Process Equipment Design

Equipment Design basic

Considerations
 Factors deciding Performance &
Reliability of Equipment
• Processing Conditions
• Construction Materials
• Component Strength and Rigidity
• Satisfactory Performance of Mechanisms
• Fabrication Methods
• Ease of Repair & Maintenance
• Ease of Operation & Control
• Safety requirements
 Design Procedure
1) Problem Definition
2) Analysis of Solution
3) Apply Basic principles and Theories of
Mechanisms
4) Selection of Materials and Stress Analysis
5) Evaluate & Design Optimization
6) Preparation of Drawings & Specifications
 Storage tanks

Jacketed Agitator
 Pressure Vessels
Vessel working with more than Atmosphere
pressure is called as pressure vessel.
Unfired pressure vessel is used as Basic
Component
Pressure vessels are subjected to 1) Internal
pressure 2) Under Vacuum condition & 3)
Subjected to External Pressure.
 Normal Conditions
1) Operating Pressure
2) Operating Temperature
3) Influence of Environment
4) External loading
 Transient Conditions
i) Start up & shut down
ii)Rate of Change of Fluid Temperature
iii)
Emergency Operations
iv)Load due to Earthquake
Pressure vessel codes – Used for
1) Design 2) Fabrication 3) Inspection &
4)Testing
IS 2825
Material Selection for Pressure Vessel
Components
Selection based on
1)Temperature range -200 to 6000C
2)Pressure: Vacuum to 3000Kg/cm2
3)Corrosion & its Effect
4)Availability & cost
Materials are divided in three groups
1)Low Cost: C.I., Cast carbon & low alloy steel,
wrought carbon steel
2)Medium Cost: High alloy steel(Cr 12% &
above), Al, Cu, Nickel, lead & their alloys
3)High Cost: Silver, Platinum, Titanium,
Zirconium etc.
Cladding of second & third group materials on
First group materials
Polymer , rubber used for liners (gaskets)
Vessel Operating at Low Temperature
Ductility of Carbon & Low alloy steel decrease
below critical value.
Critical temp. depends on Material, Manufacturing
method, and its treatment
Brittle fracture without deformation
Fractures are extensive leading to catastrophic
fragmentation
Sudden section thickness change producing notch
effect should be avoided
Carbon steel can be used up to -600C
 Vessels at High Temperature
Criteria-i) strength ii) Metallurgical stability
i) Strength of Low carbon steel reduces at high temp., and it is
liable to creep so used up to 5000C
High Alloy steels can be used up to 10000C with proper
preconditioning
Material should not deteriorate significantly in service.
Corrosion rate must be controlled.
ii) Metallurgical faults avoided.
Chromium above 3% reduces corrosion rate of steels
For above 6000C temp. use austenitic Chromium nickel
steel with stabilized grades.
Molybdenum improves creep and tensile strength and
reduces imbrittlement.
 Design Conditions & Stresses
Conditions: 1) Temperature,
2) pressure &
3)Safety valve/ bursting disc setting
Design pressure= 1.1x max. operating pressure
Vessels with vacuum without breaker plate are
designed for 1 atm. Gauge external pressure.
For both internal and external loads design is
made separately & safe design is selected.
 Design Stresses
Based on 1) Ultimate tensile stress
2) Yield stress
3) Creep Properties.
Design stress is obtained by considering factor of safety.
IS, ASME, BS codes are based on UTS with Factor of safety
of 3.4 or 2.35
DIN codes based on Yield stress with Factor of Safety of
1.5
Design code defines rules for Design of vessel shell
areas under steady pressure.
Support forces Temp. difference of constant &
cyclic nature.
 Design Criteria
1) Methods based on Elastic Analysis
2) Cyclic load with plastic flow
3) Low stress Brittle fracture causes due to
 Presence of Notch
 Stress concentration at notch
 Operations at sub zero conditions
 Wrong Materials & its Treatment
For Rupture: Design stress is 0.6 to 1.0
times min. or avg. stress for rupture
after 100000 hrs. of design temperature.
For Deformation: Design stress is avg.
stress for 1% creep strain after 100000
hrs.
Knowledge of creep behavior of material
is required for design temperature
above 4000 C
 Corrosion Allowance
Corrosion is common feature of Chemical Equipment.
Analysis of factors causing and preventing corrosion.
Corrosion rate may be predictable, unpredictable or
negligible
Corrosion allowance is added to allow corrosion
increasing thickness of components.
Allowance of 3mm added for materials like carbon
steels and iron parts
No allowance for non ferrous parts & high alloy steel
For thickness more than 30mm no corrosion allowance
is necessary.
 Design of Pressure Vessel
Pressure vessel is designed for following parts
1)Shell 2)Head or cover
3) Nozzle 4)Flange joint &
5) Supports.
Above parts are fabricated form sheets and plates , seamless or
welded pipes. After forming connected by welding or riveted
joints.
Efficiency of Joints: Welded Joints
Ƞ=100% fully radio-graphed & checked joint
Ƞ= 85% Checked at few points
Ƞ= 50 to 85% without radiographic testing of joints
Riveted Joints:
Ƞ= 70 to 85% Butt Joints
Ƞ=50 to 70% for Lap Joints.
Design procedure for vessels with ratio of outside diameter to inside
diameter not exceeding 1:5.
 Shell Subjected to internal pressure
Cylindrical shell: Internal pressure causes circumferential and axial
stresses.
1) Circumferential Stress:

2) Axial Stress:

Where: P= Internal pressure, D= mean dia. of the shell

& t= shell thickness
Circumferential stress is taken as design stress and shell is formed by
joints in the longitudinal directions.
Shell thickness is given by

Where Di & Do are shell Inside and outside diameter.

 Spherical shell
For spherical shell both stress are equal to
axial stresses

Cylindrical vessel Under combined Loading:

1) Stress in cir. Direction (Tensile):
2)a) Stress in axial direction (Tensile):
b) Stress due to wt. of vessel & its content
(Vertical vessel only) (Compressive)
Where W= Wt of vessel and its content
c) Stress due to wind or piping in case of
vertical vessels & due to weight of vessel for
horizontal vessels:
Where M= Bending moment due to loads normal to vessel axis
Z= Section Modulus of Vessel
Total axial stresses = fa=fa1+fa2+fas
3) Stresses due to offset piping or wind:

combining above stresses on the basis of shear strain energy

criteria, the equivalent stress is
• For satisfactory design following conditions must be
satisfied: fR (tensile) ≤ fc permissible
fa (tensile) ≤ fc permissible
fa (compressive) ≤ fc permissible
• The axial compressive stress may cause wrinkling of the
shell.*
• The safe compressive stress which can be imposed
without failure by wrinkling is given by

• If these conditions are not satisfied then shell thickness

has to be increased by trial & error method & final
thickness is determined by adding corrosion allowance .
 Vessels operating under External Pressure
Elastic Buckling takes place & need to define critical
buckling pressure for cylindrical vessel.

For shells with closed ends

Where
L= unsupported length of vessel
Do= Outside dia. Of vessel
t= shell thickness
E= Young’s modulus
n= number of lobes formed at buckling
& µ = Poisson’s ratio
 Effect of out of roundness of vessel
There is reduction in values of critical pressure for Vessels with out
of round shell.
For defining factor of safety and manufacturing tolerances Critical
pressure is required to defined.
Reduction in Critical pressure:
= 50% for deviation equal to shell thickness
= 25% for one tenth deviation of shell thickness.
Use of Reinforcement rings: Considerable material can be saved.
Moment of Inertia of ring is

Permissible cr. Pressure &

Cr. stress is defined with
F. of Safety = 4
 Design of Head or cover
Shell ends are closed with head or cover.
Head is bolted, riveted or welded to shell.
Heads are formed to specific shapes.
Formed heads are used for horizontal cylindrical
shell at atmospheric pressure.
Flat heads:
Used as manhole covers in low pressure
applications & small bore openings & are
uneconomical .
Stresses created on flat heads are acting as
uniformly distributed loads.
Maximum stress act at circumference.
Where c=edge fixity factor,
D= Dia. of plate
f= design stress at operating temp.
p= working pressure & R=D/2
 Formed & Dished heads
1. Heads with Torispherical or elliptical shapes
are commonly used on cylindrical vessels.
2. Hemispherical head is used in few cases due
to extensive dish forming.
3. Head thickness is calculated based on
internal & external pressures.(IS 4049).
4. Length of straight flange on head should not
be less than three times thickness with
minimum of 20mm
 Formed & Dished heads
Internal pressure
1)Conical Head:
where α = half apex angle of cone
Head thickness=

Local stresses at joint may exceed circumferential

stress.
Knuckle is provided to reduce this effect with
inner radius not less than 10% of shell internal
diameter.
Sometimes compression ring is used.
 2) Shallow dished & torispherical Head
Provided with dish or crown radius equal to or
less than head diameter.
Knuckle is formed at corner to reduce stress
with radius at-least 6% of inside diameter.
Head thickness =

Stress intensification factor:

Rc = crown radius R1 = knuckle radius.
 3) Elliptical Head
Head thickness:

Stress intensification factor:

&
Common value of K is 2 & it should not exceed
2.6
4) Hemispherical Head:
 External Pressure
(i) Conical Head: Depending on apex angle
conical heads are designed as cylindrical
shell under external pressure or as a flat
plate.
With apex angle of 450 , head is designed as
cylindrical Shell
Heads with apex angle more than 1200 are
designed as flat plates.
 ii) Torispherical , elliptical & hemispherical heads
These heads are designed using equation of
design with internal pressure except this
pressure is taken as 1.67 times external
pressure.
Heads should have sufficient elastic stability &
should not buckle under pressure.

For all these heads corrosion allowance may be

added to thickness.
 Nozzles
Nozzles or opening on vessels for
1) Inlet, 2) outlet, 3) manholes, 4) vents,
5)drains, 6)for fixing accessories etc.
Located on either head or shell
Circular, elliptical, round in shape
Classification of Nozzles

A) Integral B) Fabricated
C) Formed nozzles
nozzles nozzles
 Nozzles
Integral nozzles: Are formed in portion of shell
or head by cutting and shaping.
Forming can be done only for materials with
sufficient ductility.
Used in few cases.
Fabricated Nozzles:
 Formed Nozzles
Formed nozzles are fabricated to specific shape and
size with flanges by rolling and forging methods.
Standard formed nozzles are made to withstand
different temperature and pressure ratings.
IS :3133 Specifications of manholes & inspection
openings of chemical equipments.
Man Hole of the
vessel
 Nozzle stresses & Reinforcement
Nozzles causes discontinuity in sections.
Stress concentration at edges.
Circular holes: stress is 2.5 times the circumferential
stress.
For Elliptical holes stress varies with direction of axis , and
ratio of major to minor axis.
Stress concentration effect can be reduced by Increasing
thickness in the vicinity of opening & thus reinforcing
the nozzle.
1) Reinforcement helps in compensating weakening due
to opening by adding material without disturbing
general strain pattern.
2) The material is placed adjacent to hole and suitably
disposed in profile, without introducing stress
concentration.
 Design of nozzle Reinforcement
a) Area for Area method: Simple & reliable
method suggested in codes.
b) Controlled maximum stress method: Maximum
stress adjustment to nozzle is restricted to 2.25
times design stress.
c) Experimental yield method: Based on pressure
tests of joints to produce 0.2% residual strain
at junctions are used derive weakening factors.
Design pressure equals 1.5 P(0.2), so that
nozzle has the same reserve on yield as the
membrane area where design stress equals the
yield stress divided by 1.5.
 Area for Area method.
The area to be replaced & effective area of
compensation are shown in figure by limits
ABCD

For compensation provided by nozzle

 If compensation is provided by combination of
nozzle & compensating ring.
Area of compensation= A
Where = Theoretical minimum shell thickness & d= nozzle opening.
Area available for compensation:
i) Portion of shell or head as excess thickness.

ii) The portion of nozzle external to the vessel

iii) The portion of nozzle internal to the vessel

iv) Additional compensation provided by above.

Compensation to provided by reinforcement ring is:

* For different permissible stresses in shell and compensating ring, the
compensation provided by ring has to be modified accordingly.
 Flange Joint
Heads & Nozzles are joined with Flange joint.
Detachable arrangement with nuts and bolts.
Facilitate easy dismantling of parts.
Pair of flanges attached to each part.
Firm joint using series of Bolts, studs, etc.
Gasket is interposed between adjoining flange
faces to prevent leakage through joint.
Joint with structural integrity with minimum
leakage during service.
•Types & sizes of flanges are fabricated either by
casting, forging or formed from structural section and
plates.*
•Flanges for shell sections and head are standardized
as per IS 4864 – 4869.
•Pipe flanges are subjected to Bending stresses due to
piping connections.
 FLANGE FACINGS
Flange faces are formed & finished to specific
shape & finish for locating gaskets in
appropriate positions.
According to width of gasket covering flange
facing these are divide in 2 types.
i) Wide Face flange: Gasket covers entire width
of flange face, used for soft gaskets with
pressure not more than 20kg/cm 2 &
temperature not more than 220 0 C.
ii)Narrow Face flange: Gaskets fits inside bolt
diameter.
 Gaskets
Gaskets are interposed between adjacent
flange faces.
Bolts are used to clamp gasket along with
flanges.
Yielding caused by clamping of gasket material
seals surface irregularities of flange faces.
According to shape & size, different types of
gaskets are made.
 Types of Gaskets
Flat ring gaskets: (IS: 4870)
• Materials: Paper, cloth, rubber, compressed
asbestos, soft iron, nickel, copper, & Al.
• Combination of metal & non metal can be used.
• Thickness: 0.5 – 3mm& width: 6mm & above.
• Narrow gaskets require less tightening force.
• Paper, cloth& rubber gaskets used upto 120 0 C
• Asbestos gaskets are used above 350 0 C.
• Ferrous & nickel base gaskets used for high
temp.
 Serrated Gasket
i) Flat gaskets with concentric grooves or
serrations on surfaces.
ii) Contact area is reduced to few lines.
iii) Requires less tightening force.
Laminated Gaskets:
i)Made of metal & soft filler such as asbestos sheet
ii)Laminations are in plane of face & in axial
directions.
iii) Most suitable for high temperature than plain
asbestos.
iv)Requires less tightening than metal gaskets.
 Corrugated gaskets
i)Formed by inserting asbestos between
corrugations of metallic sheet.
ii) Intermediate in stiffness between flat
metallic & non metallic gaskets.
Ring Gaskets:
Continuous ring of oval or octagonal cross-
section.
Made up of metals.
Withstand sever conditions but for low
temperature.
 Self sealing Gaskets:
• Rings of Lens (double cone), Delta, Graylock
wave cross –section.
• Used for high pressures.
• Rise in pressure makes sealing more effective.
Spinal Wound gaskets:
Suitable for high pressure & high temp.
application.
Suitable for cyclic stresses due to changes in
pressure &temp.
Consist of thin metal strip wound spirally with or
without filler material such as graphite, Teflon
etc.
 Design of Flanged joint
Standard flanges can be selected based on temp. &
pressure conditions.
Non Standard flanges of specified materials, size, shape
& elaborate clamping are designed, designing &
selecting gasket, flange facing, bolting, flange width,
flange thickness & hub properties.
Points to be considered:
i) Sealing/tightening force must ensure positive contact
pressure at gasket-flange interface under all service
conditions to prevent leakage.
ii) Tightening force without over stressing bolts.
iii)Structural integrity of joint to minimize deflection.
 Reactions of compressed gaskets
Elastic Reaction: Gasket surface yields filling
irregularities when stressed within elastic
limits.
Gasket thickness practically undeformed.
Plastic Reaction: Gasket mass become plastic.
Springy Reaction: Fully confined gasket resist
compression like liquid.
Under varying conditions plastic reaction is
unable to adjust itself to required thickness,
leading to leakage.
 Bolts of flange joint
Size of gasket, number & diameter of bolts, tightening action demands
evaluation of gasket reaction under atmospheric & pressure conditions.
Bolts of joints resist these forces.
• Atmospheric conditions: Bolt load due to gasket reaction: Wa = Ag ya
• Where Ag = Area of Gasket under compression
• ya= Stress in gasket
• ya should be less than the yield stress of gasket if elastic
reaction is expected
Operating conditions:
• With internal pressure, compressed gasket is released
slightly & bolt load is given by
• Wp = Agyp + AhP
• Where
• yp = Gasket residual stress
• Ah =Area of flange on which pressure is exerted
• P+ operating pressure
 Flange loading
Bolt tightening at atmospheric conditions:
i) Compression of gasket thickness
ii)Extension of bolt length
iii)Deflection of both flanges
Under pressure:
i) Gasket is released changing it’s thickness.
ii)Change in gasket thickness is equal to change
in bolt length plus change in thickness of
both flanges.
 ΔT=ΔL+Δf
Where: Δ T = change in gasket thickness
Δ L = change in bolt length
Δ f = change in deflection of each
flange.
a
With Hook’s law

Where : Eg & Eb = modulus of elasticity of

gasket & bolt material.
T = gasket thickness, L= length of bolt, C =
deflection factor of bolt.
Change in bolt load:
• From equation a

From above equation the change in bolt load

For metallic gaskets as Eg is very large T/Eg is

negligible & value of change in bolt load is zero.
For such gaskets load with & without operating
conditions remains same.
For some materials such as rubber, plastics 1/Eg is
significant & therefore bolt load under both
conditions must be assessed.
It is difficult to ascertain the value of residual stress Yp
in gasket under pressure, but it must be sufficient to
ensure tight joint without leakage.
For pressure vessel subjected to internal pressure, the
test on gasket is necessary to ensure pressure tight
joint.
It is necessary to ensure that residual gasket stress(Yp) is greater
than ‘m’ times pressure ‘p’.
The term ‘m’ is known as gasket factor & is always
more than ‘1’ & depends on frictional resistance of
flange & gasket contact surface.
Gasket selection can be made from standard tables.
For pressures upto 20 kg/cm 2 & temperature upto 200
0
C compressed asbestos sheet & metallic laminated
asbestos sheet is used.
For higher pressures & temperatures corrugated
metallic gaskets & plain iron, Al, Cu, monel sheet
gaskets are used.
Gasket seating force – Hydrostatic pressure force =
Residual gasket force.
Where Go & Gi are outside & inside diameter of gasket
ring.

Gasket size can be determined with above equation.

Gasket having different values of seating stress(Yp) &
gasket factor (mp) may be tried to arrive at suitable
width to satisfy the operating condition .
 Bolts

Minimum bolt load, number & size of bolts can be

determined from & , which can be in terms of
gasket load.
Atmospheric condition:
Where b= effective gasket or joint contact width.z
G = gasket load reaction diameter.
Ya = Gasket seating stress.
Operating condition:

Where P = design pressure & m= gasket factor

Bolt loads Wm1 or Wm2 will create tensile stresses in
bolt cross section.

Where Am1 & Am2 are c/s of bolt

& fa & fb are permissible tensile strength under
atmospheric & operating conditions
Am1 or Am2 = Am X No of bolts
Where Am = Bolt area
The Actual bolt area provided (Ab) should not exceed
the value given by
Where N= Gasket width.
• Large number of small size bolts or small number of
large size bolts can be selected.
• Pitch between two bolts should be 3.5 to 5 times
bolt diameter.
• Bolts smaller than 15mm should only be used when
considerable care is taken during tightening up to
prevent yielding.
• Bolt circle diameter & bolt spacing will be
determined from outside diameter of flange.
• Total number of bolts should be mean gasket
diameter divided by 2.5 & should in multiple of 4.
 Flange thickness (Approximate value)

Where G = gasket load reaction diameter.

P = design pressure
C = corrosion allowance
Wm = Max. bolt load
hG = radial dist. from gasket load reaction to bolt cir.
H= total hydrostatic end force
For carbon steel, min flange thickness is
between 20 mm to 40 mm depending on the
diameter of flange.