Optimization of Nozzle Location to Minimize Stresses on Horizontal Pressure Vessel

Abstract

Pressure vessels are leak proof containers.They are having wide range of applications in several industries namely petrochemical,chemical,steel cement,etc.They are the important equipment for the process industry. Nozzles or openings are necessary in the pressure vessels to satisfy certain requirements such as an inlet or outlet connections, manholes, vents and drains, etc. To incorporate a nozzle on the vessel wall it is supposed to remove some amount of material from the vessel. Then the stress distribution is not uniform.The distribution of stress in the juncture area and the rest will differ as nozzles cause a geometric discontinuity of the vessel wall. It results in to a development of stress concentration is created around the opening. The junction may fail due to these high stresses. In the present work, the importance of the effect of the discontinuity is mentioned, codes related to design of vessels and its components are discussed, nozzle and vessel parameters are calculated using ASME code formulas. Available Software is used in the design of pressure vessel like the thickness of the shell and nozzle data. Different nozzle locations with and without reinforcement of nozzle for offset of 0 ,8, 16, 24 and 32 in. from the vertical center line at the central cross section with different inclination angles like 0°, 15°, 30° and 45° are modeled with Creo Parametric 2.0. Ansys workbench is used to analyze the models prepared in Creo Parametric 2.0 by importing then in the workbench environment by generating proper meshing, and applying boundary conditions.