Pressure vessel

A pressure vessel is a container designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure substantially different from the ambient pressure. Construction methods and materials may be chosen to suit the pressure application, and will depend on the size of the vessel, the contents, working pressure, mass constraints, and the number of items required. Pressure vessels can be dangerous, and fatal accidents have occurred in the history of their development and operation. Consequently, pressure vessel design, manufacture, and operation are regulated by engineering authorities backed by legislation. For these reasons, the definition of a pressure vessel varies from country to country. Design involves parameters such as maximum safe operating pressure and temperature, safety factor, corrosion allowance and minimum design temperature (for brittle fracture). Construction is tested using nondestructive testing, such as ultrasonic testing, radiography, and pressure tests. Hydrostatic pressure tests usu

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Probing the buckling of pressurized spherical shells

Arefeh Abbasi, Pedro Miguel Nunes Pereira de Almeida Reis, Dong Yan

The prediction of the critical buckling conditions of shell structures is plagued by imperfection sensitivity. Non-destructive testing through point-load probing has been recently proposed to map the stability landscape of cylindrical shells. However, the counterpart procedure for spherical shells is still debatable. Here, we focus on the mechanical response of pressurized spherical shells containing a single dimple–like defect to a point probe. Combining experiments, finite element modeling, and existing results from classic shell theory, we characterize the nonlinear force-indentation response of imperfect shells at different pressurization levels. From these curves, we seek to identify the critical buckling pressure of the shell. In particular, the indentation angle is varied systematically to examine its effect on the probing efficacy. We find that the critical buckling point can be inferred non-destructively by tracking the maxima of the indentation force–displacement curves, if the probe is implemented sufficiently close to the defect. When probing further away from the defect, the test fails in predicting the onset of buckling since the deformation due to indentation remains localized in the vicinity of the probe. Using FEM simulations and shallow shell theory, we quantify the characteristic length associated with this localized deformation, both in the linear and nonlinear regimes. Our results demonstrate the limiting conditions of applicability for the usage of probing as a non-destructive technique to assess the stability of spherical shells.

2021

Buckling of a Pressurized Hemispherical Shell Subjected to a Probing Force

Anna Lee, Pedro Miguel Nunes Pereira de Almeida Reis

We study the buckling of hemispherical elastic shells subjected to the combined effect of pressure loading and a probing force. We perform an experimental investigation using thin shells of nearly uniform thickness that are fabricated with a well-controlled geometric imperfection. By systematically varying the indentation displacement and the geometry of the probe, we study the effect that the probe-induced deflections have on the buckling strength of our spherical shells. The experimental results are then compared to finite element simulations, as well as to recent theoretical predictions from the literature. Inspired by a nondestructive technique that was recently proposed to evaluate the stability of elastic shells, we characterize the nonlinear load-deflection mechanical response of the probe for different values of the pressure loading. We demonstrate that this nondestructive method is a successful local way to assess the stability of spherical shells.

American Society of Mechanical Engineers2017

Simulation of bootstrap current in 2D and 3D ideal magnetic fields in tokamaks

Wilfred Anthony Cooper, Jonathan Graves, Michael Pedro, Madhusudan Raghunathan, Olivier Sauter

We aim to simulate the bootstrap current for a MAST-like spherical tokamak using two approaches for magnetic equilibria including externally caused 3D effects such as resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs), the effect of toroidal ripple, and intrinsic 3D effects such as non-resonant internal kink modes. The first approach relies on known neoclassical coefficients in ideal MHD equilibria, using the Sauter (Sauter et al 1999 Phys. Plasmas 6 2834) expression valid for all collisionalities in axisymmetry, and the second approach being the quasi-analytic Shaing-Callen (Shaing and Callen 1983 Phys. Fluids 26 3315) model in the collisionless regime for 3D. Using the ideal free-boundary magnetohydrodynamic code VMEC, we compute the flux-surface averaged bootstrap current density, with the Sauter and Shaing-Callen expressions for 2D and 3D ideal MHD equilibria including an edge pressure barrier with the application of resonant magnetic perturbations, and equilibria possessing a saturated non-resonant 1/1 internal kink mode with a weak internal pressure barrier. We compare the applicability of the self-consistent iterative model on the 3D applications and discuss the limitations and advantages of each bootstrap current model for each type of equilibrium.

Iop Publishing Ltd2016

Boiler

Furnace (central heating) and Condensing boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the bo

Oil refinery

An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base

Fatigue (material)

In materials science, fatigue is the initiation and propagation of cracks in a material due to cyclic loading. Once a fatigue crack has initiated, it grows a small amount with each loading cycle, t