Volume and Wetted Area of Partially Filled Hori...

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VOLUME AND WETTED AREA OF PARTIALLY FILLED HORIZONTAL VESSELS
SUMMARY
The calculation of a horizontal vessels wetted area and volume is
required

for

engineering

tasks

such

fire

studies

and

the

determination of level alarms and control set points. However the

calculation of these parameters is complicated by the geometry of

the vessel, particularly the heads. This article details formulae for
calculating the wetted area and volume of these vessels for various

types of curved ends including: hemispherical, torispherical,

semi-ellipsoidal and bumped ends.

1. DEFINITIONS
A

: Wetted Area

Di : Inside Diameter of Vessel

Do : Outside Diameter of Vessel

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: Liquid level above vessel bottom

: Length of vessel, tan-line to tan-line

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Lf : Straight Flange
R

: Inside Vessel Radius

Rc : Inside crown radius

Rk : Inside knuckle radius
t

: Vessel Wall Thickness

Vp : Partially Filled Liquid Volume

Vt

: Total Volume of head or vessel

: Inside Dish Depth

: Eccentricity of elliptical heads

2. INTRODUCTION
The calculation of the liquid volume or wetted area of a partially
filled horizontal vessel is best performed in parts, by calculating the
value for the cylindrical section of the vessel and the heads of the

vessel and then adding the areas or volumes together. Below we

present the wetted area and partially filled volume for each type of
head and the cylindrical section.

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The partially filled volume is primarily used for the calculation of

tank filling times and the setting of control set points, alarm levels
and system trip points.

The wetted area is the area of contact between the liquid and the
wall of the tank. This is primary used in fire studies of process and

storage vessels to determine the emergency venting capacity

required to protect the vessel.

The volume and wetted area of partially filled vertical vessels is

covered separately.

3. HEMISPHERICAL HEADS - HORIZONTAL VESSEL

Hemispherical heads have a depth which is half their diameter. They
have the highest design pressures out of all the head types and as

such are typically the most expensive head type. The formula for

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calculating the wetted area and volume of one head are presented as
follows.

3.1 Wetted Area

A = h

Di
2

3.2 Volume
Vp =

1 2
h (3R h)
3

Vp =

D3i

h
h
(3(
) 2(
) )
12
Di
Di
2

4. SEMI-ELLIPSOIDAL OR ELLIPTICAL HEADS - HORIZONTAL VESSEL

The semi-ellipsoidal heads are shallower than the hemispherical
heads and deeper than the torispherical heads and therefore have
design pressures and expense lying between these two designs.

The most common variant of semi-ellipsoidal head is the 2:1

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elliptical head which has a depth equal to 1/4 of the vessel

diameter. The formula for calculating the wetted area and volume
for one 2:1 semi-elliptical head are presented as follows.

4.1 Wetted Area

For a 2:1 semi-ellipsoidal head is equal to 0.866, for other
geometries the formula below may be used to calculate .

h
4
(
0.5) + B
h

Di
1
0.5) B + 1 +
ln
Aw =
(
8 Di
4
2 3

2
h
0.5)
B = 1 + 12(
Di

4z 2
= 1 2
Di

D2i

The wetted area calculated using this method does not include the

straight flange of the head. The length of the straight flange must be
included in the calculation of the wetted area of the cylindrical
section.
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4.2 Volume
Vp =

D3i C

h
h
(3(
) 2(
) )
12
Di
Di
2

Where,
for ASME 2:1 Elliptical heads:

C = 1/2
for DIN 28013 Semi ellipsoidal heads:
2

t
t
C = 0.49951 + 0.10462
+ 2.3227(
)
Do
Do

The volume calculated does not include the straight flange of the

head, only the curved section. The straight flange length must be
included in the calculation of the volume of the cylindrical section.

5. TORISPHERICAL HEADS - HORIZONTAL VESSEL

Torispherical heads are the most economical and therefore is the

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most common head type used for process vessels. Torispherical

heads are shallower and typically have lower design pressures than

semi-elliptical heads. The formula for the calculation of the wetted

area and volume of one partially filled torispherical head is

presented as follows.

5.1 Wetted Area

We can approximate the partially filled surface area of the
torispherical head using the formula for elliptical heads. This

approximation will over estimate the surface area because a

torispherical head is flatter than a ellipsoidal head. This assumption
is conservative for pool fire relieving calculations.

4 ( Dhi 0.5) + B
D2i h
1
0.5) B + 1 +
ln
Aw =
(
8 Di
4
2 3

2
h
0.5)
B = 1 + 12(
Di

4z 2
= 1 2
Di
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The wetted area calculated using this method does not include the

straight flange of the head. The length of the straight flange must be
included in the calculation of the wetted area of the cylindrical
section.

5.2 Volume
Vp =

D3i C

h
h
(3(
) 2(
) )
12
Di
Di
2

Where,
for ASME Torispherical heads:

C = 0.30939 + 1.7197

Rk 0.06Do
t
0.16116
+ 0.98997(
Di
Do
D

for DIN 28011 Torispherical heads:

2

t
t
C = 0.37802 + 0.05073
+ 1.3762(
)
Do
Do

The volume calculated does not include the straight flange of the

head, only the curved section. The straight flange length must be
included in the calculation of the volume of the cylindrical section.

6. BUMPED HEADS - HORIZONTAL VESSEL

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Bumped heads have the lowest cost but also the lowest design

pressures, unlike torispherical or ellipsoidal heads they have no

knuckle. They are typically used in atmospheric tanks, such as
horizontal liquid fuel storage tanks or road tankers.

Here we present formulae for calculated the wetted area and volume
for an arbitrary liquid level height in a single Bumped head.

6.1 Wetted Area

We can approximate the partially filled surface area of the bumped
head using the formula for elliptical heads. This approximation will

over estimate the surface area, which is conservative for pool fire
relieving calculations.

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h
4
(
0.5) + B
h

Di
1
0.5) B + 1 +
ln
Aw =
(
8 Di
4
2 3

2
h
0.5)
B = 1 + 12(
Di

4z 2
= 1 2
Di

D2i

6.2 Volume
Vt = 1/2z 2 (3Rc z)
2

3Vt h
h
Vp =
( ) (1
)
4
3R
R
The partially filled volume equation is an approximation, but will
give a reasonable accuracy for vessel volume calculations.

7. CYLINDRICAL SECTION - HORIZONTAL VESSEL

Here we present formulae for calculated the wetted area and volume
for an arbitrary liquid level height in the cylindrical section of a
horizontal drum.
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7.1 Wetted Area

Ap = 2LRcos1 (

Rh
)
R

Ap = LDi cos1 (1 2

h
)
Di

7.2 Volume
Vp = L (R2 cos1 (

Rh
) (R H)2Rh h2 )
R

1
h
h
h
h
1
Vp = LD2i
cos1 (1 2
) (
)
(
)
4
2
Di
Di
Di
Di
Where the vessel has torispherical or ellipsoidal heads the straight
flange length of the head should be included in the cylindrical
section length when calculating the volume or surface area.

8. REFERENCES

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1. B Wiencke, 2009, Computing the partial volume of pressure vessels

2. R Doane, 2007, Accurate Wetted Areas for Partially Filled Vessels
3. E Ludwing, 1997, Applied Process Design for Chemical and
Petrochemical Plants (Volume 2)

4. E Weisstein, 2013, Cylindrical Segment. From MathWorld

ARTICLE TAGS
Bumped

Cylindrical

Dished

Liquid Level

Partially Filled

Vessel Head

Volume

Back

Hemispherical
Torospherical

Horizontal Drum
Vessel

Wetted Area

Article Created: March 1, 2013

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