Optimal steel choice for reducing the cost of spherical pressure vessels

Abstract

With the growing demand for strategically storing bulk liquids, the cost of the storage vessels gained excessive importance. This cost has great influence on the overall projects cost. Hence, reducing the cost of a vessel is of prime importance. In this sense, the choice of steel and relative properties, specifically its allowable stress, used in the construction of a spherical pressure vessels plays an important role in reducing the price of the vessel. Moreover the Man-hours required to construct the vessel, especially the one related to the linear meters of weld, affects also the overall cost. In this paper, parametric studies with respect to the steels allowable stress and linear meters of weld are performed. Different shell diameters are taken into consideration and the analysis is performed according to ASME VIII – Division 2_Standards and the ―technical calculation and estimator's man-hour manual‖.