Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Simplified Formulas for External Pressure Design

Conference ·

Design of vessels for external pressure currently requires a chart-based solution or analytical approaches which are not necessarily intuitive. In this paper, we propose simple formulas for the external pressure evaluation of pipes and other cylindrical pressure vessels. We present a conceptual comparison between the elastic and elastic-plastic stability of structural columns and that of cylindrical vessels of long, intermediate, and short length. Their common features allow an accurate and straightforward approach for external pressure design. The approach is also extended to spherical caps, conical vessels, and formed heads.We compare the method presented to the current acceptance criteria from various design codes, including the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section VIII, Code Case 2286, and EN 13445-3, as well as codes for steel and aluminum structures. In further discussion, the simplified method is compared against the results of more than 500 experiments on the buckling of cylindrical and spherical vessels published over the past two centuries.This simple but accurate approximation is conceptually intuitive, analytically straightforward, and shows potential utility in pressure vessel design codes, as well as piping design codes such as B31 that currently reference ASME VIII for external pressure design.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1897867
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Compilation of Published Test Data for Cylindrical and Spherical Vessels under External Pressure
Dataset · Tue Apr 12 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · OSTI ID:1861469

Standardized method for developing stress intensification factors for piping components
Journal Article · Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1994 · Welding Research Council Bulletin; (United States) · OSTI ID:6929802

Master external pressure charts
Conference · Sat Nov 30 23:00:00 EST 1996 · OSTI ID:404242

Related Subjects