Design of closers based on

internal pressure

Ref:
Mechanical System Design
By Farazdak Haideri
Introduction to chemical equipment design
By. Bhattacharya
 Type of Closers
• Flat plate or/and formed flat heads.
– Man ways and as channel cover in STHE
– Low pressure applications
– Blind flange openings
– Higher material cost and
lowest fabrication cost
• Flanged Only heads
– Type of flat plate with gradual change at the corners
– Widely used for closing horizontal storage tanks
at 1 atm like kerosene, fuel oil etc.
– Used for surge drum rested on concrete slab.
• Torispherical head/ Standard Dished head
– Consist of two radius central crown radius
and corner knuckle radius
– Used for vessel up to 15atm pressure for
fluids like naphtha, gasoil
– Preferred for large diameter tanks
for storing volatile liquids
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 Type of Closers
• Elliptical heads
– Mostly preferred for pressure above 15atm.
– Diameter changes from central part to the corner part
– Most standard head are having major to minor axis ratio 2:1.
– Strength is equal to seamless cylindrical vessel
– Selection is to be made between dished head and elliptical
head based on economics.
• Hemispherical heads
– Strongest among the formed heads.
– Mostly preferred in heavy duty high pressure vessel consisting of
gases and vapors.
– Capacity is twice as that of elliptical head and cylindrical part of
same diameter and thickness
– Cost is greatest among all the heads
• Conical head
– Used in bottom of evaporators, spray driers, crystallizers, settling tanks,
silos etc.
– Also used in case of smooth transition between different diameters in
cylindrical vessels.
– Cones having apex angle 600 are commonly used for easy solid handling.
 Selection
• Process Temperature and pressure
• Nature of materials to be handled
• Position of vessel (Horizontal/vertical)
• Nature of support
• Economy
(a) Formed Flat Head
(b)-
(c)- Torispherical Heads
(d)-
(e) Elliptical Head
(f) Hemispherical Head
(g) Conical Head

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 Volume contained Within
Flat plate head V =0
 h 2 0.17 d i 
Torispherical head V = πh  Rc −  = π (0.17 d i )  d i −
2
 = 0.085d i
3

 3  3 

2πabc 0.262d i3
Elliptical head V= = = 0.131d i3
3 k
1  πd i3 
V =   = 0.262d i3
Hemispherical head 2 6 
πh
Conical head V =
12
(d i
2
) (
+ d i d fr + d 2fr = 0.262h d i2 + d i d fr + d 2fr )
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 Flat heads (Flanged only head )

pi
th = C p D
f
• Cp = Design Constant(Edge Fixicity constant)
• D = Nominal Diameter
• pi = Internal Design Pressure
2
3 D
• ƒ = Design Stress= pi  
16  t 

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 Cp values of flat plates

D 0.6, rc = 0.25t, Cp = 0.45 Cp = 0.7

Cp 0.55 Cp = 0.42 Cp = 0.55

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 Values of cp
(a) Flanged Only end: D ≤ 0.6, rc = 0.25t, Cp =
0.45
(b) Plates welded at the ends no inside welding :
Cp = 0.7
(c) Plates welded at the ends within inside
diameter: angle 450, Cp ≥ 0.55
(d) Bolted end : Cp = 0.42
(e) Bolted end with narrow face gaskets: Cp =
0.55
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 Formed head Section and significance
• Contains three integral part
1. Central Dishing (Crown)
2. Corner torus (Knuckle)
3. End straight flange (Cylinder)
• Two junctions contains discontinuity in stresses
1. Between crown and knuckle radius
2. Between knuckle and straight flange
• Common is Knuckle radius part so thickness
calculation is based on that part.
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 Shallow Or Torispherical Heads

pi Rc Cs
th =
2 fJ + pi (Cs − 0.2 )
• Rc = crown radius ≤ ID of shell
• Rk = knuckle radius = 6% of ID or 3th whichever is less
• Cs = stress concentration factor =

1
4
(
3 + Rc Rk ) _k ≥ 0.06
R
Rc

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 Torispherical head design

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 Torispherical head
r = crown radius and iCr = knuckle radius
b = r – AC = r – (BC )2 − ( AB )2
Where AB = ID/2 – iCr & BC = r – iCr
OA = t+b+SF
SF = 3.th
Blank Diameter (in inches)
For th <1in = OD + (OD/42) + 2SF + (2/3)iCr
For th >1in = OD + (OD/24) + 2SF + (2/3)iCr + th
Weight of head = (π/4)(BD)2t*ρ

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 Elliptical Head
pi DiV
t=
2 fJ − 0.2 pi
1
(
V = stress concentration factor = 2 + k
6
2
)
k = ratio of major axis to minor axis.
Value of K should be less than 2.6, optimally
a
2 for unfired pressure vessel = b

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 Elliptical head design

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 Blank Diameter of elliptical head

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 Hemispherical Head

pD
t=
4 fJ
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 Design of Conical Head
• It is divided into two parts
– Thickness for half apex angle (α) ≤ 30o
– Thickness for half apex angle (α) > 30o
• In both cases the thickness will remain same
and given by
pi D 1 Where
t= D = Di for α< 30
fJ − 0.6 pi 2 cos α D = dfr for α > 30

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 For α < 30
• Junction of conical head and shell will be the
weakest link.
• Compensating ring will be required.
• If α ≤ ∆ not required, otherwise required.
P/fE 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006
∆ 13 18 22 25 28 31

• The cross sectional area of ring will be

P  D 2 tan α   ∆ 
Ac =   × 1 − 
fJ  8   α
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 For α > 30
• Head is connected to shell either by torus ring
or by knuckle radius to reduce the junction
stresses.
• The required thickness of knuckle is
PLW d1 1 L
tk = L= W = 3 + 
2 fJ − 0.2 P 2 cos α 4 R1 

• R1 = knuckle radius
• Weight of head is given by
2 π 2
( )
Wc =  π ro − ri MPS,DDU
3 3
( 
+ Do − Di SF  ρ
2
)
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3 4  21
 Conical head
• If α < 450, the conical head is designed as a cylindrical shell
with the same diameter as the large end of the cone and a
length equal to the axial length of the cone.
• If 450 < α < 1200, designed as a shell, except that the diameter
at the larger end of the cone is also taken as the length of an
equivalent equipment. (Cylinder)
• If α > 1200, designed as flat plate having diameter equal to the
largest diameter of the cone.
• The length of the larger section Lk depends upon the cone
angle,
Ditk
Lk =
4 cos α
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