Elastoplastic Analysis of Novel Parabola-Arc-Shaped Head for Internal Pressure Vessel

Abstract

In this paper, the elastoplastic stress analysis of a novel parabola-arc-shaped head subjected to internal pressure has been carried out using finite element method. Limit loads and burst pressures are obtained for various geometric parameters and compared with the conventional torispherical and ellipsoidal heads. For the same middle diameter and thickness, the novel parabola-arc-shaped head shows better mechanical performance than the torispherical head. The burst pressure is mainly determined by the size of cylinder and the burst always occurs in cylinder. The head can improve the burst load when the cylinder is relatively short. The improvement of the novel parabola-arc-shaped head is almost the same as the ellipsoidal head, while the torispherical head is slightly inferior. As the novel parabola-arc-shaped head can be more easily formed with less material consumed compared to the conventional ones, it should thus be applicable in engineering practice.