By: Sisay. F(Msc.

)
 Chapter - one
Mechanical design of pressure vessels
Design of Vessels Subject to Combined Loading
 Introduction
 In addition to pressure, Pressure vessels are subjected to
other loads

 It must be designed to withstand the worst combination of

loading without failure
The main sources of load to consider are:-
 Pressure,

 Dead weight of vessel and contents.

 Wind.

 Earthquake (seismic).

 External loads imposed by piping and attached equipment

 The primary stresses arising from these loads are
considered in the following
 The longitudinal and circumferential stresses due to

pressure (internal or external) are given by:

 The direct stress σw due to the weight of the vessel,
its contents, and any attachments

 where W is the total weight which is supported by the vessel

wall at the plane considered,
 Bending stresses, σb resulting from the bending
moments to which the vessel is subjected.
 It will be caused by the following loading conditions:

 The wind loads on tall self-supported vessels

 Seismic (earthquake) loads on tall vessels

 The dead weight and wind loads

 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 Mv is the total bending moment at the plane being

considered and lv the second moment of area of the
vessel about the plane of bending.
 Torsional shear stresses T resulting from torque caused
by loads offset from the vessel axis. It is not significant

Where, T — the applied torque,

IP = polar second moment of area
 The total longitudinal stress is the summation
of σl, σw, and σb.
𝜎𝑧 = 𝜎𝐿 − 𝜎𝑤 ± 𝜎𝑏
 Allowable stress intensity
 The maximum shear-stress theory is normally used for pressure
vessel design, and is the criterion used in BS 5500.
 Using this criterion the maximum stress intensity at any point is
taken for design purposes.

 𝜎3 is negligible
 The vessel wall thickness must be sufficient to ensure the
maximum stress intensity does not exceed the design stress
(nominal design strength) at any point.
 Elastic stability
 A column design must be checked to ensure that the maximum
value of the resultant longitudinal stress does not exceed the
critical value at which buckling will occur.
 For a curved plate subjected to an axial compressive load the
critical buckling stress (σc) is given by (Timoshenko, 1936):

 where Rp is the radius of curvature

 The maximum compressive stress in a vessel wall should not
exceed that given by equation above.
 Weight loads
 The major sources of dead weight loads are:
 The vessel shell.
 The vessel fittings: man ways, nozzles.
 Internal fittings: plates (plus the fluid on the plates); heating
and cooling coils.
 External fittings: ladders, platforms, piping.
 Auxiliary equipment which is not self-supported;
condensers, agitators.
 Insulation.
 The weight of liquid to fill the vessel
 For vessels on a skirt support, the weight of the liquid to fill
the vessel will be transferred directly to the skirt

 The weight of the vessel and fittings can be calculated from the
preliminary design sketches.

 The weights of standard vessel components: heads, shell

plates, man ways, branches and nozzles, are given in various
handbooks; Megyesy (1986) and Brownell and Young (1959).
 For preliminary calculations the approximate weight of a
cylindrical vessel with domed ends, and uniform wall
thickness, can be estimated from the following equation:
 For a steel vessel, above equation can be reduced
to:
 The following values can be used as a rough guide to the
weight of fittings; see Nelson (1963):
 Typical values for the density of insulating materials are (all
kg/m3):

 The weight of the insulating materials should be doubled to

allow for attachment fittings, sealing, and moisture absorption.
 Wind loads

 Wind loading will only be important on tall columns installed

in the open.

 Columns and chimney-stacks are usually free standing,

mounted on skirt supports, and not attached to structural steel
work.

 Under these conditions the vessel under wind loading acts as a

cantilever beam,
 Wind load on tall column is depicted diagrammatically as below.
 For a uniformly loaded cantilever the bending moment
at any plane is given by:

 where Mx is Bending moment

x is the distance measured from the free end and
w the load per unit length (Newtons per metre run).
 Bending moment diagram is depicted diagrammatically as below.
 So the bending moment, and hence the bending stress, will vary
parabolically from zero at the top of the column to a maximum
value at the base.
 For tall columns the bending stress due to wind loading will
often be greater than direct stress due to dead weight, and will
determine the plate thickness required.
 The most economical design will be one in which the plate
thickness is progressively increased from the top to the base of
the column.
 Any local increase in the column area presented to the wind
will give rise to a local concentrated load.
 The bending moment at the column base caused by a concentrated
load is given by:

 where Fp = local, concentrated, load,

Hp = the height of the concentrated load above the column base
Dynamic wind pressure
 The load imposed on any structure by the action of the
wind will depend on the shape of the structure and the
wind velocity.
 The drag coefficient is a function of the shape of the structure
and the wind velocity (Reynolds number).

 For a smooth cylindrical column or stack the following semi-

empirical equation can be used to estimate the wind pressure.

 where 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, the factor of 0.05 in above equation should
be increased to 0.07, to allow for the increased drag.

 A column must be designed to withstand the highest wind speed

that is likely to be encountered at the site during the life of the
plant.

 The probability of a given wind speed occurring can be predicted

by studying meteorological records for the site location.
 Maps showing the wind speeds to be used in the design of
structures at locations in the United Kingdom are given in
the British Standards Code of Practice BS CP 3: 1972.

 A wind speed of 160 km/h can be used for preliminary

design studies; equivalent to a wind pressure of 1280 N/m2.
 At any site, the wind velocity near the ground will be lower
than that higher up (due to the boundary layer).
 In some design methods
 P@(H< 20 m) = 0.5 ∗ P@(H> 20 m)
 The loading per unit length of the column can be obtained
from the wind pressure.

 Where, Deff: the outside diameter plus an allowance for

the thermal insulation and attachments (pipes and ladders)
 Earthquake 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:-

 The term (ae/g) is called the seismic constant Ce, and is a
function of the natural period of vibration of the vessel
and the severity of the earthquake.

 The values of the seismic constant have been determined

empirically from studies of the damage caused by
earthquakes, and are available for those geographical
locations which are subject to earthquake activity.
 Eccentric loads
 Auxiliary equipment attached to a tall vessel will subject
the vessel to a bending moment if the center of gravity of
the equipment does not coincide with the center line of
the vessel.

 The moment produced by small fittings, such as ladders,

pipes and manways, will be small and can be neglected
 That produced by heavy equipment, such as reflux
condensers and side platforms, can be significant and
should be considered.

 The moment is given by:

 Bending moment due to offset equipment is shown
diagrammatically as below.
 Torque
 Any horizontal force imposed on the vessel by ancillary
equipment, the line of thrust of which does not pass through
the center line of the vessel, will produce a torque on the
vessel.

 Such loads can arise through wind pressure on piping and

other attachments.

 However, the torque will normally be small and usually can

be disregarded.
 The pipe work and the connections for any ancillary
equipment will be designed so as not to impose a significant
load on the vessel.

T = F * r * sin(theta)

Where
 T = torque
 F = the applied force
 r = distance measured from the axis of rotation to where the
force is applied
 theta = the angle between F and r
Design problem

Make a preliminary estimate of the plate thickness required for the

distillation column specified below
Height between tangent lines : 50 m
Diameter : 2 m
Skirt support, height : 3 m
100 sieve plates, equally spaced
Insulation, mineral wool : 75 mm thick
Material of construction, stainless steel,
Design stress 135 N/mm2 at design temperature 200°C
Operating pressure : 9 bar
Vessel to be fully radiographed (joint factor 1).