Chapter Five
Pressure Vessels
1 Introduction
• The pressure vessels (i.e. cylinders or tanks) are
used to store fluids under pressure. The fluid
being stored may undergo a change of state inside
the pressure vessel as in case of steam boilers or it
may combine with other reagents as in a chemical
plant. The pressure vessels are designed with
great care because rupture of a pressure vessel
means an explosion which may cause loss of life
and property. The material of pressure vessels
may be brittle such as cast iron, or ductile such as
mild steel.
2 Classification of Pressure Vessels
The pressure vessels may be classified as follows:
• 1. According to the dimensions. The pressure vessels,
according to their dimensions, may be classified as thin
shell or thick shell. If the wall thickness of the shell (t) is
less than 1/10 of the diameter of the shell (d), then it is
called a thin shell. On the other hand, if the wall thickness
f the shell is greater than 1/10 of the diameter of the shell,
then it is said to be a thick shell. Thin shells are used in
boilers, tanks and pipes, whereas thick shells are used in
high pressure cylinders, tanks, gun barrels etc.
2. According to the end construction. The pressure vessels,
according to the end construction, may be classified as
open end or closed end. A simple cylinder with a piston,
such as cylinder of a press is an example of an open end
vessel, whereas a tank is an example of a closed end
vessel. In case of vessels having open ends, the
circumferential or hoop stresses are induced by the fluid
pressure, whereas in case of closed ends, longitudinal
stresses in addition to circumferential stresses are induced.
3 Stresses in a Thin Cylindrical Shell due
to an Internal Pressure
The analysis of stresses induced in a thin cylindrical shell are
made on the following assumptions:
1. The effect of curvature of the cylinder wall is neglected.
2. The tensile stresses are uniformly distributed over the
section of the walls.
3. The effect of the restraining action of the heads at the end of
the pressure vessel is neglected.
Fig. 1. Failure of a cylindrical shell.
When a thin cylindrical shell is subjected to an internal
pressure, it is likely to fail in the following two ways:
1. It may fail along the longitudinal section (i.e.
circumferentially) splitting the cylinder into two troughs,
as shown in Fig. 1 (a).
2. It may fail across the transverse section (i.e.
longitudinally) splitting the cylinder into two cylindrical
shells, as shown in Fig. 1 (b).
• Thus the wall of a cylindrical shell subjected to an
internal pressure has to withstand tensile stresses of the
following two types:
• (a) Circumferential or hoop stress, and (b) Longitudinal
stress.
4 Circumferential or Hoop Stress
• Consider a thin cylindrical shell subjected to an internal
pressure as shown in Fig. 2 (a) and (b). A tensile stress
acting in a direction tangential to the circumference is
called circumferential or hoop stress. In other words, it is
a tensile stress on *longitudinal section (or on the
cylindrical walls).
Fig. 2. Circumferential or hoop stress.
Let p = Intensity of internal pressure,
d = Internal diameter of the cylindrical shell,
l = Length of the cylindrical shell,
t = Thickness of the cylindrical shell, and
σt1 = Circumferential or hoop stress for the material of the
cylindrical shell.
• We know that the total force acting on a longitudinal
section (i.e. along the diameter X-X) of the shell
= Intensity of pressure × Projected area = p × d × l ...(i)
and the total resisting force acting on the cylinder walls
= σt1 × 2t × l ...(Q of two sections) ...(ii)
From equations (i) and (ii), we have
