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“CHAPTER-02T” — 2012/2/14 — 18:28 — page 80 — #36

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80 STATICALLY DETERMINATE SYSTEMS

Example 2.7

A closed cylinder having a wall thickness of 3.5 mm (0.14 in) and a mean diameter of 120 mm (4.7 in)
is subjected to an internal pressure of 5 MN/m2 (730 psi). Calculate the stresses in the cylinder wall.

Solution: We are given the mean diameter, from which the mean radius is obtained as Rm = 60 mm.
The internal radius is therefore equal to

t 3.5
Ri = Rm − = 60 − = 58.25 mm
2 2

and from Equation (2.16) the hoop stress is

5 × 58.25
σθ = = 83.2 MN/m2
3.5

From Equation (2.17) the axial stress is

5 × 58.252
σz = = 40.4 MN/m2
2 × 3.5 × 60

while from Equation (2.18) it is

5 × 58.25
σz = = 41.6 MN/m2
2 × 3.5

a somewhat higher figure. A typical radial stress is p/2, or 2.5 MN/m2 (365 psi). Note that it does
not matter what length units we use for the cylinder radii and thickness (m or mm, for example),
provided they are consistent, since these dimensions appear in the formulae only as ratios.

Example 2.8

A cylindrical pressure vessel of length 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in), diameter 0.84 m (33 in), and wall thickness
4.5 mm (0.18 in) contains compressed air at a gage pressure of 1.2 MN/m2 (170 psi). The vessel is
closed by flat plates welded to the ends of the cylinder, and a compressive force of 300 kN (67 kip) is
applied to these plates. Calculate the hoop and axial stresses in the cylinder wall remote from the
end plates.
Solution: Figure 2.26(a) shows the vessel and applied loading, while Figure 2.26(b) shows the free
body formed by cutting through the vessel close to its left-hand end. The radius of the cylinder, R,
is 0.42 m (we are not told whether this is the internal, mean, or outer dimension), and the internal
pressure is 1.2 MN/m2 . First, we may calculate the hoop stress in the usual way, using Equation
(2.16)
1.2 × 0.42
σθ = = 112 MN/m2 (16 ksi)
0.0045

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