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STRESS ANALYSIS OF PRESSURE VESSEL AT WELD REGION

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Pressure vessels are a commonly used device in mechanical field. Until recently the primary
analysis method had been hand calculations and empirical curves. This project set out to
explore applicable methods using finite element analysis in pressure vessel analysis.
Welded region were tested to determine their usefulness in modeling the interaction
between pressure vessel cylinder walls and end dish. When modeled correctly, weld region
proved to be useful, but the operator also needs to be able to interpret the results properly.
Problems such as local stress risers, unrealistic displacements and understanding how to use
such data become extremely important in this kind of analysis. This highlights the key to
proper use of finite element analysis. The analyst should be able to approximate the solution
using classical methodology (hand calculations) in order to verify the solution.
1. INTRODUCTION
Internally pressurized vessels in use today generally assume two basic shapes: spheres
and cylinders. The reason for this is simply that a sphere will impart the lowest value of
membrane stress on its walls compared to any other shape. Hence, for a given volume enclosed,
a sphere represents the most weight-efficient design for a pressure vessel. In many situations, a
straight cylinder is the preferred shape, as it is much more easily produced than a sphere while
still providing a reasonably weight-efficient design. However, there arise situations where
neither a cylindrical or spherical vessel may be best suited to the particular application due to
additional design constraints that must be satisfied. The effect of adhesive thickness area of
single lap joints in composite laminate using acoustic emission technique and FEA
(K.MohamedBak et al., ). Inclined pressure vessel is used for production of nitrous oxide by
ammonium nitrate pyrolysis reaction by passing the steam at around 200
0
C and 1.37895 Mpa
over the ammonium nit rate contained in the cylindrical vessel. Calculate the stresses in the
vessel for its structural stability (Imran M.Jamadara et al.,)
2. MODELING DATA
Material Carbon steel s275jo
Shell Outer Diameter 2135 mm
Shell Inner Diameter 2135 mm
Shell length 4120 mm
Thickness 5mm
Pressure 1 bar
Weld joint Lab joint
Corrosion resistance 1 for shell &dish
Permissible stress S = 275 N/mm
2

Operating pressure p= 1 3 N/mm
2

welding efficiency E = 1

TABLE3.1: Geometrical Pressure Vessel Dimensions
EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

Fig 3.1 sketch of pressure vessel
Pressure vessel design calculations:
Allowable pressure (P)


Allowable thickness (t) =



Longitudinal and circumferential stress for pressure vessel
Longitudinal stress=


Circumferential stress=


Thickness calculation for shell
i) Circumferential Stress (Longitudinal Joint) [1, 2,3]

t = PR / (SE 0.6 P) or p = SET / (R + 0.6t)
Where,
t = Minimum Vessel Thickness, mm, R = Inside radius of shell, mm ,E = Joint Efficiency ,P =
Design Pressure, Mpa ,S = Maximum allowable stress, Mpa
i) Longitudinal Stress (Circumferential Joint) [1, 2,3]

t = PR / (2SE + 0.4P) or p = 2SE t / (R 0.4 t)


Fea Model With Nodes And Elements

Fig 3.2: Mesh and Elements
Fig.3.2 shows the triangular coarse mesh of 11,136 elements with 22,482 nodes are generated
for cylindrical pressure vessel .
Sub Model in Ansys from the Full Model of the Tank

Fig 3.3: Sub-Model of Pressure Vessel
Fig 3.3 shows the sub-model which is given the boundary conditions of entire pressure vessel
model and then analyzed.
Material property of the carbon steel sj275jo
Property values
Youngs modules 2.05e
11
pa
Poissons ratio 0.3
Yield strength 2.75e
8
pa
Ultimate strength 4.10e
8
pa
Density 7830 kg/m
3



Stress V
s.
Strain Curve
4. Simulation results

Fig 4.1 Deformation diagram

Fig 4.3 Total deformation of weld region in full model

Fig 4.4 Total deformation in sub-model






Fig 4.7 Von-mises stress of weld region in sub modeling
5. DISSCUSSION
Deformation vs. pressure

Graph 5.1 Deformation vs. pressure
0.00E+00
5.00E+00
1.00E+01
1.50E+01
1 2 3 4
d
e
f
o
r
m
a
t
i
o
n


Deformation vs pressure
Series2
Series1
The above graph 5.1 shows the relation of deformation and pressure values of pressure vessel.
The deformation of the pressure vessel increases to approx. 0.25mm for increase of 4 bar
pressure.
Stress vs. pressure

Graph 5.2 Stress Vs. Pressure
The above graphs 5.2 show the relation of stress and deformation values of pressure vessel. The
stress of the pressure vessel increase to approx. 2e8 N/m
2
. The stress value of the vessel doesnt
decrease for the material we have selected (mild steel s275 j0).
6. Conclusions
As the working pressure of the pressure vessel is low (1 bar) the stress acting is also not
high and less compared to yield stress. The pressure is in high cycle fatigue and has life of
40,000-100000. Also this helps the designer to decide whether there is a requirement of the life
of the weld and stress distribution over the pressure vessel. The comparison of these results helps
to provide the most optimized design with an ability to meet the requirements. After analyzing
the stress behavior of the pressure vessel with different configurations of welded location the
deformation are within (0.5mm) in the design limit. For this configuration the optimization of
thickness is done. In this particular pressure and design condition the pressure vessel work very
effectively. This also shows that addition of shell, dish helps to reduce the thickness which in
turn helps in saving lot of material and cost associated with it.
0
200000000
400000000
600000000
800000000
1 2 3 4
s
t
r
e
s
s


Stress vs pressure
Series1
Series2

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