Pressure Vessel Engineering

Last Updated: Aug 19 2015, By: LRB

The requirements for FEA reports are outlined in CSA B51-14 annex J “Annex J (normative) Requirements regarding
the use of finite element analysis (FEA) to support a pressure equipment design submission”. These requirements
are mandatory to B51, but not universally accepted across Canada. At this date (Aug 2015) Alberta reviews are still
done to ABSA AB-520, a similar but not identical document. Some extracts from the B51 standard are included in
italics below.

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FEA programs are physics engines. We have found that any of the main commercially available programs are
suitable for pressure vessel analysis. In particular we use SolidWorks Simulation and ABACUS, but others also
work.

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In general we find it acceptable to use FEA for design of non code items or portions of items. It is important to
include code calculations for those portions of the vessel that are code calculable. On rare occasions a product is
forced to be re-designed so that regular code sections can be used.

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We sometimes get asked to provide a report of our experience. See our Contacts page where we have posted
qualification resumes for our review engineers. For example, the resumes of Ben, Cameron and Matt
have been written to present qualifications for performing FEA and reviewing FEA reports.
For the sections J.4 through J.10 we refer to sample reports found in our FEA samples section. These reports are
written to meet this or various previous provincial guidelines. Beyond this CSA guideline, our sample reports are
also modified to answer common questions from CRN review engineers and customers.

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The turn angle is simply the number of elements it takes to go around a circle. This Inventor support page explains the
use of a turn angle. It is normal that a mesher needs around 8 elements to get around a circular hole which would
produce a turn angle of 45 degrees per element. Decreasing the turn angle increases the number of elements and
the accuracy of the FEA results, however not all areas of a model need to be highly accurate. The turn angle does
not provide any predictive value, and the B51 standard provides no acceptance criteria. The use of an error plot as
discussed in J.6.8 below is a much more useful measure of mesh and results quality.

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We use the error plot to determine if the mesh is adequately refined. Beyond the scope of this standard, it is
important to realize that pressure vessels have areas of discontinuity where in theory the stress approaches infinity
as the mesh size is decreased. In practice the vessel experiences stresses above the yield point. Refer to our
sample jobs for linearization analysis that can deal with stresses approaching infinity.

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Verification is as simple as comparing the reaction forces from the FEA run with the theoretical loads that can be
calculated at the boundary conditions. What is acceptable for validation varies by reviewer. Rarely FEA runs must
be provided that predict burst test results. Occasionally strain gauge testing or displacement testing must be
provided that can be run against a standard non destructive hydrotest. Other methods used are comparing Roark’s
predicted radial displacement of a shell with the results of a model run. Most commonly, it is recognized that a FEA
run that meets the other requirements of this standard is far more accurate than other available methods of study
so no further physical testing proof is required.

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A convergence study only proves that a single point of a model has converged, whereas an error plot proves a
whole model and does not required multiple FEA runs. As mentioned in J.6.4, we use error plots to prove
convergence. Also mentioned above, not all areas of a pressure vessel model converge. The areas that do not
converge require special study that cannot be handled by convergence studies. These areas are usually handled
by Linearization as outlined by ASME VIII-2 part 5.
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Pressure Vessel Engineering Ltd.
120 Randall Drive, Suite B
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
N2V 1C6

519-880-9808