The Design of vessel support and tanks

Chemical Engineering Apparatus Design (ChEg 4191)

4th year sec-III Mr. Asrat A. (Lec.) Email: tilmachem3485@gmail.com

Hawassa University (HU), Institute of Technology (IoT)

Chemical engineering department
 Vessel support
• The method used to support a vessel will depend on the
1.Size, shape, and weight of the vessel
2.Design temperature and pressure
3.Vessel location and arrangement and
4.Internal and external fittings and attachments
 Horizontal vessels are usually mounted on two saddle supports
 Skirt supports are used for tall, vertical columns
 Brackets, or lugs, are used for all types of vessel
• The supports must be designed to carry the weight of the vessel and contents, and any
superimposed loads, such as wind loads.
• Supports will impose localized loads on the vessel wall, and the design must be checked to
ensure that the resulting stress concentrations are below the maximum allowable design stress.
• Supports should be designed to allow easy access to the vessel and fittings for inspection and
maintenance.
 Saddle supports
• Though saddles are the most commonly used support for
horizontal cylindrical vessels, legs can be used for small vessels.
• A horizontal vessel will normally be supported at two cross-
sections; if more than two saddles are used the distribution of the
loading is uncertain.
• A vessel supported on two saddles can be considered as a simply
supported beam, with an essentially uniform load

• Maxima occur at the supports and at mid-span.

• The theoretical optimum position of the supports to give the least maximum
bending moment will be the position at which the maxima at the supports and
at mid-span are equal in magnitude.

• For a uniformly loaded beam the position will be at 21% of the span, in from each end.
• The saddle supports for a vessel will usually be located nearer the ends than this value, to make use of the
stiffening effect of the ends.
 Design of Saddles
• The saddles must be designed to withstand the load imposed by the weight of the vessel and contents.
They are constructed of bricks or concrete, or are fabricated from steel plate. The contact angle should
not be less than 120°, and will not normally be greater than 150°. Wear plates are often welded to the
shell wall to reinforce the wall over the area of contact with the saddle.
• The dimensions of typical “standard” saddle designs are
 Skirt supports
• A skirt support consists of a cylindrical or conical shell welded to the base
of the vessel. A flange at the bottom of the skirt transmits the load to the
foundations.
• Openings must be provided in the skirt for access and for any
connecting pipes; the openings are normally reinforced.
• Skirt supports are recommended for vertical vessels as they do not impose
concentrated loads on the vessel shell; they are particularly suitable for use
with tall columns subject to wind loading.
Skirt thickness
• The skirt thickness must be sufficient to withstand the dead-weight loads and bending moments imposed on
it by the vessel; it will not be under the vessel pressure.
• The resultant stresses in the skirt will be:
and

Where = bending stress in the skirt
= dead weight stress in the skirt
where Ms = maximum bending moment, evaluated at the
base of the skirt (due to wind, seismic and eccentric loads),
W = total weight of the vessel and contents
Ds = inside diameter of the skirt, at the base,
ts = skirt thickness.
 Cont.…
• The skirt thickness should be such that under the worst combination of wind and
dead-weight loading the following design criteria are not exceeded:

where fs = maximum allowable design stress for the skirt material, normally taken at ambient
temperature, 200C,
J = weld joint factor, if applicable,
= base angle of a conical skirt, normally 80 o to 90oׄ

• The minimum thickness should be not less than 6 mm.

 Base ring and anchor bolt design
• The loads carried by the skirt are transmitted to the foundation slab by the skirt base ring
(bearing plate).
• The moment produced by wind and other lateral loads will tend to overturn the vessel; this
will be opposed by the couple set up by the weight of the vessel and the tensile load in the
anchor bolts.
• A variety of base ring designs is used with skirt supports. The simplest types, suitable for
small vessels, are the

Plain flange rings Rolled angle

• For larger columns a double ring stiffened by gussets

Double plate with gusset
 Cont.…
• The anchor bolts are assumed to share the overturning load equally, and the bolt area required is given by:
where Ab= area of one bolt at the root of the thread, mm 2,
Nb = number of bolts,
fb = maximum allowable bolt stress, N/mm2; typical design value 125 N/mm2,
Ms = bending (overturning) moment at the base, Nm,
W = weight of the vessel, N,
Db = bolt circle diameter, m.
• Scheiman gives the following guide rules which can be used for the selection of the anchor bolts:
1. Bolts smaller than 25 mm diameter should not be used.
2. Minimum number of bolts 8.
3. Use multiples of 4 bolts.
4. Bolt pitch should not be less than 600 mm.

• If the minimum bolt pitch cannot be accommodated with a cylindrical skirt, a conical skirt should be used.
• The base ring must be sufficiently wide to distribute the load to the foundation. The total compressive load on
the base ring is given by:

where Fb = the compressive load on the base ring, Newtons per linear metre,
Ds = skirt diameter, m.
 Cont.…
• The minimum width of the base ring is given by:
where Lb = base ring width, mm,
fc = the maximum allowable bearing pressure on the concrete foundation pad,
which will depend on the mix used, and will typically range from 3.5 to 7N/mm 2.
• The required thickness for the base ring is found by treating the ring as a cantilever beam.

The minimum thickness is given by:

where Lr= the distance from the edge of the skirt to the outer edge of the ring, mm;
tb, = base ring thickness, mm,
f’c= actual bearing pressure on base. N/mm2,
fr = allowable design stress in the ring material, typically 140 N/mm 2,
• Standard designs will normally be used for the bolting chairs.
• The following design has been adapted from that given by Scheiman.
Cont.…
Design a skirt support for the column specified in
Example13.3.
 LIQUID STORAGE TANKS
• Vertical cylindrical tanks, with flat bases and conical roofs, are universally used for the bulk storage of
liquids at atmospheric pressure.
• The main load to be considered in the design of these tanks is the hydrostatic pressure of the liquid,
but the tanks must also be designed to withstand wind loading and, for some locations, the weight of
snow on the tank roof.
• The minimum wall thickness required to resist the hydrostatic pressure can be calculated from the
equations for the membrane stresses in thin cylinders
where es= tank thickness required at depth HL, mm
HL= liquid depth, m
ρL= liquid density, kg/m3
E = joint efficiency (if applicable)
g = gravitational acceleration, 9.81 m/s 2
St = maximum allowable stress for tank material, N/mm 2
Dt = tank diameter, m
• The liquid density should be taken as that of water (1000 kg/m 3), unless the process liquid has a greater
density.
• For small tanks a constant wall thickness would normally be used, calculated at the maximum liquid depth.
• With large tanks, it is economical to take account of the variation in hydrostatic pressure with depth, by
increasing the plate thickness progressively from the top to bottom of the tank.
Problem 13.9

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