INTRODUCTION

Pressure vessels have different types of supports depending upon their service & location of installation. Supports are of great importance in pressure vessel assemblies as their failure will be a failure of complete pressure vessel, unlike other localized failures. Skirt supports involve Y-Forging, which is a connecting element between shell, dished end & Skirt support. As this element is a major player in load transfer to support so it needs to verify for its strength against applied loadings.

Process equipment manufacturer from India & Abroad approached ANALYZER to seek assistance in evaluating the design of their newly developed vessels to multiple loading conditions using simulation techniques & provide the solution in case of any observed failure.

FEA WORKFLOW

• Design parameters & material properties extraction for Skirt Junction FEA
• Preparing the FEA Model
• Solving the FEA Model & Result extraction
• Preparing an easy to understand report for the performed FEA.

CHALLENGES

• Modeling welds between Y-Forging to Shell & Skirt
• Simulating different load conditions in case of axisymmetric approach

THE SOLUTION

The Skirt (Y-Forging) junction geometry was analyzed using the Finite Element Method to determine the induced stresses due to various loading conditions. In order to assess the strength of the geometry, guidelines from ASME BPVC (Boilers & Pressure Vessels Code) Section VIII Div. 2 Ed. 2013 was utilized. Stress Linearization has been carried out at various cross-sections of the Forging & its connection with shell & Skirt. The results showed that the induced stresses were well within the acceptable limits as per guidelines. Hence, the structure’s design was predicted to behave safely during operation without premature failure.

BENEFITS

• Better insights on Forging design modifications for alternate applications
• Optimized design with reduced material cost
• Reduced manufacturing time