Experimental study of large-diameter thin-wall pressure vessels

An experimental stress analysis of three cylindrical pressure vessels with radius/thickness ratios ranging from 100 to 238 and different head closures is described. Brittle coatings and electrical strain gages were employed to determine stress distributions over the entire outer surface of the vessels. Electrical strain gages alone were used to determine stresses on the inside surface of the vessels. Particular emphasis was placed on determining stress concentrations and on nonlinear effects produced by geometric imperfections. An attempt was also made to correlate the failure, which started in the cylindrical portion of the three vessels, with the elastic-stress distribution. It was found that the imperfections in the cylinder were not significant if the vessel was fabricated from a ductile steel. However, if the vessel was constructed from a high-strength but brittle steel, the imperfections significantly lower the bursting strength of the vessel.