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ExternalPressure

ExternalPressure
File:PVE3473,LastUpdated:July5,2012,By:LaurenceBrundrett

Externalpressure(vacuum)calculationsstartoffmorecomplexthaninternalpressurecalculationsand
oncejacketsorothersourcesofpressureareaddedthedifficultyincreases.Theexternalpressurerating
dependsuponmorevariablesandthefailuremechanismismoredifficulttounderstand.Thisarticleis
onlyanintroduction,butitalsocoversmanyoftheareasofexternalpressurethatwerepeatedlyhave
toexplain.Commonmistakesmadewithexternalpressurecalculationsarelisted.
Samplevesselcalculationsareincludedthroughoutthisarticlebasedonavessel48"diameterx96"
longwithaFlangedandDished(F&D)headatoneendandaSemiElliptical(SE)headattheother.As
thedesignconditionschange,therequiredshellthicknessisupdated.Internalpressuresarecalculated
at30psiforcomparison.Downloadthesamplecalculationsattheendofthisarticle.
1TheBasicsFailureMechanisms
Themechanismofexternalpressurefailureisdifferentfrominternalpressurefailure.Differentmethods
arerequiredtodesignvesselstosafelyhandlethisdifferentfailuremechanism.Internalpressurefailure
canbeunderstoodasavesselfailingafterstressesinpartoralargeportionexceedsthematerials
strength.Incontrast,duringexternalpressurefailurethevesselcannolongersupportitsshapeand
suddenly,irreversiblytakesonanewlowervolumeshape.Thefollowing3picturesshowvesselsof
reducedvolumeafterexternalpressurefailure.Theforthpictureshowsaninternalpressurefailurefor
contrast.

Astoragetanktestedcrushedafter
hydrotestwhenaplasticsheet
blockedthetopventduringdraining

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Vacuumfailureofabarometric
condenser(vacuumvessel)afterthe
internalsupportringsfailed

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Astoragetanktestedtodestruction
withaninternalvacuum(external
pressure)

Unexpectedinternalpressurefailure
duringhydrotest(causedbypressure
stressandhelpedbyunacceptable
materialproperties)contrastthis
withthemechanismsshownduring
externalpressurefailure

Externalpressurecanbecreated3ways:

1.
2.
3.

Fromavacuuminsideavesselandatmosphericpressureoutside
Fromapressureoutsideavesselgreaterthanatmospheric(typicallyfromsometypes
ofjacketorasurroundingvessel)
Fromacombinationofthefirsttwovacuuminside+pressuregreaterthan
atmosphericoutside.

Twosimpleandunexpectedsourcesofvacuumunloadingavesseloratankthatisnotadequately
ventedorcoolingdownavesselfilledwithsteamthatcondensestowater.Itisgoodpracticeto
designanyvesselexposedtosteamserviceforfullvacuum,thecooldownratecanbeveryfast
overloadingvacuumprotectionequipment.

Externalpressuregeneratedfromaninternalvacuum
Externalpressurefailurecanbeunderstoodasalossofstability.Thevesselnolongerhastheabilityto
holditsshapeandsuddenlycollapsestoashapewithlessinternalvolume.Goodvideoscanbefoundon
YouTubeseethelinksatthebottomofthisarticle.
ASMEtypepressurevesselsusecoderulestocalculatethesafeexternalpressureload.Thestabilityofa
straightshellunderexternalpressuredependsonfourvariables:

1.
2.
3.
4.

diameter(thelargerthediameter,thelessstable)
length(thelongerthelessstable)
thickness(thethinnerthelessstable)
materialpropertiesaloweryieldpointislessstablefromplasticcollapseanda
lowermodulusofelasticityislessstablefromelasticcollapse.Elasticandplastic

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collapsewillnotbediscussedfurtherhere.
Largevesselstypicallyhavelowerexternalthaninternalpressureratings.
ThesefourvariablesareusedinCodeequationswhichcanspecifythethicknessofasafestraightshell.
Similarmethodsareusedtocalculateheads.Nozzlesarecalculatedusingthefamiliarareareplacement
rules.Inadditionwecanuseburst(proof)testingorfiniteelementanalysistocalculatecomponentsnot
coveredbythecoderules.Thecoderulesareonaverageveryconservative,butgreatlysimplifywhat
wouldotherwisebeverydifficultcalculationsthishasbeenagoodtradeoff.Thefiniteelementanalysis
andbursttestingaredonetoausuallylessconservative3xfactorofsafety(SeeASMEVIII1UG
101(p))whereexacttestingoranalysisinformationreplacesgeneralizedcoderules.
2DesigningforExternalPressure
Theeasiestwaytodesignforexternalpressureistomaketheshellthickenoughtomakethevessel
stablewithanacceptablefactorofsafety(passcodecalculations).Thelengthofthevesselusedinthe
calculationsincludessomeoftheheadateachend.ThecalculationsarefoundinASMEVIII1UG28.
Theshellcalculationsareforacylinderwithsupportedends(theheadsateachend).Calculationsare
alsogivenfortheheadswhicharetreatedasspheres.

Theeffectivelengthofavesselincludessomeofthelengthoftheheads.Theheadiscalculatedasa
sphere.
(Seethecompanioncalculationsetpart2startingonpage4.)Atypicalvessel48"diameterwitha
straightshell96"longneedsashell0.056"thickforaninternalpressureof30psi,butneedstobe
0.225"thickfora15psigexternalpressure(fullvacuum)perVIII1UG28.TheF&Dheadontheleft
endneedstobe0.082"thickfortheinteriorpressurebut0.142"forthevacuum.ASEheadneedstobe
0.046"thickfortheinteriorpressurebut0.127"forthevacuum.TheF&DandSEheadsareboth
calculatedasiftheyarepartofasphere,butthetwoheadsaregivendifferentequivalentradiuses
resultingindifferentrequiredthicknesses.

4xfactorofsafetyinexternal
pressurebucklinganalysis

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4xfactorofsafetythedesign
exceedsthecoderequired3xfactor
ofsafety
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FEAresultsshowthattheshellwillcollapseat4.04xthe15psiappliedpressure.Thisisgreaterthanthe
3xsafetyfactorexpectedinthecodeandshowsthecoderesultstobeacceptable.
3VacuumRings
Insteadofmakingtheshellthickenoughtohandletheexternalpressure,aneconomicalvesselcan
oftenbedesignedbyreinforcingtheshell.WhenthereinforcementisasstrongasrequiredbyUG29,
theeffectivelengthoftheshellisreducedandthinnershellscanbeused.Inthiscase,L1andL2are
calculatedseparately.Eachzoneindependentlypassesthecodecalculations.TheUG29reinforcing
calculationensuresthatthereinforcingisstrongenoughthatwhateverhappensononesideofithasno
impactontheother.

Avesseldividedintozonesusingastiffeningring
(Seecompanioncalculationsstartingonpage9.)Thesamplevesselshellreducesinrequiredthickness
from0.225to0.168".Notbadfortheadditionofa0.25x2.5"barrolledthehardway.Moreringscould
beaddedtolowertherequiredthicknessfurther.Therequiredheadthicknesscouldalsobereducedby
addingsometypeofreinforcement.VIII1allowsforthis,butprovidesnoguidanceonthedesign.

8.1xfactorofsafetywithathinner
shellandavacuumringadded.

Thecoderulesareexcessively
conservativeinthiscase.

FEAresultsshowthattheshellwillcollapseat8.1xthe15psiappliedpressure.Thisismuchgreater
thanthe3xsafetyfactorexpectedinthecodeandisacceptable.Thevacuumringhassuccessfully
separatedanyactionononesideoftheringfromaffectingtheotherside.(page13)
4ExternalPressurefromSimpleJackets
Simplejacketsmadefromrollingplateweldedtotheshellatbothendscreatezonesofexternal
pressure.Ifthereisnointernalvacuumthenthelengthusedfortheexternalpressurecalculationisthe
lengthofthejacket.

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ExternalpressureLexistsforthelengthofthejacket
(Seecompanioncalculationsstartingpage15.)Ifa24"longjacketat30psiisaddedtotheoutsideof
thestraightshell,thentheexternalpressureof30psineedstobecalculatedforaneffectivelengthof
24".Theshellneedstobe0.160"thickunderthejacketperUG28,butcouldbe0.063"elsewherefor
the30psiinternalpressure(minimumcodeallowedthickness=0.063").

Thejacketringsarenotfunctioning
asvacuumsupportrings(actionon
onesideoftheringisnotisolated
fromtheotherside)butthefactorof
safetyisacceptableat4.3x.

Thejacketclosureisnotstiffenough
tofunctionasavacuumringthe
jacketseffectsextendbeyondthe
effectivelengthofthejacketbutthe
designisacceptable.

Finiteelementanalysisresultsshowthattheeffectoftheexternalpressureisnotconfinedtothelength
ofthejacket.ThejacketclosureperApp95isnotasstrongasrequiredbyUG29buttheouterjacket
shelladdstothestiffnessoftheshell.TheFEAshowsthefactorofsafetyisadequateat4.3xand
experienceindicatesthatthistypeofdesignissafe.
Strongerendringsonthejacketcanisolatetheactioninsidethejacketareafromtherestoftheshell.
ThisgoesaboveandbeyondtheVIII1coderequirementwhichdoesnotrequireUG29onjackets.

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Thejacketclosureringisstronger
itnowmeetsUG29requirements.

Theeffectofthepressureisnow
confinedtothespanofthejacket.
Thefactorofsafetyis5.8x
(Acceptable).

(Seecompanioncalculationsstartingpage17.)Thejacketclosureisnow1"x1.5"andpassesUG29
rulesforavacuumring.Actionofthejackethasbeenisolatedwithinthespanofthejacket.Thefactor
ofsafetyis5.8x.Thislevelofsafetygoesbeyondwhatthecodeandpracticalexperienceindicatesis
necessary.
Thesimplejacketsinthepicturebelowdonotconnecttwoseparatezonesofexternalpressureare
calculated.Asthezonesgetshorter,therequiredthicknesstopassexternalpressurecalculationsis
reduced.SeeFigUG28foradefinitionofLthatshowsthetreatmentofthezonesasseparatelengths.
Acommonmistakeistoassumethattheexternalpressurehastoapplytothefullvessellengthorthat
theseparatesectionsneedtobetreatedascommon.SeeUG28.

Twounconnectedjackets(perFigUG28)
5HalfPipeJackets
Multipleunconnectedjacketsleadtothecaseofhalfpipejackets.Thelengthoftheexternalpressure
hasbeenreducedenoughthatitoftenhasnoimpactonthedesign(butitstillneedstobecalculated).
ThecodecalculationcouldbebasedonthedimensionLandtheregularcodecalculationsappliedforthe
straightshell,buttherearenocoderulesavailableforthehalfpipeonthehead.AppendixEEcontains
ruleEE2(1)whichprovidesameansofcalculatingtherequiredshellthicknesstohandlethejacket
pressure.Thisprovidesthesamerequiredthicknessfortheshellunderthejacketregardlessofthelocal
shapeofthevesselitisthesamefortheheadandthestraightshell.

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HalfpipejacketsperVIII1AppendixEE
(Seecompanioncalculationsstartingpage22.)IftheshelliscalculatedusingUG28,thenathicknessof
only0.095"isrequired,howevertheseresultscannotbeappliedtothehead.TheappendixEEhalfpipe
calculationrequiresawallthicknessof0.188"(thelowestvalueprovidedforonthecharts)fora3"half
pipejacketpressurizedupto243psionshellorhead.
Acommonmistakewithhalfpipejacketsistoassumethatthevesselhastobedesignedforexternal
pressurethisisonlytrueifthereisanothersourceforexternalpressureotherthanthepressureinthe
halfpipejacket.Theacceptedmethodofcalculatingtherequiredshellthicknessistousetherulesof
appendixEE2.EE2isnotmandatorysoothermethodssuchasUG28,bursttestandfiniteelement
analysisarealsoavailabletothedesigner.
Acommonmistakewithhalfpipejacketsistoassumethatthefullheadofavesselunderthejacket
needstobecalculatedforexternalpressure.TheEE2methodisveryusefulbecausenocoderulesexist
foraheadthatisonlypartlyexposedtoexternalpressure.
Acommonmistakewithhalfpipejacketsisnottocalculatetherequiredvesselthicknessunderthejacket
toEE2(1)orothermethods.
6StayedSurfacesforExternalPressure
Stayedsurfacesprovidefreedomtothedesignerusingjackets.Nolongerdowecareabouttheshapeof
theobjectunderthejacket,ortheshapeofthejacketitself.Wedonotcarewhethertheshapehas
pressureonaninternal(concave)orexternal(convex)shape.Wedonotcareifthefailuremechanismis
thecrushingtypeofcollapse(external)ortearing(internal).Whatwecareaboutisthedistance
betweenstayrodsarethestayrodsstrongenough,attachedwellenough,andaretheshellandjacket
surfacesthickenoughtosupportthespanbetweenstays.

HalfpipejacketsperVIII1AppendixEE
TherulesforstayeddesignarefoundinVIII1UG47andworkthesamewayasthedesignofflatheads
foundinUG34butnowwelookatthedistancebetweenstaysinsteadofthediameterofthehead.
Becausetherulesaredesignedforflatsurfaces(theweakestshapefoundinpressurevessels)theywill
workforanyshapeofvesselorjacket.Thedistinctionbetweenwhatisthevesselandwhatisthejacket
isoftennotimportant.

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Thecomplexshapeofthislocomotive
fireboxcanbecalculatedasifitisa
simpleflatplatewithcorrectly
spacedstaysupports

Adimplejacketisaformofstayed
surface

(Seecompanioncalculationsstartingpage25.)Ifourvesselhasajacketsupportedbystaysona6"
spacing,thentherequiredheadorcylindricalshellthicknessis0.164".Thestayshavetobe0.4"dia
TherulesforthedimplejacketarefoundinAppendix17.Theinternal(pressurevesselwall)thicknessis
calculatedper175(b)(1)or(2)modifiedflatplatecalculationsthatcanbeusedforanyshapeof
vessel.Thejacketportionistestedbybursttestandcanbeusedforanyshapeofvessel.Notethatlaser
weldedandinflatedjacketshavespecialrestrictionsregardingthebursttest(lastportionofsection17
5(a)(2).

Samplelaserweldeddimplejacketpriortoinflation
Thislaserweldeddimplejacketwillbeinflatedonceitisrolledintotheshapeofashellandweldedto
therestofthevessel.Theinflationpressurecanbeashighas800psi.Thisinflationpressureishigher
thantherequiredburstpressureandisfarinexcessofanyallowedexternalpressureforthevessel.
Thisonlyworksbecausethepressureinsideadimplejacketisnotanexternalpressure.Thedimple
jacketisaformofstayedjacketthatcanbeanyshape.
Ifourvesselhasadimplejacketwitha6"spacingthentherequiredheadorcylindricalshellthicknessis
0.140inch.(Equation175(2),notincludedinthecalculationset.)
Acommonmistakewithdimplejacketsistoassumethatthevesselhastobedesignedforexternal
pressurethisisonlytrueifthereisanothersourceforexternalpressureotherthanthepressureinthe
jacket.Theacceptedmethodtocalculatetherequiredshellthicknessistousetherulesof175.
Acommonmistakewithdimplejacketsistonotcalculatetherequiredthicknessoftheheadorshellbut
assumingthatitwillbeadequatebecauseitisthickerthanthedimplejacket.Ashellofinadequate
thicknesscanleadtoyieldingunderhydrotestshowingthelocationofthedimpleweldsfrominsidethe
vessel(theinsidesurfaceisnolongersmooth).Thedimplejackethassomestrengthfromitsshapethat
theshelldoesnothave.
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7MorethanOneSourceofExternalPressure
Externalpressurecalculationsaremoredifficultwithmorethanonesourceofexternalpressurea
typicalexampleisavesselwithaninternalvacuumandpressureinajacket.Thecaseswiththestay
rods,halfpipejacketsanddimplejacketsarethesimplestfirstcalculatethecompletevesselforthe
vacuumconditionasifthejacketdoesnotexist(seethefirstcasesabove).Nextcalculatetheshellfor
thelocalloadsunderthedimple/pipe/stayusingthecombinedP+Vacuum.Finallydesignthejacketfor
thepressureP.

Vacuum+externalpressureonhalfpipe,dimpleandstayedsurfaces
Step1:theexternalpressureisnow15+30=45psi(vacuum+30psijacketpressure).Therequired
thicknessunderthedimplejacketrisesto0.172"(FormulaApp175(2)).Theminimumstayed
thicknessisnow0.200"(Page29).Thethicknessunderthehalfpipejacketremainsat0.188",the
minimumthicknessprovidedforintheappendixEEcharts(Page30).
Step2:thewholevesselhastobecalculatedunderthe15psiexternalpressure.Thiswascalculated
backatpages5,6and7inthecalculationset:TheF&Dhead0.142"thick,theSEhead0.127"thick,
thestraightshell0.225"thick.
Step3:themaximumthicknessfromstep1and2aboveisused.Thestraightshellislimitedbythe15
psiexternalpressureitneedstobe0.225"thick.TheF&DandSEheadsarelimitedbythehalfpipe
jacketsfoundonthemandneedtobe0.188"thick.
AcommonmistakeistoattempttocalculatetheentirevesselforanexternalpressureofP+V.

Vacuum+externalpressureonhalfpipe,dimpleandstayedsurfacesVesselstraightshellissupported
byaUG29stylevacuumring
Therequiredthicknessofthestraightshellfromthevacuumonlyloadcanbereducedbyaddingthe
vacuumstiffeneraspreviouslycalculated.Morestiffenerscanbeaddeduntiltheshellsrequired
thicknessfromvacuumpressureisequaltothatrequiredbythedimple/pipe/staycalculations.
Thestraightshellexternalpressurecalculationwithvacuumringwascalculatedonpage10.The
requiredthickness=0.169"lessthanrequiredunderthedimples,staysorhalfpipejackets.Those
requiredthicknessesnowgovernandtheshellthicknesscannotbefurtherreducedbyaddingmore
vacuumrings.

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Halfpipejacket

Thehalfpipejacketincreasesthe
stiffnessoftheshell

Therequiredshellthicknesshasbeencalculatedfortwocases:1)fortheP+Vcaseunderthe
stays/dimples/halfpipesand2)thewholevesselundertheexternalpressurefromthevacuumonly.
However,thevesselisnotthesameastheoriginalvessel.Theexternaljacketsandstaysincreasethe
stiffnessofthevesselitsstrengthagainstexternalpressurecollapsehasincreasedbutcoderulesare
notprovidedtodeterminehowmuchstrongeritnowis.RefertointerpretationVIII8147July1,1981
fileBC80326:
Question:Whensingleembossed,jacketedassemblies,suchasdescribedinAppendix14,are
usedasshellssubjectedtoexternalpressureloadingontheembossedside,maypropertiesof
theembossedassemblybeconsideredwhendeterminingtherequiredthicknessoftheflatplate
fortheexternalpressure?
Reply:Yes.Thegeometrycoveredbyyourinquiryisnotspecificallycoveredbyanyoftherules
ofDivision1.However,therulesofU2(g)shallapply.
Externalpressurebursttestingorfiniteelementanalysiscouldbeusedtodetermineathinnersafe
vesselthicknessthanpossibleusingstandardcodecalculations.ThebursttestorFEAwouldincludethe
stiffeningeffectofthejacket.
8Cones,LinesofSupportandJunctions
Inadditiontojacketsandvacuumrings,conicaltransitionscanalsoreducetheeffectivelengthofa
vessel.Aconicalsectionmustbecalculatedwitheachendofthesectionasalineofsupportinorderfor
theeffectivelengthtobereduced.Alineofsupportisdescribeas:

1.
2.
3.
4.

1/3thedepthofaformedhead,excludingconicalheads(FigUG28.1)
avacuumringmeetingUG29
ajacketclosuremeetingAppendix95
aconetocylinderjunctionorheadjunctionthatmeetstherequirementsofAppendix
18

Thegoalofalineofsupportistoeffectivelysegmentthevesselintosectionsthatcanbearthepressure
loadindependentofadjacentcomponents.Whathappensononesideofthelineofsupportdoesnot
affecttheotherside.ThiscanbeseenintheUG29vacuumringexamplebackatthebeginningofthis
article.Oneconeactsastwolinesofsupportifeachconeshelljunctionpassestheareareplacementor
specialanalysisrulesofApp18.Theareareplacementrulesworkforconeswithanangleupto30
degrees.Specialanalysisisrequiredover30degrees.

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Effectivelengthisnotchangedbytheadditionofaconicalsection
IfaconeisnotcheckedagainstAppendix18theeffectivelengthwillcontinuestraightthroughthe
conicalsection.Eachadjacentcylinderwillbecalculatedusingthefulleffectivelength,Le(see
illustration).
Morecommonly,eachendoftheconeiscalculatedasalineofsupport.App18providestherulesfor
areareplacement.Specialanalysisisrequiredforconeangles>30degrees.Theconeandshell
thicknessbothaffectifthejuncturepasses.Alternately,stiffeningringslikevacuumringscanincrease
thestiffnessofthejunctiontomeetcoderules.

Effectivelengthissegmentedattheconejunctions
(Seepage31ofthecompanioncalcs.)Thelefthead,andstraightshellsectionsarecalculatedthesame
wayasbefore.Theconeiscalculatedtopassexternalpressureonitsown(page34),andagainasa
juncturewiththeshells(page36).Becausetheangleoftheconeis45degrees,aspecialanalysisbased
onBoardman'smethodsaspresentedbyBednarin"PressureVesselDesignHandbook"isused.This
meetstherequirementsofASME18andtheconeprovidestwolinesofsupport.FEAanalysisverifies
thatthemethodisacceptable(seepage40).
9UnderstandingStability
Atthebeginningofthisarticle,thefailuremechanismforexternalpressurewasgiven,butnotan
explanationofhowthefailuremechanismworks.Astablesystemisonethatisstrongerthanrequired.
Whenthevesselispushedon,itpushesbackandreturnstoitsoriginalshape.Asexternalpressureis
addedtothesystem,thevesselhaslessreservestrengthlefttopushback.Eventuallythevessel
reachesapointwhereithasverylittlereservestrength.Youpushonthewallofthevesselanditcannot
pushback.Atthispointthevesselcanchangeshapetoasmallervolumeconfiguration.Thechangeis
suddenandirreversibleandifyouwatchtheYouTubevideos,veryscary.
Alternately,onecanvisualizealongpolemountedintheground.Whenthepoleispushedonfromthe
side,itbends.Oncetheloadisremoved,itbendsback.Asmallweightcanbeplacedontopofthepole.
Thepolestayscentereduntilitispushed,andreturnsbacktocenteroncethesidewaysforceis
removed.However,astheweightonthetopofthepoleisincreased,thepolelosesitsabilitytopush
backagainstthesidewaysforce.Atacriticalweight,thepolehasnoadditionalstrength,andafly
landingontopcausesittotopplewithoutanysidewaysforce.Thefailureisirreversibleandsudden.
Theweightontopofthepoleissimilartotheexternalpressureontheoutsideofapressurevessel.
Becausetheexactcalculationofthecriticalexternalpressureonavesselisdifficult,weseta3xfactor
ofsafety,higherthanmanyothersafetyfactorsinpressurevessels.Thecodeaimsfora3xfactorof
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safety,sometimescalculatinghigh,sometimeslow.Lessconservativeapproacheswouldrequiremore
exactcalculations,suchasprovidedbyFEA,butatthecostofextraengineeringeffort.
YouTubevideos:
Bucklingofa
submarine

Collapseofacylinder
Acylinderimploding
underinternal
vacuum,equivalent
toexternalpressure.

Thisverybriefvideo
showstheFEA
animatedcollapseofasubmarine
hull

Collapseofarailtank
Thisiconicvideo
showsvacuum
collapseofarailway
transporttanker.

55gallondrum
Howtocollapsea
storagedrumwith
thehelpof
condensingsteam.

CollapsingCokeCan

CollapsedWagon

Condensingsteam
againusedtocreate
avacuum.

Alookatavacuum
collapsedhoney
wagon.

OtherWebsites:
ShellBuckling
Anextensivephotographiclibraryofshellbucklingfailuresandmechanismsalong
withexplanationsofthefailuremechanism.
RiceUniversity
J.EdAkinatRiceUniversity,Houston,Texashaswrittenaveryreadablebookon
usingSolidWorkstodoFiniteElementAnalysis(FEA).Chapter12coversbuckling
analysiswithoutgettinglostinmath.Theapproachusedwouldbeofinterestevento
peoplenotdoingFEA.ThislinkdownloadsapdfversionofthebookfromRiceUniversity,itisalso
availableatAmazon.
CompanionCalculationSet(pdfformat):

CalculationSet
2015PressureVesselEngineeringLtd.

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