INTRODUCTION TO CHEMICAL PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN – QUIZ 1

Problem: Determine the thickness and no. of stiffening rings needed for the inner vessel of a
steam-jacketed reactor that is L = 10 m, Di = 1 m, made of SS-304 and operating at 40 bars (abs)
and 200 degrees Celsius. High pressure steam at 20 bars will be used in the jacket. Use Ey = 295
GPa and joint efficiency of 1.
Hint: Use steam pressure as external pressure. There may be instances where the reactor
is evacuated, that is, there is no pressure in the process side of the reactor, but there is still
pressure at the jacket side.
Solve for the following:

a. Design pressure (MPa)

answer: 4.29 MPa
b. Design thickness based on internal pressure
answer: 27 mm
c. Design thickness of a std. ellipsoidal head based on internal pressure
answer: 27 mm
d. Design thickness of a hemispherical head based on internal pressure
answer: 15 mm
e. Do/t
answer: 39.04
f. Kc
answer: 2.2
g. Pc
answer: 10.9 MPa
h. SF
answer: 5.45