Mechanical Design of Process Equipment

(3170514)

Jilesh M. Pandya
Assistant Professor,
Chemical Engineering Department,
V. V. P. Engineering College, Rajkot.
 :: Content ::
1 Introduction : 04
Concept of internal & external design pressure, design stress & design temperature,
Different types of equipments, Static & rotary equipments, Different types of static
equipments, Various mechanical properties of material, Different methods of
fabrication, Different types of welding joints, Joint efficiency, Radiography.

2 Mechanical design of Pressure vessel: 20

Introduction of ASME Code sec-VIII, DIV-I & IS-2825, Classification of pressure vessel as
per IS-2825,Mechanical design of Shell: shell subjected to internal pressure, Graphical
& analytical method for Shell subjected to external pressure, design of shell for
external pressure with & without stiffening ring, Different types of head, their selection
criteria, Mechanical design of heads: Heads subjected to internal pressure, Graphical
& analytical method for heads subjected to external pressure, Different types of
Nozzles, their selection criteria, Design of nozzle pipe, Design of reinforcement pad by
area for area method, Different types of flanges, Different types of standard flanges,
their important features & selection criteria, Different types of flange facings & their
selection criteria, Different types of gaskets, their selection criteria, Design of ring
flange.
3 Mechanical design of Reaction Vessel: 06
Mechanical design of shell, head, Jacket, coil, agitator, nozzle, body flange, etc., Different types of
agitators & their selection criteria, Different types of agitator shaft sealing system & their selection criteria,
Different types of power transmission system, Determination of power required for agitation, shaft diameter,
blade thickness, etc., Different types of jackets & their selection criteria, Selection between coil & jacket.
4 Mechanical design of Storage Tank: 05
Classification of storage tank as per IS-803, Capacity of storage tank, its diameter & height, Design of shell
and bottom plate for storage tank, Design of Self supported conical roof, Design of structured supported
conical roof as per API 620, Selection of column, girders and rafters, Roof curb angel, Floating roof.

5 Mechanical design of Shell & Tube Heat Exchangers: 05

Mechanical design of Shell, tube, tube sheet, head, channel shell, , etc. of shell & tube heat exchanger.

6 Mechanical design of Vertical tall tower (Distillation Column): 08

Mechanical design of shell, head, tray support, nozzle, body flange, for Vertical tall tower, Determination of
shell thicknesses at various heights for tray tower & packed tower in case of internal & external pressure,
Different types of tray supports & their selection criteria, design of horizontal structural member with
periphery ring type packing support.

7 Supports : 06
Different types of supports, Mechanical design of bracket support, skirt, support & saddle support.
 Chapter: 7 Designing of Support
 Cylindrical & Other types of vessels are supported by different methods.
 Vertical vessels are supported by brackets, column, skirts or stool supports.
 While horizontal vessels are supported by saddles.
 The choice of type of support depends upon the height and diameter of the
vessel, available floor space, convenience of the location, operating pressure
and the material of construction.
 The attachment of supports to the vessel wall causes additional stresses in the
wall; which the vessel should withstand in addition to the stresses created in the
shell due to the operating pressure.
 Calculations of bending and other stresses in the shell due to supports are very
complex.
 It is advisable to assess such stresses only in the shell when the effect of
supports is significant in comparison with the internal pressure.
 It is also necessary to ensure that the attachments of the support to the vessel,
which are usually by fillet welds should be able to transfer load safely from
vessel to its support and that support should be strong enough to withstand the
load of the vessel.
BRACKET or LUG SUPPORT:
 Can be easily fabricated from plates and attached to the vessel wall with
a minimum welding length.
 Rests on short column or beams of a structure depending on the elevation
required.
 Due to the eccentricity of these supports and the resulting bending
moment; compressive, tensile and shear stress are induced in the vessel.
 These stresses must be combined with circumferential and longitudinal
stresses produced in the vessel wall due to operating pressure.
 Shear stress may be smaller and can be ignored.
 More suitable for vessel having thick walls, as these are capable of
absorbing the bending stress due to the eccentricity of loads.
 In thin wall vessel, it is necessary either to reinforce certain areas of the
vessel wall, where the brackets are attached, or to use more number of
brackets.
 In case of reinforcement pad, it is usually welded to the shell.
 The bracket is then welded to the pad.
 Top Head Nozzles

Reinforcement
Bracket
Pad

Pressure Vessel
Shell

Bottom Conical
head
Nozzles
 The thickness of the pad is usually made equal to or greater than the thickness of the
shell, with a minimum thickness of 6 mm.
 It is usual to provide 2 brackets for the vessel up to 0.6 meter diameter, 4 brackets for
the vessel up to 3 meter diameter, 6 brackets for the vessel up to 5 meter diameter
and 8 brackets for the vessel above 5 meter diameter.
 The main loadings on the bracket support
are:
1. Dead weight of the vessel with its
contents…
2. Wind load…
 The wing load tends to over turn the vessel,
particularly when it is empty.
 The maximum compressive stresses in the
support occurs in the leeward side; when
the vessel is full, since the dead load and
the wind load have the similar effect.
 The maximum tensile stresses are set up to the wind side; when the vessel is empty,
since the dead load and the wind load have opposing effect.
 Thus, the stresses on the leeward side are the determining factor for the design of
support.
 The maximum total compressive load in the most remote support is
therefore given by:
Vessel clearance
from the foundation
Height of vessel above the to bottom Maximum weight of
foundation vessel with

4 Pw H  F   W
attachments and
contents

Total force due P 

to wind load
acting on the
n * Db n
vessel
Wind pressure
Diameter of Number of
acting on the
bolt circle brackets
vessel
 The wind load is neglected; if the vessel is indoor or if the height of vessel is
limited.
 The load P would then be only due to the weight of vessel and its content.
 W 
P   

 n 
Three types of BRACKETS are generally used…

STIFFENERS

PAD PLATE
GUSSET PLATE

 One type consists of two vertical gusset plate; with two additional
horizontal stiffeners.
 All plates are welded to the pressure vessel shell.
 It would be more better to provide a pad plate for distributing the stress
uniformly on the shell.
 Stiffening
Ring

Stiffening
Blind Ring
Flange

Gusset
Plate
Man
Hole /
Cover

Base Plate
for Bracket
 Both top and bottom stiffener plates are continuously welded to the shell, as the
maximum compressive and tensile stress occurs in these two plates.
 The gusset plates may be welded intermittently.
 The compressive load P induces a reaction in the pressure vessel wall around the
bracket.
 The bending moment created is given by:

 2t 2 PbR 2  31   2
 
1
4
M
121   2 Ah
Here,    2 2 
 Rt 
Where, t = thickness of shell,
R = Radius of shell
P = Compressive load
b = Distance from the centre lone of the shell plate to the centre line of
column
A = Width of Compression plate
h = height of gusset plate
 = Poisson’s Ratio
 The axial stress in the vessel wall is given by
6* Mo  2 PbR 2
fa  
t 2
21   2 Ah
 The reinforcement pad is welded to shell to take care of these additional
stresses; if they are of a large magnitude.

Thickness of a BASE PLATE:

 The plate is fixed on the edge with the load P considered as a distributed
over about half the area of the plate.
 Average pressure on the plate is given by:
P
pav 
aB
 Maximum stress in a rectangular plate subjected to a pressure pav and fixed
at the edges is given by
B2  a4 
f  0.5 pav 2  4 
4 
T1  B  a 
 Since this load is only distributed on the surface of contact between the
base plate and the supporting beam, the actual stress may be taken 40%
more than the “f”.
B2  a4 
f  0.7 pav 2  4 
4 
T1  B  a 
Thickness of a WEB
(GUSSET) PLATE:
 Two web plates are used for
each bracket.
 Bending moment for each
plate is given by:
P 
PBM   xC 
2 
 Section Modulus of plate is:
1
Z  T2 h 2
6
 The edge is at an angle  from the
horizontal.
 The maximum compressive stress
parallel to the edge of the web
plate is given by:

3PC 1
f edge  x
T2 h cos 
2

 COLUMN SUPPORT for the brackets can be discussed as under:

 Columns are attached under the brackets.
 Hence, the load on the column is not concentric with the weight
of the vessel and its content.
 These loading conditions act to produce an axial compression
as well as bending due to eccentricity.
 Column Support in steel are designed for the Slenderness ratio up to 120.

 Slenderness is a measure of the tendency of a

column to buckle.
 It is defined as Le/k; where, “Le” is the effective
length of the column and “k” is the least
radius of gyration, the latter defined by k2 =
I/A; where, “A” is the area of the cross-
section of the column and “I” is the second
moment of area of the cross-section.

 If the load acting eccentric on a short column, the maximum combined

and direct stress is given by:
Where, W = load on Column

f 
 W W * e

A = area of cross section
e = eccentricity
A* n n*Z Z = modulus of section of cross section
n = number of columns
 If the column is too long, then the stress acting on the column is given by;

f 
 W   e   W * e
l
2

1  a   
A * n   r   n*Z
Where, le = effective length of column = ½ (for fixed ends of column)
a = constant
r = radius of gyration
 In case of vessel which are outside the building, column support will also
be subjected to wind load.
 The stress induced due to wind load is given by:
 p 1 l
f   w x *
 n 2 z
Where, le = effective length of column = ½ (for fixed ends of column)
a = constant
r = radius of gyration
 PROBLEM: 14
Design a BRACKET SUPPORT based on following data for vertical cylindrical vessel:
 Diameter of Vessel 1.5 m
 Height of vessel 2.0 m
 Clearance from vessel bottom to foundation 1.0 m
 Weight of vessel with its content 40000 N
 Wind pressure 1285 N/m2
 Number of brackets 4
 Diameter of anchor bolt circle 1.65 m
 Height of bracket from foundation 2.25 m
 Permissible stress for structural steel  Tension 140 N/mm2
 Compression 123.3 N/mm2
 Bending 157.5 N/mm2
 Wind load constant 0.7
 Permissible bearing pressure for concrete 3.5 N/mm2
 PROBLEM: 14

 Base plate details for bracket a = 140 mm

b = 150 mm
Slenderness ratio = 50.90
 Column Details
 Size of column 150 x 75
 Area of cross section 20.88 cm3
 Modulus of section 19.4 cm2
 Radius of gyration 2.21 cm
 Weight 164 N/mm
 Height from foundation 2.25 m
 Eccentricity (e) 7.5
SOLUTION PROBLEM: 14
SOLUTION PROBLEM: 14
SOLUTION PROBLEM: 14
SOLUTION PROBLEM: 14
SOLUTION PROBLEM: 14
SOLUTION PROBLEM: 14
SOLUTION PROBLEM: 14
SOLUTION PROBLEM: 14
Chemical Engineering Department,
V. V. P. Engineering College, Rajkot