Process Equipment Design-I

(CB208)

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Patna

Atanu K Metya
atanu.metya@iitp.ac.in
 Design of Tall Vessels
• Self supporting tall equipment such distillation column, fractionating
columns, absorption tower, multistage reactor etc. are widely used in
chemical process industries.
• Due to large height, equipment are often build in the open space,
rendering them to wind action.
• Many of the units are provided with insulation, number of attachments,
piping system etc.
• For example, distillation/absorption towers are associated with auxiliary
equipment, i.e. reboiler, condenser, feed preheater, cooler and also
consists of internal accessories such as plates or trays or variety of
packings.
 Design of Tall Vessels
• Thus, the prediction of membrane stresses due to internal or external
pressure will not be sufficient to design such vessels.
• Therefore, Special considerations are necessary to predict the stresses
induced due to dead weight, action of wind and seismic forces.
• The resultant stresses must be determined from all loads to ensure that the
maximum allowable stress is not exceeded at any point.
• Design calculations for the thickness should be started from the top of the
vessel (controlled by circumferential stress).
• At the lower section of the vessel, the wall thickness is to be calculated
taking into account the combined stresses resulting from increased
weight, wind load, etc.
 Stresses in the shell
• The circumferential, radial and axial stresses due to pressure or
vacuum
• The compressive stresses due to dead loads like self-weight of the
vessel
• Tensile and compressive stresses due to bending moment caused by
wind load acting on vessel and its attachment.
• Stresses due to eccentricity as a result of irregular load distribution for
piping, platform, etc.
• Shearing stress caused by a torque about longitudinal axis from wind
loads.
Determination of stress under combined loads
A. The Axial or longitudinal and Circumferential or Hoop stress due
to internal pressure

pDi
t= +c
2f J
D=Di for internal pressure
=Do for vacuum (including insulation thickness)
Determination of stress under combined loads
B. Axial (compressive) stresses caused by dead loads
• The major sources are the weight of the shell and weight of the
vessel fittings which includes the internal, external and auxiliary
attachments.
§ Internal fittings: trays, packing, heating and cooling coils.
§ External fittings: platforms, piping, insulation, ladders.
§ Auxiliary attachments: instruments, condenser etc.
• The major groups
§ Stress induced by weight of shell and insulation
§ Stress induced by liquid in vessel
§ Stress induced by attached equipment
Axial (compressive) stresses: dead loads
§ Stresses induced by weight of shell and insulation at a distance X
from the top of a vessel having a constant shell thickness
• Stress due to shell dead weight

p Wshell = weight of shell at distance X

( D - D ) r s Xg
2 2
from top of a vessel
Wshell 4 o i
s shell = = = r s Xg
area p Do & Di = outside and inside
( Do2 - Di2 )
4 diameter of shell
ρs = density of shell material
• Stress due to insulation dead weight

Wins p Dins rins tins Xg rins tins Xg Dm = mean diameter of shell =

s ins = = » (Do + Di)/2)
area p Dmts ts
ts = thickness of shell without
corrosion allowance
Axial (compressive) stresses: dead loads
• Stress induced due to liquid retained in column

s liquid =
å W liquid
=
åW liquid
=
åW liquid

p Dmts 0.5p ( Di + Do )ts p ( Di + ts )ts

• Stress induced by weight of attachments

s attach. =
å W attach.
=
åW attach.

p Dmts p ( Di + ts )ts

• Total compressive stress due to dead loads

s d = s shell + s ins + s liquid + s attach.

Determination of stress under combined loads
C. The longitudinal bending stress due to dynamic loads
ØAxial (tensile and compressive) stresses due to wind load in self supporting
tall vessels
• The stress may be calculated by treating the vessel as uniformly
loaded cantilever beam.
• The wind loading is a function of wind velocity, air density and shape
of tower.
• The wind load on the vessel is given by:
1
Pw = CD r aU w2 A
2
Pw = wind load (N) CD = drag coefficient
ρa = density of air Uw = wind velocity
A = projected area normal to wind direction
The longitudinal bending stress due to dynamic loads
• The drag coefficient is a function of the shape of the structure and
wind velocity (Reynolds number).
• If wind velocity is known, approximate wind pressure can be
computed from the following empirical relationship:
where, pw = minimum wind pressure, N/m2
pw = 0.05U 2
w
Uw = maximum wind velocity under worst weather
condition, km/h

• Wind velocity varies with height. The velocity of wind near the ground
is less than that away from it.
 The longitudinal bending stress due to dynamic loads
• If a vessel height is more than 20 m, the wind load may
be determined separately for the bottom part of the
vessel having height equal to 20 m, and then for rest of
the upper part.
• The total load due to wind acting on the bottom part (Pbw)
and on the upper part (Puw) of the vessel are given by :
Pbw = K1 K 2 p1h1 D Puw = K1 K 2 p2 h2 D
Pbw and Puw are the total force due to wind load acting on the bottom part and the upper part of the vessel, respectively.
p1 and p2 are wind pressure for the bottom part and the upper part of vessel, respectively.
h1 and h2 are the height of the bottom part (i.e., height equal to or less than 20 m) and the upper part (above 20 m) of the
vessel, respectively.
D = outer diameter of the vessel including the insulation thickness
K1 = coefficient depending upon the shape factor (K1 = 1.4 for flat plate 90o to the wind and K1 = 0.7 for cylindrical
surface)
K2 = coefficient depending upon the period of one cycle of vibration of the vessel (K2 = 1, if period of vibration is 0.5s
or less and K2 = 2, if period exceeds 0.5s)
The longitudinal bending stress due to dynamic loads
Wind pressure, p (kN/m2)
Nature of the region at H = 20 m at H = 100 m
Coastal area 0.7-1.0 1.5-2.0
Area with moderate wind 0.4 1.0

• The bending moment at the base of the M = P H2 (for H £ 20 m)w bw

vessel due to wind load is determined h æ h ö

M =P + P ç h + ÷ (for H > 20 m)
1 2

from the following equations: 2 è

w bw
2ø
uw 1

• The resulting the bending stress in the

4M w 4M w
axial direction is computed from the s wm = »
p ts ( Di + ts ) Di p ts Dm2
following correlation:
σwm = longitudinal stress due to wind moment (compressive on downwind side and tensile on upwind side)
Mw = bending moment due to wind load
Di = inner diameter of shell
ts = corroded shell thickness
The longitudinal bending stress due to dynamic loads
• For a uniformly loaded beam, the bending moment
at any plane is given by M =
Wx 2
x
2
W = load per unit length (N/m) and x = distance measured
from the free end
• Thus, the bending stress varies parabolically from
zero at the top of column to maximum value at the
base.
• In most economical design, the plate thickness is
progressively increased from top to bottom of the
column.
• Thickness at the top is sufficient for pressure load and thickness at the
base is sufficient for pressure plus maximum bending moment.
 The longitudinal bending stress due to dynamic loads
ØThe stresses due to seismic loads (compressive and tensile occurring
simultaneously)
• The seismic forces act to produce horizontal
shear in in self-supported tall vertical vessel.
• This shearing force produces a bending
moment about the base of the vessel.
• The shear loading is triangular with the apex
at the base
• If the acceleration of the earthquake is ‘a’, the force on the vessel will be
æW ö
F = aç ÷ = CsW where, W = total weight of the vessel
èg ø Cs = (a/g) is termed as seismic coefficient
 The longitudinal bending stress due to dynamic loads
• The stresses due to seismic loads
• The Seismic coefficient (Cs) depends on the intensity and period of vibrations
(T in sec).

• Total shear load resulting from seismic forces is CsW

and its centre of action for such triangular loading is
located at (2/3)H.
• The shear load, Vs at the horizontal plane in the tower
X distance down from the top is given by
$" %& 2( − &
!" =
(*
• Bending moment at a plane X distance from the top is given
 The longitudinal bending stress due to dynamic loads
• The stresses due to seismic loads
• The bending moment at a plane X distance
from the top is given as:
CsWX 2 (3H - X )
M sX =
3H 2
• The maximum Vs and MsX are located at the
base of the column and can be find by
substituting X = H,

• The resulting bending stress, !zsm due to

seismic load is given by:
4 M sX
s sm =
p t ( Di + t ) Di
The longitudinal bending stress due to dynamic loads
Ø Period of vibration of the vessel
• It is required to understand the vibration induced by the earthquake and vibration
induced by the wind.
• When the wind reaches a particular wind velocity, the vessel starts vibrating
severely in the direction right angles to the direction of wind due to vortex
shedding.
• The frequency of vortex shedding (f) due to wind velocity is given by: SV
f = w
where S = characteristic number (0.2 for circular cylinders) Do
Vw = wind velocity. Do = outside diameter of vessel including insulation

• At critical wind velocity (Vwc), the frequency of vortex shedding coincides with
natural frequency (N) of the vessel and resonant oscillation begins.

SVwc
N= Þ Vwc = 5 NDo (for circular cylinders)
Do
 The longitudinal bending stress due to dynamic loads
Period of vibration of the vessel
• During earthquake, the sudden acceleration in the earth’s crust starts
vibration in the vessel. If T (sec) is the period of vibration, then,
t = corroded wall thickness, m
-5
T = 6.35 ´10 ( H / Do ) (W / t )
3/2 1/2
Do = Di + t
W = total weight of tower in kN
H = tower height including skirt

• The vessel having a vibration period T < 0.4 s may be regarded as rigid
and a high seismic coefficient is assumed.
• If T > 1 s, the vessel is flexible and seismic coefficient will be low as
slender columns are more able to absorb the seismic forces.
• On the other hand, the reverse is true under the influence of wind forces.
The longitudinal bending stress due to dynamic loads
Ø The longitudinal bending due to eccentricity of loads
• If the centre of gravity of the vessel does not coincide with the
centre-line of the vessel, the loads created by heavy equipment
such as reboilers or condensers produce eccentric bending moment
and the stress.
• The eccentric bending moment can be expressed as:
4å M e
se = (tensile or compressive)
p t ( Di + t ) Di

å M = W e + W e + W e + ....
e e1 1 e2 2 e3 2

e=
å M (summation of moments of eccentric loads)
e

åW (summation of eccentric loads)

e
Determination of Resultant Longitudinal Stress
• In the absence of eccentric loads and for internal pressure,
• The resultant tensile stress (on upwind side):

s (tensile) = s p - s weight + (s wm or s sm )

• The resultant compressive stress (on downwind side):

s (compressive) = s weight - s p + (s wm or s sm )
Determine the shell thickness of a tall vessel in the absence of seismic effects.
Use the following specifications
• Max. wind speed (for height up to 20 m) = 140 km/h
• Shell outside diameter = 2.0 m shell length tangent to tangent =16.0 m
• Skirt height = 4 m
• operating temperature = 300oC operating pressure = 0.7 MN/m2
• design temperature = 320oC design pressure = 0.8 MN/m2
• Corrosion allowance = 3 mm tray spacing = 0.75 m,
• Top designing space = 1.0 m bottom separating space = 2.75 m,
• Weir height = 75 mm downcomer clearance = 25 mm K1 = 0.7 K2 = 1
• Weight of each head = 7.5 KN insulation density = 574.9 kg/m3
• Tray loading (excluding liquid) = 1.0 KN/m2 of tray area
• Insulation thickness = 75 mm asbestos one caged ladder (wt. = 0.365 kN/m)
• Weld joint efficiency factor = 0.85 shell density = 7850 kg/m3
• Maximum allowable stress at design temp. = 98.1 MN/m2
• Young modulus at design temperature = 2x105 MN/m2
 $%
&
• !" = '()*$ +,
• ts = 0.0126 m
• Nearest standard thickness = 14 mm = 0.014 m
• Corroded shell thickness, t = 0.011 m
• Do = Di = Di + t = 2.0 m
./
• Axial stress due to pressure: -. = 01
= 36.3MN/m2
• Axial stress due to dead loads:
• Wsh = wt. of shell for X meter length = 23!45"6 7
<:
• -8,:; = = >:;?@ = 0.077X MN/m2
=1/

Wins p Dins rins tins Xg rins tins Xg

s ins = = »
area p Dmts ts

• -8,AB: = 0.0385X MN/m2

• Wl = weight of liquid supported for a distance X meters from top
• No. of trays, n = (4X-1)/3
• Liquid weight on trays are calculated on the basis of water and 0.075m depth.
• Wl = (3.14159/4)*D2*0.075*g*n*rliq
s liquid =
åW liquid
=
åW liquid
=
åW liquid

• sliq = 0.0335*(4X-1)/3) MN/m2 p Dmts 0.5p ( Di + Do )ts p ( Di + ts )ts

• Weight of tophead = 7.5*10-3 MN

• Weight of ladder = 3.65*10-4 *X MN
"#$ %,*-
• Weight of trays = = %
1.0×10*+ +
MN
• Weight of attachment= Weight of tophead + Weight of ladder + Weight of trays
• sattach = 0.0667X – 0.223 MN/m2 åW åW
s attach. = attach.
= attach.

p Dmts p ( Di + ts )ts

• ./0/,2=0.227X-0.234
s d = s shell + s ins + s liquid + s attach.
 Nature of the Wind press., p (kN/m2)
• Stress due to wind loads pw = 0.05U 2
w region aH = 20 m H = 100 m
• pw = 980 N/m2 Coastal area 0.7-1.0 1.5-2.0
• Since maximum wind pressure upto 20m Area moderate wind 0.4 1.0
height is 1kN/m2. Therefore, pw = 1 kN/m2
should be used. Pbw = K1 K 2 p1h1 D Puw = K1 K 2 p2 h2 D
• Pw = 1500X N (k1 =0.7 and k2 =1)
K1 = 1.4 for flat plate 90o to the wind
and K1 = 0.7 for cylindrical surface
T = 6.35 ´10-5 ( H / Do )3/2 (W / t )1/2 K2 = 1, if period of vibration is 0.5s or
less and K2 = 2, if period exceeds 0.5s
• Mw = 750X2, J M w = Pbw
H
(for H £ 20 m)
2
h æ h ö
M w = Pbw 1 + Puw ç h1 + 2 ÷ (for H > 20 m)
2 è 2ø

• Stress due to wind load = 0.0217X2 MN/m2 4M w 4M w

s wm = »
p ts ( Di + ts ) Di p ts Dm2
• Resultant longitudinal stress
• Upwind side: s (tensile) = s p - s weight + (s wm or s sm )
!" (tensile) = 0.0217X2 -0.227X+36.534
• #$ (max)= fJ = 98.1*0.85 = 83.0 MN/m2
• 83.0 = 0.0217X2 -0.227X+36.534
• Solving X = 51.5 >>16 m
• Downwind side: s (compressive) = s weight - s p + (s wm or s sm )
• !" (compression) = 0.0217X2+0.227X+36.534
• !" (compressive, maximum) = 0.125 E (t/Do) = 137.5 MN/m2
• Now, 0.0217X2+0.227X+36.534 = 137.5
• X = 83.5 m >>16 m
• Hoop stress is controlling the design and a uniform thickness of 14 mm
throughout the shell length is sufficient.
 Estimation of height of tall vessel (X)

• As a starting point, assume a trial corroded shell thickness (ts) based

on hoop stress and calculate resultant tensile/compressive stress.
• Equate the obtained resultant stress to maximum allowable stress and
find the value of X.
• Above equation can be represented in the following form:
a X2 + b X + c = 0 2
-b ± b - 4ac
X=
2a
From which
Do = outside diameter of shell
E = Young’s modulus of
• At design considerations, elasticity
f = maximum allowable stress
s (tensile) £ f × J at design temp.
s (compressive) £ 0.125E (t / Do )
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