CEIC3004 Design Manual for Pressure Vessel

1 TECHNICAL DESIGN PROCESS

Consider what a stepwise design process might look like for this piece of equipment

In general, pressure vessels are designed according to AS1210-2010. This standard establishes rules of
safety relating to pressure integrity and provides guidance on design, materials of construction, fabrication,
inspection and safety. While the standard provides formulas for thickness and stress of basic components,
the chemical engineer must still select the appropriate procedures in designing the pressure vessel (Towler
and Sinnot, 2013). The process below outlines the steps for the technical design of a pressure vessel:

1. Calculate operating/design temperature and pressure. See assumptions below for further
information.
2. Check that AS1210-2010 can be used for the design of the pressure vessel. It can be used for
welded, forged, brazed or cast metallic vessels or non-metallic vessels if the design pressures P of
the vessel is above the curves in Figures 1.3.1 and Figure 1.3.2 on page 12 of AS1210-2010.
3. Calculate longitudinal and circumferential stress on the wall.
4. Calculate the minimal wall thickness using the values obtained from Step 3.
5. Decide on the type, specification, grade, composition and/or dimension of the material to be used in
construction. Obtain the design tensile stress from Table B1 (pg 313-325 in AS1210).
a. Pressure vessels are typically constructed from plain carbon steel, low and high alloy steels,
other alloys or reinforced plastics. Materials are selected according to suitability for
construction (such as welding) and for the process design. (Towler and Sinnot, 2013)
b. Proprietary designs may be useful in determining the type of pressure vessel.
6. Determine the maximum welded joint efficiency from Table 3.5.1.7 from AS1210-2010 (pg 91)
dependent on the following properties.
a. Type of Joint: Options include butt joint, corner joint, edge joint, lap joint or tee joint. Welding
could include single or double fillet weld.
b. Permissible joint location: Type A,B,C,D welds. See Slides 48-73 of Lecture 2 (Lim 2022).
c. Vessel Classification: Four classes (1, 2A, 2B and 3) which are classified according to
design, manufacturer, testing and inspection requirements.
7. Calculate the minimum calculated thickness (MCT) for the pressure vessel using the values
obtained from Step 5 and 6.

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 8. Determine the minimum required thickness of the vessel using the table on Slide 107 of the PVD
Lecture 2 (Lim 2022).
9. Using material manufacturer information, identify the nominal thickness of the pressure vessel.
10. Decide on the vessel end type, depending on the amount of pressure the vessel must withstand. For
vessels with ends of small diameter or low pressure, flat plates may be acceptable. If this is not the
case, choose a dished end, beginning calculations with torispherical, then ellipsoidal, then a
spherical end if necessary.
11. Determine the minimum calculated thickness for the end closure. See slides 38 – 60 of PVD
Lecture 3 (Lim 2022)
12. Determine the minimum required thickness for the end closure from the table on Slide 107 of the
PVD Lecture 2 (Lim 2022).
13. Using material manufacturer information, identify the nominal thickness of the end closure.
14. Calculate the weight of the vessel, the weight of the fittings, and the weight of the insulation from
the specifications of the vessel, and taking the vessel thickness to be approximately 2x MCT. See
slides 30 – 45 of PVD Lecture 3 (Lim 2022).
15. Use the sum of these weights to calculate the total direct stress exerted on the pressure vessel
(slide 30 of PVD Lecture 4 – Lim 2022).
16. Calculate the bending moments due to: Eccentric load, Wind load, Additional wind load,
Earthquakes. See slides 49 – 53 of PVD Lecture 4 (Lim 2022)
17. Using the sum of these bending moments, calculate the bending stress exerted on the pressure
vessel. See slides 47 – 48 of PVD Lecture 4 (Lim 2022)
18. Determine 𝜎𝜎1 , 𝜎𝜎2 , and 𝜎𝜎3 , and find whether (𝜎𝜎1 − 𝜎𝜎2 ),(𝜎𝜎2 − 𝜎𝜎3 ) and (𝜎𝜎1 − 𝜎𝜎3 ), are all less than the
design tensile strength f (determined in step 5) of the material of construction. See slides 64 – 67 of
PVD Lecture 4 (Lim 2022)
19. If not, repeat steps 14-18 using a thicker MCT (see slide 67 of PVD Lecture 4 for the iterative
process. It would be easiest to complete this on excel).
20. Choose the type of vessel support to be used for the pressure vessel, depending on the size, shape
and weight of the vessel, the design temperature and pressure, the vessel location and
arrangement, and the internal and external fittings and attachments.
21. Ensure that supports are designed for easy access to the vessel, can withstand the maximum load
of the vessel, and comply with AS3990 / AS4100 (Steel), or AS3600 (Concrete).

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AS1210-2010 utilises international standards such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
(ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. Other standards such as the British, EN and ISO Standards are
also implemented. These international standards may also be usedin the designing of a pressure vessel,
where information cannot be found in the Australian Standards. Additionally, it is important to consider a
variety of other Australian standards in the technical design. Requirements for the manufacturing, testing
and conformity assessments can be found in AS 4458, AS 3920.1, AS/NZS 3992 and AS4037.
2 IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS2.1 General Objective

What is the typical objective for this piece of equipment?

Essential in a wide range of industrial plant for storage and manufacturing purposes, typically, the main
objective of a pressure vessel is to act as an enclosed container that is capable of safely containing liquids,
vapours, or gases at a pressure that is considerable higher or lower than ambient pressure (ScienceDirect,
Pressure vessel).

Although different countries have different pressure vessel standards, an industry-viable or successful
pressure vessel must inherently be structurally sound to an extent that will allow it to operate indefinitely
within its safety limits as defined by the design temperature and pressure. Failing to uphold safety
standards could very well result in the rupture or leakage of the pressure vessel (Markos, 2017), which will
involve the immediate hazard of death or injury, severe damage to the plant, equipment and environment,
and a huge cost for equipment repair and replacement.

2.2 Design Criteria

What standard design criteria would be used?

- Considering the lifetime of the operation process/plant

- Ensures protection and safety for all people involved in the vessel as well as adjacent property and
environments
o Able to control risks to satisfy applicable safety, health and environment
o Equipped with pressure safety valves (PSVs) to prevent overpressure
• Pressure vessel can perform its intended function, reliable, inspectable over life of plant
o Designed and operated within allowable range – i.e. material choice, operating conditions
• Whether the design is economically viable (from customer buyer point of view)
o To weigh between the initial and subsequent costs compared to the output of product and
its quality
o Choice of material can affect the cost highly due to good welding characteristics that can
keep low manufacturing costs
o Harder to determine the subsequent costs due to lifetime of operation, reliability and
maintenance (Körner & Hiller, 1996)

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 • Criteria for Pressure Vessels: Size, overall dimensions, capacity, welding and joint efficiency,
pressure vessel class, minimum thickness (Standards, 2010)

• Criteria can be met/ensured with compliance to codes and standards (AS1210-2010) where in
CEIC3004, before using AS1210-2010, we must check the conditions satisfy the pressure P with the
choice of vessel material
o If design method is not provided by the Standard, internationally recognised standards can
be used such as ASME VIII system, Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC), British BS 5500
o Consists of basic rules specifying the design requirements – method, load, allowable stress,
acceptable material, fabrication-inspection certification (Kolmetz & Sari, 2020)
o Minimises additional analysis that ensures the vessel will not fail/rupture
• Often outlined by the user, manufacturer to fulfil the operational requirements

2.3 Assumptions
- In CEIC3004, the design pressure can be assumed to be 1.1 times the operating pressure; the
design temperature can be assumed to be 1.1 times the operating temperature (see PVD lecture 1,
slide 30&31). That is
𝑃𝑃 = 𝑃𝑃𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂 × 110%
𝑇𝑇 = 𝑇𝑇𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂 × 110%

- For the additional thickness of metal added to take into account corrosion, erosion and scaling, in
CEIC3004, it can be assumed that the minimum required thickness (t_MRT) is the sum of the
minimum calculated thickness (t_MCT) and allowance (see PVD lecture 2, slide 102).
𝑡𝑡𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 = 𝑡𝑡𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 + 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎
Generally, for carbon and low-alloy steels under low severity conditions, a minimum allowance of
2.0 mm can be assumed; and where more severe conditions are anticipated, this assumption
should be increased to 4.0 mm (Towler & Sinnott, 2007, 2013).
- For the calculation of the weight of the vessel shell (excluding internal fitting), the vessel thickness
can be assumed to be 2 × MCT as the first estimate.
- The dead-weight stress will normally assumed to be significant, compared to the magnitude of the
other stresses, in tall vessels (Towler & Sinnott, 2013).
- Torsional shear stresses will normally be small, thus can be assumed negligible in preliminary
vessel designs (Towler & Sinnott, 2013).
- The third principal stress which is in the radial direction σ3, usually can be assumed negligible for
thin-walled vessel. or it can be taken as equal to one-half of the pressure loading, and the
longitudinal and circumferential stresses( σ1, σ2) can be taken as constant over the wall thickness
(Towler & Sinnott, 2007, 2013).
σ3 = 0.5P
- The loads to which a vessel may be subjected will not all occur at the same time (Towler & Sinnott,
2013). Usually, it is assumed that the maximum wind load will not occur simultaneously with a
major earthquake (Towler & Sinnott, 2013).
- For the vessels supported on two saddles, the saddles can be assumed to have uniform load.

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 - In a thin wall pressure vessel, stresses developed in the (thin) wall can conservatively be assumed
to be uniform.
- The thickness of a vessel can be assumed to be uniform for calculation.

3 RELEVANT REFERENCES OR TEXTBOOKS

• Pressure vessel. Pressure Vessel - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. (n.d.). Retrieved
April 13, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-
sciences/pressure-vessel
• Moss, D. R., & Basic, M. (2013). General design. Pressure Vessel Design Manual, 37–138.
https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-387000-1.00002-4 Markos, T. (2017, May 12).
Project-1:-Design of pressure vessel done by name TEKALGN Markos. Academia.edu.
Retrieved April 14, 2022, from
https://www.academia.edu/32990862/PROJECT_1_DESIGN_OF_PRESSURE_VESSEL_D
ONE_BY_NAME_tekalgn_markos
• Here are textbooks that would be useful for pressure vessel design, they include more details
about the design principle and design considerations:
o https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/unsw/reader.action?docID=330145#
• https://www-sciencedirect-
com.wwwproxy1.library.unsw.edu.au/science/article/pii/B9780080966595000146#ref33
Australian Standard AS1210-2010 can be used to check what assumptions should be made
to meet Australian Standards.
https://www-saiglobal-com.wwwproxy1.library.unsw.edu.au/online/Search/Standard#
• Moss, & Basic, M. M. (2013). Pressure Vessel Design Manual. Elsevier Science & Technology.
https://doi.org/10.1016/C2010-0-67103-3
(a basic pressure vessel design manual, which is a solutions-focused guide to the problems and
technical challenges involved in the design of pressure vessels to match stringent standards and
codes.)
• Case study can also be used as reference based on the operation condition and associated
equipment:
o Haque, S., Nowak, S., Callaghan, R., Mukerjee, A., Prasad, R., Rahman, M., & Mitra, A. (2019,
February). A Case Study of Structural Industrial Pressure Vessel Under Wind Load. In 2019
CIEC.
o Singh, K. P., & Soler, A. I. (2013). Mechanical Design of Heat Exchangers: And Pressure Vessel
Components. Springer Science & Business Media.
• Lim, M. (2022). Design of Pressure Vessels Lectures. UNSW CEIC3004For the Criteria:
• Kolmetz, K., & Sari, R. (2020). Kolmetz Handbook of Process Equipment Design. KLM Technology
Group, Filter Separator Selection, Sizing and Troubleshooting, Engineering Design Guideline.
• Körner, P., & Hiller, W. (1996). Design and construction criteria for pressure vessels under constant
and cyclic load. In P. R. von Rohr & C. Trepp (Eds.), Process Technology Proceedings (Vol. 12, pp.
673-678). Elsevier. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8610(96)80115-4

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 • Standards, A. (2010). Pressure Vessels. In AS 1210-2010.