Equipment Design Report No.

STORAGE AND CONTAINMENT OF FLUIDS

Michael Alex Sison Mabao

BS Chemical Engineering – 5

08 August 2018
I. Introduction

The pressure vessels such as cylinder, pipeline or tanks are design and construct to
store gas or fluids under pressure. The gas or fluid that being stored may be through
change of state inside the pressure vessel, for example case of steam boilers or it might
combine with other reagents, such as a chemical plant. The pressure vessels must
design with a perfect care because crack of pressure vessels will cause an explosion
which may cause of death and loss of property. The material that be used to construct
pressure vessels may be ductile such as mild steel or brittle such that cast iron. In
generally, pressure vessels and others storage tank such as hydraulic cylinders, gun
barrels, pipes, boilers and tanks are important to the chemical, petroleum, petrochemical,
nuclear industries and so on. Reactions, separations, and storage of raw materials always
occur in this class of equipment. Generally, pressurized equipment is required and been
used for a broad range of industrial plant for storage and manufacturing purposes.

Tanks come in a variety of designs. Some low-pressure storage tanks, sometimes

called atmospheric storage tanks, are built to American Petroleum Institute (API) 650
specifications. Many large API-650 tanks have a flat to slightly coned roof and appear
similar to a can of tuna fish or soup. However, a can of tuna fish or soup will withstand
many times more pressure than a typical low-pressure tank. The weight of the roof often
limits the pressure rating of low-pressure tanks. (Some low-pressure tanks have a floating
roof, but we won't discuss these here.) Another popular choice is the API-620 tank, which
is limited by code to 15 psig. Its top resembles a puffed cupcake. There also are small
shop-built tanks, transportation vessels, plastic tanks and an array of non-code vessels.

Vessels are often overdesigned relative to the maximum operating pressure. Turton
suggests deisgn pressures of either 10% or 0.69-1/7 bar above the maximum operating
pressure, whichever is greater. The maximum operating pressure is taken a 1.7 bar
above normal operation. for example, the design pressure of a vessel that normall
operates at 0-0.69 bar and 95-540 ⁰C is 2.76 barg. Towler suggests overdesign of vessel
pressures by 5-10%. For vessels that will experience external pressure, design pressure
is based on the maximum difference between internal and external pressure.

Vessels that may potentially experience vacuum conditions must be designed to

resist a negative pressure of one full atmosphere. Because of the large surface areas of
some vessels, even a modest vacuum can lead to collapse. Circumstances that may lead
to vacuum conditions include: startup/shutdown procedures, cooling vessels with
condensable vapors, pumping or draining without proper venting, or some other
unexpected disturbance.
 The required wall thickness of a vessel will depend on many factors, including: the
strength of the metal at operating conditions (temperature and pressure), diameter of the
tank, and the joint efficiencies. According to Peters, in "Plant Design and Economics for
Chemical Engineers," minimum wall thickness, not including corrosion allowances, should
not be less than 2.4mm for welded or brazed construction and 4.8mm for riveted
construction. Thickness for unfired steam boilers should not be less than 6.35 mm.
(Peters and Timmerhaus, 2003) Turton gives heuristics for wall thickness for rigidity
based on vessel diameter: 4 mm (0.25 in) for 1.07 m (42 in) diameter and less than
8.1mm (0.32 in) for 1.07-1.52 m (42-60 in) diameter, and 11.7 mm (0.38 mm) for more
than 1.52 m (60 in) diameter.

In general, corrosion allowances will range from 1.5-5mm. Corrosion allowances for
heat transfer equipment are smaller, because wall thickness has an important effect on
heat transfer. Corrosion and erosion will lead to eventual thinning of walls, which
compromises mechanical integrity. Corrosion allowance is constructing the vessels with
thicker walls to allow for the thinning. the Peters, Timmerhaus, and West suggest 0.25 to
0.38mm annually or 3mm for 10 years.

Turton et al. (2012) suggest a corrosion allowance 8.9 mm (0.35 in) for known
corrosive conditions, 3.8 mm (0.15 in) for noncorrosive streams, and 1.5 mm (0.6 in) for
stream drums and air receivers. In cases where corrosion is negligible over the lifetime of
a vessel or does not occur, the vessel can be designed without the corrosion allowance.

II. Equipment Design Problems & Solutions

12 – 14 (Peters, Timmerhaus & West)

Problem:

A spherical carbon-steel tank with an inside diameter of 9 m will be subjected to a

working absolute pressure of 310 kPa and a temperature of 27oC. All the welds are butt-
welded with a backing strip. Assuming no corrosion allowance is required, what is the
required wall thickness of the tank? Estimate the cost of the steel for this tank if the cost
of steel sheet is $1.10 per kilogram. On the basis of the data presented in Fig. 12-52,
determine the fraction of the purchased cost of the tank that is due to the cost for the
steel.

Given:

D i=9 mr i=4.5 mP|¿|=310 kPa ¿

T =27 ℃=300 K C c =0
Required:

t wall thickness of the tank

purchased cost of the tank due to the cost of the steel
fraction of the purchased cost of the tank

Illustration:
Solution:

Solving for the t, wall thickness of the tank:

Using the table 12-10 on the “Design equations and data for pressure vessels based on
the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code” of the book for determining the wall
thickness of spherical shell based from Peters, Timmerhaus & West, we can now
determine the working equations and heuristics to be used.
Applying limiting condition,

P ≤0.665 S EJ Eqn. 1

Where,

P is maximum allowable internal pressure (gauge) in kPa

S is maximum allowable working stress in kPa

E J is efficiency of joints expressed as a fraction.

The S value will be obtained from table12-10 of Carbon steel above at temperature of 27°C. The
value of S is equal to 94,500 kPa. Using the table 13.3 from Sinnot & Towler, we can now find for the
value of our welded joint factor which is not given.
 According to Sinnot & Towler, the standard specifies three construction categories:

Category 1: the highest class, requires 100 per cent non-destructive testing (NDT) of the welds; and
allows the use of all materials covered by the standard, with no restriction on the plate thickness.

Category 2: requires less non-destructive testing but places some limitations on the materials which
can be used and the maximum plate thickness.

Category 3: the lowest class, requires only visual inspection of the welds, but is restricted to carbon
and carbon-manganese steels, and austenitic stainless steel; and limits are placed on the plate
thickness and the nominal design stress.

Based from the given problem the most suitable standard category to use is Category 3, considering
our tank is made out of carbon steel and category 3 is restricted to carbon and carbon-manganese
steels, and austenitic stainless steel. And assuming that our tank is a single-weld butt joint with
bonding strips. Thus, J is equal to 0.60.

Using the Eqn. 1 and inputting all the values from table 12-10,

P ≤0.665 S EJ

(310 kPa−101.3529 kPa) ≤ 0.665(94,500 kPa)(0.60)

208.7 kPa ≤ 37705.5 kPa

Since the limiting condition is satisfied, therefore the working equation will be,

P ri
t= +C c ; C c=0 Eqn. 2
S E J −0.2 P

Where,

t is the minimum wall thickness in m

r i is inside radius of shell in m

C c is the allowance for corrosion in m

Substituting all the given values to Eqn. 2,

P ri
t=
S E J −0.2 P

P ri (208.7 kPa)(4.5m)
t= =
S E J −0.2 P ( 94,500 kPa ) ( 0.60 )−0.2(208.7 kPa)

t=1.65756 ×10−3 m

−3 1000 mm
t=1.66 ×10 m x
1m

t=16.6 mm

t ≈ 17 mm

Solving for the cost of the steel tank:

Solving for volume total surface are of the spherical tank,

A=4 π r 2

A=4 π ( 4.5 m )2

A=254.47 m2

A ≈ 255 m 2
Solving for volume of the spherical tank,

V =Surface Area x thickness

V =255 m2 x 1.7 x 10−3 m

3
V =4.33 m

From the solved volume capacity above, we can now solve for the mass of the spherical
tank using the equation,

m=V ρcarbonsteel

Based from Peters, Timmerhaus & West the density of the carbon steel is 7833 kg/m3.

Substituting the given values,

 3 kg
m=4.33 m x 7833
m3

m=33916.89 kg

m=33917 kg

Solving now for the total cost,

$ 1.10
Cost total = x 33917 kg
kg

Cost total =$ 37,308.70

Using the graph from the figure 12- 52 of our reference book Peters, Timmerhaus & West,
we can obtain the purchased cost using the volume capacity value.

Based from the projected value the purchase cost ≈ $220,000. Therefore, the fraction of
the purchased cost of the tank is equal to,

$ 220,000
fraction of the purchased cost of the tank=
$ 37,308.70
 fractionof the purchased cost of the tank=5.36

Specification Sheet:

EQUIPMENT NUMBER : V101 In Series : 1 NAME : Storage

Vessel

General Data

Service : Storage

Type : Spherical Tank

Position : Horizontal

Pressure [bar] :209

Vessel Diameter (ID) [m] :9

Vessel Height [m] :9

Vessel Thickness [m] :0.017
Vessel Tot. Volume [m3] : 382

Vessel Material : CS

Process Conditions

Stream Data

Temperature [oC]

Pressure [bara]
Density [kg/m3]
Mass Flow [kg/s]

Composition
 mol% wt%

13 – 3 (Sinnot and Towler)

Problem:

A horizontal, cylindrical, tank, with hemispherical ends, is used to store liquid chlorine
at 10 bar. The vessel is 4 m internal diameter and 20 m long. Estimate the minimum wall
thickness required to resist this pressure, for the cylindrical section and the heads. Take
the design pressure as 12 bar and the allowable design stress for the material as 110
MN/m2.

Given:

P 10 ¯¿

Di 4m

L 20 m

Pi 12 ¯¿ 12 x 10 Pa
5

6
f (design stress) 110 ×10 Pa

Required:

ec minimum wall thickness required to resist this pressure, for the cylindrical section.

eh minimum wall thickness required to resist this pressure for hemispherical

heads.

Illustration:
Solution:

Since the given cylindrical tank is horizontal in position with a hemispherical ends, the minimum
thickness required can be determined from equation 13.39 of our reference book Chemical
Engineering Design by R.K Sinnot. Using this equation which isgiven in the British Standard PD
5500,
Pi Di
et = Eqn. 1
2 f −Pi
Substituting the given values into the equation above. We can now solve for the minimum wall
thickness required to resist this pressure, for the cylindrical section.

(12 x 105 Pa)(4 m)

et = 6 5
2(110 x 10 Pa . s)−(12 x 10 Pa)

e t =0.02193784278

1000 mm
e t =0.02194 m x
1m

e c =21.94 mm

21.94 mm ≈ 22 mm

Therefore, we can now further conclude that the cylindrical tank requires 22 mm thickness to resist
the internal pressure of 1.2MPa (12bar).

For hemispherical head. The optimum thickness ratio for between the hemispherical head thickness
to cylinder thickness is normally taken as 0.6, according to Sinnot & Towler.

eh
=0.6 Eqn. 2
et

rearranging Eqn. 2 we get,

e h=0.6 et Eqn. 3

Substituting the solved e c into the Eqn. 3 to solve for e h,

 e h=0.6 (22 mm)

e h=13.4 mm

e h ≈14 mm
Specification Sheet:
EQUIPMENT NUMBER : V101 In Series : 1 NAME : Storage
Vessel

General Data

Service : Storage

Type : Capsule Tank

Position : Horizontal

Pressure [bar] :12

Vessel Diameter (ID) [m] :4

Vessel Length [m] : 20

Vessel Tot. Volume [m3] : 285

Vessel Material : SS

Process Conditions

Stream Data Feed

Chlorine Gas

Temperature [oC]

Pressure [bara]
Density [kg/m3]
Mass Flow [kg/s]

Composition

mol% wt%
13 – 7 (Sinnot and Towler)

Problem:

A jacketed vessel is to be used as a reactor. The vessel has an internal diameter of 2 m and is
fitted with a jacket over a straight section 1.5 m long. Both the vessel and jacket walls are 25 mm
thick. The spacing between the vessel and jacket is 75 mm.
The vessel and jacket are made of carbon steel. The vessel will operate at atmospheric
pressure and the jacket will be supplied with steam at 20 bar. Check if the thickness of the vessel
and jacket is adequate for this duty. Take the allowable design stress as 100 N/mm2 and the value
of Young’s modulus at the operating temperature as 180,000 N/mm2.

Given:

Di, vessel 2m

e, jacket and vessel 75 mm = 0.075m

f 100 N/mm2

E 180000 N/mm2

Required:

Verification of the thickness of the vessel and jacket if it is adequate for the given duty.

Illustration:
 Solution:

Solving for the operating pressure,

P=P absolute −Pgauge Eqn. 1

¯ ¯¿ 19 ¯¿
P=20 −1

Base from the reference book of Sinnot and Towler, 1 bar is equal to 1atm. Where 1atm is equal to 10132
.

2
101325 N /m
P=19 x̄
1 ¯¿ ¿

6 2
P=1.925175 x 10 N /m

P=1.93 x 10 6 N /m 2
2
P=1.93 N /mm

Solving for the outer diameter of vessel,

D o =2m+ ( 2 m ) ( 25 x 10−3 m)

Do =2.05 m

Solving for the inner diameter of jacket,

Di=2.05 m+ ( 2 m ) ( 75 x 10 m )
−3

Di=2.20 m

Using equation 13.39 from Sinnot and Towler, we can now solve for the required thickness,

Pi D i
e= Eqn. 2
2 f −P i

Substituting all the given and solved values from above to Eqn. 1,
 N
(1.93 2
) (2.2 m )
mm
e=
(
[2 100
N
mm 2 )
−1.93
N
mm2
]

e=0.0214369 m

1000 mm
e=0.0214369 m x
1m

e=21.44 mm

e ≈22 mm

Since the given thickness in the problem was 25mm and the calculated required thickness of the
tank was 21mm. Therefore, we can now have verified that the specified given thickness, which is
25mm is adequate for the given duty with an acceptable margin of safety.

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. According to
Sinnot and Towler, the critical pressure to cause buckling (P c) for most pressured vessel can be
express by these expression;

2
1 2 2 n −1−v 2E
Pc = [n −1+ ] ¿
( ) ( )
3 2 2L
2
1−v
2
Eqn. 3
n −1
π Do

where,

L = the unsupported length of the vessel, the effective length

D0 = external diameter

t = wall thickness

E = Young’s modulus

v = Poisson’s ratio

n = the number of lobes formed at buckling

 Based from Sinnot and Towler, for long tubes and cylindrical vessels Eqn. 3 can be simplified by
neglecting terms with the group (2L/πDo) 2 in the denominator. And also, it was stated in the book
that the minimum value of critical pressure will occur when the number of lobes (n) is equal to 2.
Substituting the value of n and applying the statements of Sinnot and Towler to neglecting the terms
with the group (2L/πDo)2 in the denominator in to Eqn. 3; the equation becomes:

2E t 3
Pc =( )( ) Eqn.4
1−v 3 Do

For most pressure-vessel materials Poisson’s ratio can be taken as 0.3; substituting all the given and
solved values into Eqn.4,

P =(
( 2 1.8 x 105
N
mm2 ) )( 25 mm
)
3

c
1−(0.3)3 2.05 x 10 3 mm

N
Pc =0.7175
mm2

Pc =0.7175
N
mm 2 (
x
1000 mm 2
m
x )1 atm
101325 2
N
¯
x1 ¿ ¿
1atm
m

Pc =7.081174439 ¯
¿

Pc =7.1 ¯
¿

Therefore, the vessel thickness is adequate to resist the steam pressure.

Specific Sheet:

EQUIPMENT NUMBER : R101

Operating : 1 NAME : Reactor
Installed Spare : 1
Service : Reactor
Type : Jacketed Reactor
Number : 1
Operating/ Mixing Operation
General Description of Mixing Problem:
Degree of Agitation:
Type of Agitation:
2
Viscosity (μ) [N s/m ] : 120
Density [Kg/m3] : 1,121
 Vessel Data
Tank Description: Vertical
Top Head: Hemispherical(close)
Bottom Head: Hemispherical
Tank Diameter (meters):
Outer 2.05
Inner 2
Impeller Description: N/A
Impeller Type: N/A
Impeller Diameter (meters): N/A
Width (meters): N/A
Baffles: Yes
Jacket: Yes
Jacket Thickness (meters): 0.025
Motor
Driver: Electrical
Driver Type : Electric
Mount : Vertical
Speed (RPM) : N/A
Motor Horsepower: N/A
Construction Materials
Vessel Material: CS
Jacket Material: CS
Coating: None

Schematic Diagram

Remarks: CS = Carbon Steel

13 – 9 (Sinnot and Towler)

Problem:

A storage tank for concentrated nitric acid will be constructed from aluminum to resist corrosion.
The tank is to have an inside diameter of 6 m and a height of 17 m. The maximum liquid level in the
tank will be at 16 m. Estimate the plate thickness required at the base of the tank. Take the
allowable design stress for aluminum as 90 N/mm2.

Given:

z 17 m

Dt 6m

HL 16 m

ρ L at 20 ℃ kG
1512.1 3
m

g m
9.8
s2

ft N
90 2
mm

Required:

es plate thickness required at the base of the tank

Illustration:
Solution:

The hydrostatic pressure of the liquid is the main load to be considered in designing liquid storage
tanks which are used in storing liquids of bulk size at atmospheric pressure. The minimum wall
thickness required to resist the hydrostatic pressure can be calculated from the equation below,

ρ L H L g Dt
e s= 3 Eqn. 1
2 f t J 10

where,

e s is tank thickness required at depth H L in mm

H L is liquid depth in m

L is liquid density in kg/m3

J is joint factor

g is gravitational acceleration which is 9.81 m/s2

f t is design stress for tank material in N/mm2

Dt is tank diameter in m

Using the table 13.3 from Sinnot & Towler, we can now find for the value of our welded joint factor
which is not given.

According to Sinnot & Towler, the standard specifies three construction categories:

Category 1: the highest class, requires 100 per cent non-destructive testing (NDT) of the welds; and
allows the use of all materials covered by the standard, with no restriction on the plate thickness.

Category 2: requires less non-destructive testing but places some limitations on the materials which
can be used and the maximum plate thickness.

Category 3: the lowest class, requires only visual inspection of the welds, but is restricted to carbon
and carbon-manganese steels, and austenitic stainless steel; and limits are placed on the plate
thickness and the nominal design stress.

Based from the given problem the most suitable standard category to use is Category 2, considering
a saving cost for radiography. Category 1 entails more cost for radiography and category 3 is
restricted to carbon and carbon-manganese steels, and austenitic stainless steel for which our tank
is made from aluminum. Thus, J is equal to 0.85.

Substituting the given values into Eqn. 1,

kG m
(1512.1 3
)(16 m)(9.8 2 )(6 m)
m s
e s=
N
2(90 )¿¿
mm2

e s=9.297932549 mm

e s ≈ 10 mm
Therefore, the tank thickness required at depth H L is 10mm.

Specification Sheet:

EQUIPMENT NUMBER : V103 In Series : 1 NAME : Storage

Vessel

General Data

Service : Storage

Type : Capsule Tank

Position : Vertical

Pressure [bar] :

Vessel Diameter (ID) [m] :6

Vessel Height [m] : 17

Vessel Tot. Volume [m3] : 594

Liquid Height [m] : 16

Liquid Tot. Volume [m3] : 425

Vessel Material : Aluminum

Process Conditions

Stream Data Feed

Nitric acid (HNO3)

Temperature [oC] N/A

Pressure [bara] N/A

Density [kg/m3] 1415

Mass Flow [kg/s] N/A

Composition 70
 mol%

I. Concluding Remarks

Apparently, in term of design rules, there are many aspects to looking further improvement to
have a complete and perfects storage tanks and pressure vessel. The design codes and standards
must be appropriately applied to make sure the design is safe enough. The engineer that are
designing this equipment must have a wide range of knowledge about storage tanks and pressure
vessel because of lack of information in designing this pressure vessel, may result to additional
failure cost. Pressure vessels and the structures used to support them must be able to resist
deformation and collapse when subjected to various loads, classified into major and subsidiary
loads. Major loads must always be considered in the design of a pressure vessel, while subsidiary
loads only need to be subjected to formal stress analysis when there is no other way to show that
they can be supported. Subsidiary loads can often be evaluated by comparison with existing vessels

The “worst case scenario” should be considered, and that the design should be based around that
loading.

II. References

R. K Sinnot, Chemical Engineering Design, 4th Ed., Coulson & Richardson’s CHEMICAL
ENGINEERING, VOLUME 6.

M. S. Peters, K. D. Timmerhaus and R. E. West, Plant Design Economics for Chemical Engineers,
5th Edition ed., The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2003.

D. W. Green and R. H. Perry, Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook, 8th Edition ed., The McGraw-
Hill Companies, Inc., 2008.

A. S. Foust, L. A. Wenzel, C. W. Clump, L. Maus and A. L. Bryce, in Principles of Unit Operations,

1981.

R Turton, R.C Bailie, W.B Whiting, J.A Shaewitz, Bhattacharyya D. Analysis, Synthesis, and Design
of Chemical Processes. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall; 2012.