Chapter - 3

Mechanical Design of Process

Equipmen

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 Design of pressure vessel

Introduction
This chapter covers those aspects of the mechanical design of
chemical plant that are of particular interest to chemical engineers.
The main topic considered is the design of pressure vessels.
The chemical engineer will not usually be called on to undertake the
detailed mechanical design of a pressure vessel.
However, the chemical engineer will be responsible for developing
and specifying the basic design information for a particular vessel, and
needs to have a general appreciation of pressure vessel design to work
effectively with the specialist designer.

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The basic data needed by the specialist designer
Vessel function.
Process materials and services.
Operating and design temperature and pressure.
Materials of construction.
Vessel dimensions and orientation.
Type of vessel heads to be used.
Openings and connections required.
Specification of heating and cooling jackets or coils.
Type of agitator.
Specification of internal fittings.
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 Definition of pressure vessel
• A pressure vessel is considered as any closed vessel that is capable of
storing a pressurized fluid, either internal or external pressure.
• A pressure vessel is a container designed to hold compressed gases or
liquids at a pressure substantially different from the ambient pressure
• Pressure vessels are the basic equipment for any fluid processing
system.
• Any closed vessel over 150 mm diameter subject to a pressure
difference of more than 0.5 bar should be designed as a pressure vessel
• Pressure Vessels are containers which are designed to hold liquids,
vapors, or gases at high pressures, usually above 15 psi.
• Examples Of common pressure vessels used in the petroleum refining
and chemical processing industries
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 Cont…
• The liquid and gaseous chemicals are stored in a pressurized chambers
(pressure vessels) for a chemical reaction.
• Pressure vessels are used for either transmitting fluid or for storing
fluid.
• Storage vessels are widely used in industrial plants for storing
chemical at below or higher than the atmospheric pressure.
• From industrial boilers and bottles to gasoline tankers pressure vessels
operate in a wide array of potentially hazardous environments.
• Each individual vessel has its own operating limits built in by design
that it has to work under, referred to as its design pressure and design
temperature.
• Operating outside of these limits could damage the equipment and
potentially lead to loss of containment
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or catastrophic failure
prepared by Tadele B. (MSc)
Applications of pressure vessels
• Storage of medical gases.
• Storage of breathing gases in diving cylinder.
• Storage of gaseous fuels for internal
combustion engines, heating equipment

• Storage of gases used for oxy-fuel

welding and cutting.

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Causes of Pressure Vessel Failure
• Generally, failure of pressure vessels occurred due to one of the
following reasons:
Improper Selection Material is the major part of the defect in the
vessel.
Design fault or incorrect design data and also, the inaccurate or
incorrect design methods
Poor quality control and improper fabrication procedures including
welding are fabrication problems.
Failure due to corrosion fatigue.
Due to environmental problems.

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Factors to be Considered for Designing of Pressure Vessel
• Maximum allowable working pressure or design pressure
• Pressure in the vessel should not exceed the maximum allowable
pressure . (5 to 10% above normal working pressure).
• Allowable working temperature range or design temp. is also an
important factor for pressure vessel design, if temperature varies
beyond temperature limits then it tends to alter the properties of
material.
• Factor of safety
• Corrosion allowance is the amount of material in vessel that is
available for corrosion without affecting the pressure containing
integrity. It is the additional thickness of metal added to allow for
material lost by corrosion and erosion
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1/25/2024 prepared by Tadele B. (MSc)
1/25/2024 prepared by Tadele B. (MSc)
Loads Acting on Pressure Vessel
• In working condition, pressure vessels are subjected to following loads:
Internal or external design pressure
Weight of the vessel and normal contents under operating or test
conditions (this includes additional pressure due to static head of liquids)
Superimposed static reactions from weight of attached equipment, such
as motors, machinery, other vessels, piping, linings, and insulation
The attachments of internals and vessel supports such as lugs, rings,
skirts, saddles, and legs
Cyclic and dynamic reactions due to pressure or thermal variations or
from equipment mounted on a vessel, and mechanical loadings
Impact reactions such as those due to fluid shock

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 Classification of pressure vessels
• Depending on the ratio of the wall thickness to vessel diameter, pressure
vessels are sub-divided into two classes:
i. Thin-walled vessels, with a thickness ratio of less than 1:10; and
ii. Thick-walled above this ratio (above 1:10).
 The majority of the vessels used in the chemical and allied industries are
classified as thin-walled vessels. Thick-walled vessels are used for high
pressures.
Considering the figure below, the principal stresses acting at a point in
the wall of a vessel, due to a pressure load.
If the wall is thin, the radial stress δ3 will be small and can be neglected
in comparison with the other stresses, and the longitudinal and
circumferential stresses and δ2 can be taken as constant over the wall
thickness.
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• In a thick wall, the magnitude of the radial stress will be significant,
and the circumferential stress will vary across the wall.

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 Pressure vessel codes and standards

• The primary purpose of the design codes is to establish rules of safety relating to
the pressure integrity of vessels and provide guidance on design, materials of
construction, fabrication, inspection, and testing.
• They form a basis of agreement between the manufacturer, the customer, and the
customer's insurance company.
• ASME BPV Code is the legally required standard for pressure vessel design,
fabrication, inspection and testing.

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 ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code
Section
I. Rules for construction of power VIII. Rules for the construction of pressure
boilers vessels
II. Materials Division 1
III. Nuclear power plant components Division 2 Alternative rules
IV. Rules for construction of heating Division 3 Alternative rules for the
boilers construction of high pressure vessels
V. Nondestructive examination IX. Welding and brazing qualifications
VI. Recommended rules for the care and X. Fiber-reinforced plastic vessels
operation of heating boilers XI. Rules for in service inspection of
VII. Recommended guidelines for the care nuclear power plant components
of power boilers XII. Rules for construction and continued
service of transport tanks
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Most chemical plant vessels fall under Sec. VIII D.1 or D.2
It gives detailed requirements for the design, fabrication, testing, inspection,
and certification of both fired and unfired pressure vessels.
• API 510, "Pressure Vessel Inspection Code: In-Service Inspection, Rating,
Repair, and Alteration" is an inspection code, written and published by the
American Petroleum Institute, that covers the in service inspection, repair,
alteration, and rerating activities for pressure vessels and the pressure
relieving devices protecting these vessels.
Division 1: Contains general rules and is most commonly followed,
particularly for low-pressure vessels.
Division 2: Contains alternative rules that are more restrictive on materials,
design temperatures, design details, fabrication methods, and inspection, but
allow higher design stresses and hence thinner vessel walls.
Division 3: Rules are usually chosen for large, high pressure vessels where
the savings in metal cost and fabrication
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complexity offset the higher
prepared by Tadele B. (MSc)
engineering and construction costs.
The design of thin-walled vessels under internal pressure
Cylinders and spherical shells
• For a cylindrical shell the minimum thickness required to resist
internal pressure can be determined from:
……………….3.1
• If Di is internal diameter and e the minimum thickness required, the
mean diameter will be (Di+e); substituting this for D in equation 3.1
gives;
…...……………3.2
Where; f is the design stress and Pi the internal pressure. Rearranging
gives:
…………………….3.3
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• An equation for the minimum thickness of a sphere can be obtained
from equation; ……………………….. 3.4
and hence; ..……………………………. 3.5

If a welded joint factor is used equations 3.4 and 3.5 are written:
……………………… 3.6

……………………… 3.7

where J is the joint factor.

The minimum thickness required in ellipsoidal heads is:
……………………………3.8
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 Torispherical heads

• There are two junctions in a tori-spherical end closure: that between

the cylindrical section and the head, and that at the junction of the
crown and the knuckle radii.
• One approach taken is to use the basic equation for a hemisphere and
to introduce a stress concentration.
• The stress concentration factor is a function of the knuckle and crown
radii.
….………………………… 3.9

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 Example:
• Estimate the thickness required for the component parts of the vessel
shown in the diagram. The vessel is to operate at a pressure of 14 bar
(absolute) and temperature of 300oC. The material of construction will
be plain carbon steel. Welds will be fully radiographed. A corrosion
allowance of 2 mm should be used.

1/25/2024 prepared by Tadele B. (MSc)

Solution
• Design pressure, take as 10 per cent above operating pressure,
= (14-1)*1.1
= 14.3 bar
= 1.43 N/mm2
Design temperature 300oC.
From Table 13.2, typical design stress = 85 N/mm2.
Cylinderical section:
…….. eqn (3.3)

; add corrosion allowance 12.7+2 = 14.7mm = say 15 mm plate

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• Domed head
(i) Try a standard dished head (torisphere):
Crown radius Rc = Di = 1.5m
knuckle radius = 6 percent Rc = 0.09
• A head of this size would be formed by pressing: no joints, so J = 1

…….. eqn (3.8)

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 Cont…

• So an ellipsoidal head would probably be the most economical. Take as

same thickness as wall 15 mm.
Flat head
Use a full face gasket Cp = 0.4
De = bolt circle diameter, take as approx. 1.7m .

Add corrosion allowance and round-off to 90 mm.

This shows the inefficiency of a flat cover. It would be better to use a
flanged domed head.

1/25/2024 prepared by Tadele B. (MSc)