Chemical Engineering Apparatus Design (ChEg 4191)

The objective of the course:

 To introduce the students with the design principles, procedures and design of chemical process
equipment.

Upon completion of this course, students will able to:

 Design different process equipment and the piping systems with appropriate design codes, materials
and standards.

1. Mechanical Design of Process Equipment

1.1 Introduction

Vessel design is carried out by mechanical engineers who are familiar with the current design codes and
practices, and methods of stress analysis.
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.
The basic data needed by the specialist designer will be:
1. Vessel function.
2. Process materials and services.
3. Operating and design temperature and pressure.
4. Materials of construction.
5. Vessel dimensions and orientation.
6. Type of vessel heads to be used.
7. Openings and connections required.
8. Specification of heating and cooling jackets or coils.
9. Type of agitator.
10. Specification of internal fittings.
1.2 General Design Consideration : Pressure Vessels

What is pressure vessels?

1.2.1 Design pressure

A vessel must be designed to resist the maximum pressure to which it is likely to be subjected in
operation.
Vessel under Internal pressure:

 The design pressure is taken as the pressure at which the relief device is set.
 To avoid spurious operation during minor process upset the design pressure is normally 5-10% above
the working pressure.
 When we decide the design pressure, the hydrostatic pressure in the base of the column should be
added to the operating pressure.

Vessel Subject to External Pressure:

 This kind of vessel should be designed to resist the maximum differential pressure that is likely to
occur in service.

Vessel Subject to Vacuum Pressure:

 Vessel likely to be subjected to vacuum should be designed for a full negative pressure of 1 bar,
unless fitted with an effective and reliable, vacuum breaker.

1.2.2 Design Temperature

The strength of the metals decrease with temperature. Therefore, the maximum allowable design stress
will depend on the material temperature. The design temperature at which the design stress is evaluated
should take as the maximum working temperature of the materials.
1.2.3 Materials

Plain carbon steel, low and high alloy steel, other alloys, clade plate, and reinforced plastic are used to
construct pressure vessel. Selection of suitable materials must take into account the suitability of the
material for fabrication/particularly welding/ as well as the compatibility of material with the process
environment.

1.2.4 Design Stress (Nominal Design Strength)

The maximum allowable stress /nominal design strength/ that can be accepted in the material of
construction must be decided. The maximum allowable stress is determined by applying a suitable
“design stress factor” (factor of safety) to the maximum stress.
The design stress factor allows for any uncertainty in the design methods, the loading, the quality of the
materials, and the workmanship.
1.2.5 Welded joint efficiency, and construction categories

A welded joint strength will depend on the type of joint and the quality of the welding. Visual inspection
and non-destructive testing are used to check the soundness of the weld.
The possible lower strength of a welded joint compared with the virgin plate is usually allowed for in
design by multiplying the allowable design stress for the material by a “welded joint factor” J.
The value of the joint factor used in design will depend on the type of joint and amount of radiography
required by the design code.
Taking the factor (J) as 1.0 implies that the joint is equally as strong as the virgin plate; this is achieved by
radiographing the complete weld length, and cutting out and remaking any defects.
The use of lower joint factors (J) in design, though saving costs on radiography, will result in a thicker,
heavier, vessel, and the designer must balance any cost savings on inspection and fabrication against the
increased cost of materials.
1.2.6 Corrosion allowance

Corrosion is a complex phenomenon, and it is not possible to give specific rules for the estimation of the
corrosion allowance required for all circumstances.
The corrosion allowance is the additional thickness of metal added to allow for material lost by corrosion
and erosion, or scaling. The allowance should be based on experience with the material of construction
under similar service conditions to those for the proposed design.

Most design codes and standards specify a minimum allowance of 1.0 mm.
For carbon and low-alloy steels/ severe corrosion is not expected /a minimum allowance of 2.0 mm is
expected. If more severe conditions are anticipated the minimum allowance should be increased to 4 mm.

1.2.7 Design loads

A structure must be designed to resist gross plastic deformation and collapse under all the condition of
loading.

A pressure vessel subjected into loads during services. These loads can be classified as major load and
subsidiary/ minor load.

Major load:

 Design pressure: including any significant static head of liquid

 Maximum weight of the vessel and contents, under operating conditions.
 Maximum weight of the vessel and contents under the hydraulic test conditions.
 Wind loads.
 Earthquake (seismic) loads.
 Loads supported by, or reacting on, the vessel.

Subsidiary/minor loads:

 Local stresses caused by supports, internal structures and connecting pipes.

 Shock loads caused by water hammer, or by surging of the vessel contents.
 Bending moments caused by eccentricity of the center of the working pressure relative to the neutral
axis of the vessel.
 Stresses due to temperature differences and differences in the coefficient expansion of materials.
 Loads caused by fluctuations in temperature and pressure.

However, a vessel will not be subject to all these loads simultaneously. The designer must determine
what combination of possible loads gives the worst situation, and design for that loading condition.

1.2.8 Minimum practical wall thickness

There will be a minimum wall thickness required to ensure that any vessel is sufficiently rigid to resist/
withstand its own weight, and any incidental loads. As a general guide the wall thickness of any vessel
should not be less than the values given in the following table.

Vessel diameter (m) Minimum thickness (mm) / corrosion allowance of 2

mm is included
1 5
1 to 2 7
2 to 2.5 9
2.5 to 3 10
3 to 3.5 12

1.2.9 The Design of Thin- Walled Vessels Under Internal Pressure

1.2.9.1 Cylinders shells

Figure 1. Cylindrical shell

For a cylindrical shell the minimum thickness required to resist internal pressure can be determined from
the following equation:
 𝑃𝑖 𝐷𝑖
𝑒= (British Standard PD 5500)
2𝑓 − 𝑃𝑖

If a welded joint factor is introduced:

𝑃𝑖 𝐷𝑖
𝑒= (British Standard PD 5500)
2𝐽𝑓 − 𝑃𝑖

Where,

𝑃𝑖 – Internal pressure

𝐷𝑖 – Internal diameter

𝑓 - Design stress

𝑒 – Minimum thickness required

𝐽 – Joint factor

1.2.9.2 Spherical shells

Figure 2. Spherical shell

The minimum thickness of a sphere can be obtained from the following equation:

𝑃𝑖 𝐷𝑖
𝑒= (British Standard PD 5500)
4𝑓 − 1.2 𝑃𝑖

If a welded joint factor is introduced:

𝑃𝑖 𝐷𝑖
𝑒= (British Standard PD 5500)
4𝐽𝑓 − 𝑃𝑖

Where,

𝑃𝑖 – Internal pressure
𝐷𝑖 – Internal diameter

𝑓 - Design stress

𝑒 – Minimum thickness required

𝐽 – Joint factor

1.3 Heads, Closures and Choice of Closure

The ends of a cylindrical vessel are closed by heads of various shapes. The major types used are:
A) Flat plates and formed flat heads

Figure 3. Plate end closures

B) Hemispherical heads
Hemispherical, ellipsoidal and torispherical heads are collectively referred to as domed heads.

Figure 4. Hemispherical heads

 C) Ellipsoidal heads

Figure 5. Ellipsoidal heads

D) Torispherical heads: Torispherical heads are often referred to as dished ends.

Figure 6. Torispherical heads

Choice of Closure:

Flat plates are used as covers for manways, and as the channel covers of heat exchangers. Formed flat
ends, known as “flange-only” ends

“Flange-only” heads are the cheapest type of formed head to manufacture, but their use is limited to low-
pressure and small-diameter vessels.
Standard torispherical heads (dished ends) are the most commonly used end closure for vessels up to
operating pressures of 15 bar. They also can be used for high pressure, but for more than 10 bar their
cost must be compared with an equivalent ellipsoidal head.
For the operating pressure above 15 bar, ellipsoidal head is the most economical closure to use.
A hemispherical head is the strongest shape. It capable of resisting about twice the pressure of a
torispherical head of the same thickness. Hemispherical heads are used for high pressures.

1.3.3 Design of flat ends

Even though the fabrication cost is low, flat ends are not a structurally efficient form, and very thick plates
would be required for high pressures or large diameters. The minimum thickness of flat ends is calculated
by:

𝑃𝑖
𝑒 = 𝐶𝑝 𝐷𝑒 √
𝑓

Where

𝐶𝑝 Design constant
𝐷𝑒 Nominal plate diameter
𝑓 Design stress

𝑃𝑖 Internal pressure

NB: Values for the design constant 𝐶𝑝 and the nominal plate diameter 𝐷𝑒 are given in the design codes
and standards for various arrangements of flat end closures.

1.3.4 Design of Ellipsoidal heads

Most standard ellipsoidal heads are manufactured with a major and minor axis ratio of 2: 1. For this ratio
the minimum thickness is calculated as:

𝑃𝑖 𝐷𝑖
𝑒=
2𝐽𝑓 − 0.2 𝑃𝑖

1.3.5 Design of Torispherical heads and conical section/ reading assignment/

1.3.6 The Design of Vessels Subject to External Pressure

1.3.6.1 Cylindrical shells

Two types of process vessel are likely to be subjected to external pressure:

a) Pressure vessel operated under vacuum

b) Jacketed vessel: where the inner vessel will be under the jacket pressure. For jacketed vessels,
the maximum pressure difference should be taken as the full jacket pressure, as a situation may
arise in which the pressure in the inner vessel is lost.
Thin-walled vessels subject to external pressure are liable to failure through elastic instability (buckling)
and it is this mode of failure that determines the wall thickness required.

For an open-ended cylinder, the critical pressure to cause buckling (Pc) is given by the following
expression:

Where
L - The unsupported length of the vessel, the effective length
Do - external diameter
t - Wall thickness
E - Young’s modulus
v - Poisson’s ratio
n - The number of lobes/ parts formed at buckling
For long tubes and cylindrical vessels the expression Pc

The minimum value of the critical pressure will occur when the number of lobes is 2:

For most pressure-vessel materials Poisson’s ratio can be taken as 0.3:

For short closed vessels, and long vessels with stiffening rings, the critical buckling pressure is given by:

Where

Kc - collapse coefficient (it is a function of the diameter and thickness of the vessel, and the effective
length L’ between the ends or stiffening rings).The critical distance between stiffeners, Lc, beyond which
stiffening will not be effective is given by:

Any stiffening rings used must be spaced closer than Lc.

Out of Roundness

Any out-of-roundness in a shell after fabrication will significantly reduce the ability of the vessel to resist
external pressure. A deviation from a true circular cross-section equal to the shell thickness will reduce
the critical buckling pressure by about 50 per cent. The ovality (out-of-roundness) of a cylinder is
measured by:

For vessels under external pressure this should not normally exceed 1.5%.

Vessel heads

The critical buckling pressure for a sphere subject to external pressure is given by:
Where

Rs is the outside radius of the sphere.

Taking the Poisson’s ratio as 0.3 gives:

This equation gives the critical pressure required to cause general buckling. However, local buckling can
occur at a lower pressure. The pressure to cause a “dimple” to form is:

The minimum thickness of the head can be determined:

Design of stiffness rings

To design stiffening rings to carry the pressure load for a distance of 0.5 Ls on each side of the ring,
where Ls is the spacing between the rings. So, the load per unit length on a ring Fr will be given by:

Where,

Pe is the external pressure.

The critical load to cause buckling in a ring under a uniform radial load Fc is given by the following
expression:

Where
Ir - second moment of area of the ring cross-section,
Dr - diameter of the ring (approximately equal to the shell outside diameter).

By combining the above two equation the required dimensions of the ring can be determined:
In calculating the second moment of area of the ring some allowance is normally made for the vessel
wall; the use of Ir calculated for the ring alone will give an added factor of safety.