Ecole

Centrale de Nantes - Master 1 SMA

Continuum Mechanics
Linear elasticity in infinitesimal transformations

Exercise 1 : Sphere under pressure

In many types of industries, containers such as spherical pressure vessels are used to
store any chemicals or fluids, see figure 1. The aim of this practice session is to design
mechanically such a spherical pressure vessel, and to determine the loading range allowed
to keep safe this structure.

Figure 1: Spherical pressure vessels

We consider the thick and hollow spherical pressure vessel shown in figure 2, of inner
and outer radii respectively denoted a and b. This pressure vessel is submitted to pressures
pin and pout applied on its inner and outer walls respectively. Let (r, , ) the spherical
coordinate system and (er , e , e ) the basis associated (see the appendice for spherical
coordinate system formulae). The pressure vessel is assumed to be made of a homogeneous
material which is supposed to be linear elastic and isotropic. In addition, gravity effects
are neglected with respect to the pressure loadings. The problem is here written within
the framework of quasi-static, infinitesimal and isothermal transformations.
We choose a displacement approach to solve this problem.
1

pout
pin
a
b

Figure 2: Sphere under inner and outer pressures

Question 1.1 : Justify that the displacement field can be written:
u(r) = ur (r)er

(1)

Question 1.2 : Write the whole set of equations of the linear elastic Boundary
Value Problem. Make a balance unknowns/equations.
Question 1.3 : Recall the flowchart of the displacement approach procedure. Write
the Navier equations; what do these equations mean, and what are
their interest?
Question 1.4 : Using the Navier equations, show that the displacement field is of
the form:
B
(2)
ur (r) = Ar + 2
r
where A and B are two constants.
Question 1.5 : Determine constants A and B with the boundary conditions. Give
the final form of the stress field. Plot the stress components over
the radius.
Question 1.6 : We want now to determine the loading range admissible to keep
safe this structure. Applying the Tresca criterion, determine where
and when the sphere will yield, that is when the yield stress will be
reached somewhere in the sphere.

Question 1.7 : Do the same thing with the von Mises criterion. Is there any difference with the Tresca criterion here, and why?
Question 1.8 : We are now interested in the special case of a thin sphere. Considering a sphere of mean radius R and of small thickness e so that
e
<< 1, and noting p = pin pout , show that the hoop stress
R
components read:
pR
=
(3)
2e
Question 1.9 : Give the yield load for this thin sphere.

Added formula:

curl u =

1
((u sin ), u, ) er
r sin


(ru ),r
ur,

+
e
r sin
r
1
+ ((ru ),r ur, ) e
r