = 3919 kNm

• Try a skirt of thickness similar to the pressure vessel: 18 mm

• Bending stress at the base of skirt:

= 68.7 N/mm²

• Dead weight stress in the skirt

• W= total weight of vessels and its contents (either on full load or under
operating conditions)
• Full load is considered for a safe design of skirt thickness
• Dead weight stress:

• Compressive stress:

Consider a maximum compressive stress that is under test conditions. (when

full load is on skirt, for compressive stress dead weight is on +ve direction )
• Consider a maximum tensile stress. Under operating conditions. For tensile
stress the dead weight stress is in negative direction.
• Therefore maximum tensile stress is

• Criteria for design:

Take J as 0.85, consider θ = 90⁰( no angle for skirt)

Where fs is max. allowable stress= 135 N/mm²

• The thickness seems to be sufficient for tensile load.

• Criteria for compressive stress:

• Where, E = modulus of elasticity , for SS material E= 200000N/mm²

• Therefore the thickness considered is sufficient.