Qualification of a Jacketed Vessel Using Finite Element Analysis

The main objective of this paper is to improve a jacketed vessel. The jacketed vessel is usually chosen to heat the contents of the vessel. The chamber or annulus contains fluid under pressure to heat the inner vessel contents. The initial over-all dimensions of the vessel are based on the capacity of the stored liquid. The design was in accordance with the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code, Section VIII, Div 1. The jacketed vessel bottom head and jacket bottom head are being improved to withstand internal and external design pressures. Bottom head of the jacket can be reinforced in one of the three ways, namely: (1) rings which are radial (these rings also create flow for the fluid); (2) attachment of the rings to the bottom jacket head with stays, since rings cannot be physically welded to the bottom jacket; or (3) there is a possibility, the new bottom head and jacketed head combination can be cast, but that would not be economically feasible. This leads to the following six configurations considered in this paper and they are: (1) internal pressure of 50 psi, (2) external pressure + vacuum pressure of 65 psi, (3) reinforcement with 5 rings with external pressure of 65 psi, (4) rings welded with the bottom jacket head with external pressure of 65 psi, (5) welded with stays on ring location (stay diameter of 1 inch) with external pressure of 65 psi, and (6) welded with stays on ring location (stay diameter of 1.5 inch) with external pressure of 65 psi. The pattern of stays chosen for this analysis is one of uniform distribution on ring locations, which are radially situated. The design dimensions based on Code sizing are used to recalculate the stresses for the jacket vessel. The dimensional jacketed vessel is modeled using STAAD III Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software. The design is found to be safe for the specific configuration considered herein with stays.