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MECHANICAL DESIGN OF
PROCESS EQUIPMENT
(WEEK 7)
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CONTACT HOURS

Total Student
Lecture Tutorial Self – Study Library Search Assignment Exam Learning Time
(hours)

2 2 4 4 2 NIL 14

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LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Able to define basic design considerations /

requirement in mechanical design of a
process equipment

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INTRODUCTION
• Mainly focus on mechanical design of pressure vessel

• Developing and specifying the basic design information:

 Vessel function
 Process material and services
 Operating and design temperature and pressure
 Material of construction (MOC)
 Vessel dimension 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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INTRODUCTION
• Sample Datasheet (1/2)

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INTRODUCTION
Sample Datasheet (2/2)

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INTRODUCTION
• Generally considered as pressure vessel if
 closed vessel with diameter > 150mm
 pressure difference more than 0.5 bar

• Thin-walled vessel 
Wall thickness : vessel diameter ratio is 1 : 10

• Above this ratio is considered as thick-walled vessel

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INTRODUCTION – CODES OF PRACTICE

• Design and fabrication of thin-walled vessel is covered by national

standards and code of practice, which are legally enforceable
• UK: British Standard PD 5500, European Standard EN 13445
• US: American Society of Mechanical Engineers code Section VIII
(the ASME code)
• Cover design, materials of construction, fabrication, inspection
and testing
• Codes are used and accepted worldwide
• Codes dictate minimum requirements and give general guidance
for design and construction. Extension beyond min. requirement
is agreement between client and manufacturer

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INTRODUCTION

• Pressure vessel are made up from

shell of revolution
• The walls of thin vessels considered
as ‘membranes’, supporting loads
without significant bending or shear
stresses
• Analysis of the membrane stresses
induced in shells of revolution by
internal pressure gives a basis for
determining the minimum wall
thickness, which also depends on
other loads which vessel is
subjected.
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INTRODUCTION
• Primary stress
- stress that are necessary to satisfy the conditions of static
equilibrium
- not self-limiting
- eg: membrane stresses induced by applied pressure
bending stresses due to wind loads
- if exceed yield point of material, gross distortion in extreme
situation will cause vessel failure
• Secondary stress
- arise from constraint of adjacent parts of the vessel
- self-limiting, local yielding or slight distortion will satisfy the
condition causing the stress
- eg: thermal stress, discontinuity between head and cylindrical
section
- failure will not occur in one application of loading, but repeated
pressure cycling can lead to fatigue failure
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GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION –

PRESSURE VESSEL
• Design pressure
- under internal pressure, design pressure taken as set pressure of relief
device
Working pressure Design pressure
<10 bar Add 1 bar
>10 bar Add 10%

- hydrostatic pressure to be included if significant

- subject to external pressure, able to resist max. differential pressure
• Design temperature
- strength of material  when temperature 
- design temperature when design stress is evaluated should be the
max. working temp, with allowance of any uncertainty in wall
temperature
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GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION – PRESSURE

VESSEL
• Materials
- suitability of material for fabrication (welding), compatibility
with process environment, eg: seawater: plastic / titanium

• Design stress (nominal design strength)

- max. stress a material can withstand without failure under
standard test conditions
- a design stress factor has been included to account for
uncertainty in design method, loading, material’s quality
and workmanship

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GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION – PRESSURE

VESSEL

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GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION – PRESSURE

VESSEL
• Welded joint efficiency and construction categories
- strength of welded joint depends on type of joint and quality
of welding
- allowable design stress reduced by multiply with “welded
joint factor”, J
- balance between cost savings on inspection and fabrication
against increased cost of material

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GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION – PRESSURE

VESSEL
• Corrosion allowance
- additional thickness of metal added to allow for material lost by
corrosion/erosion
- for carbon and low alloy steel, 2mm for normal operation and 4mm for
severe condition
• Design loads
- designed to resist gross plastic deformation and collapse
- major loads: design pressure, max weight under operating and
hydraulic test, wind loads, seismic loads (earthquake)
- subsidiary loads: local stresses by supports, shock loads by water
hammer / surge, bending moments, loads caused by pressure and
temp fluctuations

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GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION – PRESSURE

VESSEL
• Minimum practical wall thickness
- required to ensure the vessel is sufficiently rigid to withstand its own
weight and incidental loads
- minimum thickness shown in table below include a corrosion allowance
of 2mm

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GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION –

PRESSURE VESSEL
• Cylindrical shell

𝑃𝑖 𝐷𝑖
e=
2𝐽𝑓−𝑃𝑖
e = minimum thickness required, mm
Di = internal diameter, mm
• Sphere f = design stress
J = joint factor

𝑃𝑖 𝐷 𝑖
e=
4𝐽𝑓−𝑃𝑖

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GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION –

PRESSURE VESSEL – HEAD AND CLOSURE
• Flat plates (flanged/welded)
- used as covers for manways, channel covers of heat exchanger
- flange-only heads are the cheapest type, limited to low
pressure and small diameter vessels
• Torispherical (dished ends)
- most commonly used end closure for vessel up to 15 bar
- can be used at higher pressure, but >10 bar, cost to be
compared with an equivalent ellipsoidal head
• Ellipsoidal
- most economical closure to used above 15 bar
• Hemispherical
- strongest shape, capable of resisting about twice the pressure of a
torispherical head at the same thickness. The cost however is higher
• - usually for high pressure application
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GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION –

PRESSURE VESSEL – HEAD AND CLOSURE

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GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION –

PRESSURE VESSEL – HEAD AND CLOSURE
• Flat plates (flanged/welded)

• Ellipsoidal

This equation applied to

standard ellipsoidal head where
major and minor axis ratio = 2:1

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GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION –

PRESSURE VESSEL – HEAD AND CLOSURE
• Torispherical (dished ends)

RK

Rc

• Ratio of the knuckle to crown radii should not be less than 0.06, to
avoid buckling
• Crown radius should not be greater than the diameter of the
cylindrical section

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GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION –

PRESSURE VESSEL – HEAD AND CLOSURE

buckled equipment Train tracks buckled by

extreme heat

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GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION –

PRESSURE VESSEL – HEAD AND CLOSURE
Exercise

A horizontal, cylindrical tank with domed head is operating at 10 barg

and 300°C. The vessel is 4m internal diameter and 20m long.
Estimate the minimum wall thickness required to resist this pressure,
for the cylindrical section and the heads. The material of construction
is stainless steel 316 grade. Joints will be double-welded and spot
radiographed.

Note:
- unit used for pressure: bar absolute, or bar gauge?

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