Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Comparison Between Head Types - Hemi, SE, F&D and Flat - Pressure Vessel Engineering
Comparison Between Head Types - Hemi, SE, F&D and Flat - Pressure Vessel Engineering
Comparison Between Head Types - Hemi, SE, F&D and Flat - Pressure Vessel Engineering
A cylindrical shell made of 0.500 inch thick Sa-516 70 material (rated to 20,000 psi at 100°F) is rolled to 48”
OD. The inside diameter (ID) ends up at 47”. This cylinder and the seams joining it to any attached heads are
fully radiographed, and there is no corrosion allowance. The ASME VIII-1 calculated design pressure for the
cylinder is 420 psi.
Four commonly used head types on vessels are Hemispherical (Hemi), Semi Elliptical (SE), Flanged and
Dished (F&D) and Flat. For this article, each of the four heads is attached to the cylinder, with diameters
matching on the ID. The wall thickness is varied to meet the 420 psi rating of the cylinder. The full calculation
set is linked below.
The results – thickness, height, volume and weight of one head only, including straight flanges when present:
Head Thickness [in] Outside Height [in] Volume [US gal] Weight [lbs]
Usually a hemi head cannot be formed from a flat sheet, instead it is made from welded pieces, making this,
the thinnest head, sometimes the most expensive. It is commonly used in large diameter or high pressure
applications where material savings are important. Two spherical heads back to back make a storage
sphere, the most efficient shape for pressurized storage.
This 2:1 SE head is made from half of an ellipse, so the head depth is a quarter the diameter. The depth is
half as much as the hemi head, but more than the F&D and Flat head. SE heads can be made from a flat
plate, resulting in what is often the most economical head for low pressure vessels.
The SE is not as efficient at handling stresses as the hemi, so the design rules require more thickness. The
ASME code design formulas for a 2:1 SE are very close to that of the cylinder – in this case resulting in a
required thickness of 0.4947” for the SE vs 0.500” for the cylinder.
The flanged and dished head requires more thickness than the matching cylinder, here 0.8901”. Again a
code standard 3:1 transition on the straight flange portion of the head (Which only needs to be 0.5000”)
handles the difference in thickness. Unless the height is important, a vessel with a pressure as high as this
48” design would typically use a SE instead.
Flat Head
The hemi head is the most efficient, containing the pressure in pure tension. The other designs substitute
various amounts of bending stresses at lower efficiency to lower the head height and pay for it in increased
weight. This flat head, working purely in bending, pays for it with a massive 3.9120” thickness. Flat heads
are usually reserved for processes that require flat inside surfaces.
Many solutions have been developed to provide flat heads on the inside of the vessels without the huge
weight of steel a flat head requires:
A flat plate with tie rods or rings connected to the SE or F&D head it is mounted in. The head supports the load, and
the plate provides a flat surface for the process.
Pouring a flat concrete floor in SE or F&D heads. The weight is still very high, but much less steel is used.
Thin flat plate supported by exterior beams across the width.
Thin flat plate with stay rods (or tubes) through the length of the vessel to the opposite flat head.
Thin flat plate with diagonal stay rods tied to the shell – often seen in boilers.
The stress is higher in the discontinuity zone of the head to shell junction (23,060 psi). The VIII-2 code rules
allow for these increases over small distances and provides limits. The stress in this case is acceptable. The
VIII-1 rules, beyond the requirement for a 3:1 taper, ignore these stresses which by experience are known to
work.
Von Mises stress in the cylinder and hemi head – the cylinder stress is now 12% below the VIII-1
code
Theoretically von Mises stress results range from equivalent to Tresca (P1-P3), to 15% lower. In this
example the reported stress in the cylinder is now 17,740 psi, 12% below the reported Tresca value, but the
reported stress in the hemi head remains at 20,322 psi.
FEA results are required to be done to VIII-2 methods, including the use of von-Mises stress reporting,
however VIII-1 stress equations that are derivable are done to Tresca methods. VIII-2 has rules for the
design of cylinders which match the Tresca stress methods, however, VIII-2 allow the use of Part 5 FEA rules
to replace Part 4 design rules.
4.1.1.5 A design-by-analysis in accordance with Part 5 may be used to establish the design
thickness and/or configuration (i.e. nozzle reinforcement configuration) in lieu of the design-
by-rules in Part 4 for any geometry or loading conditions (see 4.1.5.1).
4.1.5.1 Design Thickness. The design thickness of the vessel part shall be determined using
the design-by-rule methods of Part 4 with the load and load case combinations specified in
4.1.5.3. Alternatively, the design thickness may be established using the design-by-analysis
procedures in Part 5, even if this thickness is less than that established using Part 4 design-
by-rule methods. In either case, the design thickness shall not be less than the minimum
thickness specified in 4.1.2 plus any corrosion allowance required by 4.1.4.
The designer will get a thinner cylindrical shell when designing to VIII-2 part 5 than VIII-2 part 4. As FEA
methods from VIII-2 part 5 gradually replace code rules as found in VIII-1 and VIII-2 part 4, reduced
cylindrical thicknesses will be seen. The hemi heads will not change.
The F&D head, even with its thicker construction, has much higher stress in the knuckle region. It is
common in thinner F&D heads to exceed the VIII-2 allowable stresses in the knuckle. Programs like Nozzle
Pro often cannot calculate nozzles in F&D heads, because the heads fail VIII-2 rules, even without the added
stress of an included nozzle. F&D heads are known to be safe, but if the heads were invented today, the
required thickness for some would be higher. Designers are particularly cautioned about putting large
nozzles in the knuckle region
SE (left) and F&D head – the knuckle stresses are higher, especially in the F&D head
Be cautious using FEA for the design of these two head types because the knuckle stresses are in tension in
the longitudinal direction (along the length of the shell) but can be compressive in the radial direction. The
knuckle of these heads can buckle if made too thin.
As FEA methods are more commonly used, we expect that F&D head thicknesses (for large diameter thinner
heads) will be higher. We do not expect SE head designs to change much.
Very low code allowable stresses in the flat head, higher in the shell junction.
As designers get more freedom to use VIII-2 FEA methods in flat head design, where possible the heads will
be made thinner all round, with more thickness in the center than the edges. These thinner heads will have
more rotation at the head to shell junction requiring the designer to give this area much deserved attention.
As FEA use becomes more common, we expect flat head thicknesses to reduce.
Calculation Set
Download the Compress ASME calculation set for the four heads and cylindrical shell. [PVE-3101, Cameron
Moore, Michael Tomlinson, Laurence Brundrett]
We work to many ASME standards to design and validate pressure vessels, boiler, fittings
and piping systems. We have experience designing thousands of vessels and fittings to
multiple codes.
We use Compress, PV Elite, Design Calcs, Nozzle Pro and our own in-house software.
Other Services
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) – We use FEA to design and validate fittings and vessels that
cannot be designed by rule-based codes like VIII-1 or B31.3.
Pipe Stress Analysis – Pipe stress analysis is mandatory for British Columbia registration
and it is recommended practice for many other systems.
About Us
Pressure Vessel Engineering has over twenty years of successful experience in the
pressure vessel field working for more than a thousand customers.
Twelve Professional Engineers on staff licensed to stamp and sign off on designs for use in all
Canadian jurisdictions.
Fast and professional assistance from our team.
519-880-9808