Pressure Vessel (PV)

Introduction
A pressure vessel is a closed container designed to hold fluids at a pressure significantly greater,
or less, than ambient pressure. Within the walls of the container, tensile forces act against the
fluid pressure to hold the tank together. These tensile stresses in the walls of the container are
proportional to the pressure and radius of the vessel and inversely proportional to the thickness
of the walls. Large pressure differentials can be dangerous and fatal accidents have occurred.
Therefore, as an engineer, it is important to know how pressures affect stresses acting on a
pressure vessel in order to ensure proper design and manufacture.
Purpose
The purpose of this experiment is to measure strain directly to determine material properties,
stresses and pressure on a thick-walled pressure vessel.
Equipment
1.
2.
3.
4.

Aluminum thick-walled pressure vessel test apparatus

D4 data acquisition conditioner
Laptop computer with LabVIEW
Data acquisition card

Method
A pressure vessel, equipped with a manual screw pump to regulate pressure, is used to vary the
internal pressure. The maximum pressure to the vessel will be less than 1000 psi.
A rectangular rosette strain gage is used to directly measure strain in three directions. At various
pressures, the rosette will be used to measure strain along the axis, on a 45 angle, and
perpendicular to the axis (tangential or hoop direction. The measured values will be compared to
theoretical values. Strain gage orientations are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. The three strain gage orientations within a rectangular rosette.

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The elastic modulus and Poissons ratio will be determined by calculating the theoretical stress at
the gages and plotting the theoretical stress versus measured strain in both the axial and hoop
directions. The measured elastic modulus and Poissons ratio will be compared to the nominal
values of the aluminum pressure vessel.
The pressure gages in this lab display the differential in pressure with respect to atmospheric
pressure (room conditions). In you calculations, make an assumption of the atmospheric
pressure and cite your source.
WARNING: This lab contains hydraulic fluid at high pressure!! To prevent serious injury,
do NOT pressurize the vessel greater than 950 psi. Hydraulic fluid can cause skin
and eye irritation/injury. Do NOT swallow hydraulic fluid. Hydraulic fluid is
extremely slippery and leakage of the pump system WILL occur. Inform a Teaching
Assistant of any spills or possible injuries, immediately.
Procedure
1. Ensure the laptop is connected to both the D4 data acquisition conditioner and data
acquisition card via USB cable.
2. Open the LabVIEW program titled PV.vi located on the desktop.
3. Press the RUN button (right arrow at top left of window) to start the program.
4. Turn the pump counterclockwise to decrease the pressure in the vessel to 0 psi. Use the
pressure transducer reading on the LabVIEW program for pressure measurement.
5. Press all three BALANCE buttons on the LabVIEW program to zero the strain
measurements.
6. Turn the pump clockwise to increase the pressure in the vessel to 200 psi as read on the
pressure gage (not the LabVIEW transducer).
7. Record, in Table 1, the pressures from both pressure gages and the strain gage readings
from gages 1, 2, and 3.
Note: If the two pressure gages are not within 10 psi of agreement, please notify a
Teaching Assistant.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7, every 100 psi, until 800 psi is reached.
9. Repeat steps 4 through 8 four more times for a total of five complete runs. Record data in
corresponding tables.

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Presentation of Results
1. Calculate the mean and standard deviation for each pressure and strain measurement
from your five runs. Comment on any variation in the measurements. Use the mean
values for your calculations.
2. Calculate the pressure in the vessel at each data reading using the measured strains and
the nominal material properties for aluminum. Compare the calculated pressures to the
measured pressures. Comment on any differences. Assume the tank is a thick-walled
pressure vessel. Axial and hoop stress are calculated using
axial =

pi ri2 -po ro2

,
ro2 -ri2

(1)

and
hoop =

pi ri2 -po ro2

ri 2 ro2 po -pi
-
ro2 -ri2
ro2 ro2 -ri2

(2)

respectively, where pi is the pressure inside and po outside the pressure vessel, and ri is
inner radius and ro is the outer radius of the pressure vessel.
3. Construct Mohrs circle diagrams and determine the principal strains and directions at
300 psi and 700 psi using the strain measurements. Use graph paper, a ruler, and a
compass to sketch Mohrs circle for strain. Do NOT sketch Mohrs circle freehand.
Comment on results.
4. Calculate the theoretical axial and hoop strains for the 300 and 700 psi strain
measurements. Compare your results to the principal strain values you obtained in your
Mohrs circles and comment on any differences.
5. Using the measured pressures, calculate the axial and hoop stresses on the vessel.
Explain briefly why a strain rosette is needed to determine the full surface stress state.
Plot stress versus measured strain for both axial and hoop directions to determine the
elastic modulus, E, and Poissons ratio, v, of the aluminum. The slopes of the stress
versus strain plots are related to the material properties using
!"#!$

=
!"#!$ 1 2

(3)

!!!"

=
!!!" 1
2

(4)

and

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Compare your results to the nominal values of aluminum and comment on any
differences.
6. For the highest applied pressure case, estimate the maximum shear stress both: a) on the
surface and b) everywhere throughout the pressure vessel. Explain the location and
reasoning/how this was determined (cite sources).
7. Compressed air cylinders typically use a burst disc to vent the internal pressure before
failure occurs. Using a nominal value of ultimate shear stress for a basic grade of
aluminum, estimate a maximum pressure rating for this vessel assuming that a safety
factor of 3 is required (show your calculation for finding at what pressure the burst disc
should vent to ensure safe operation, and cite the source used for the ultimate shear
stress of Al).

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Data Sheet for Pressure Vessel Lab

Pressure
transducer (psi)

Pressure gauge
(psi)

1 ()

Strain at gage location

2 ()

3 ()

Table 1. Pressure and strain measurements for Run 1.

Pressure
transducer (psi)

Pressure gauge
(psi)

1 ()

Strain at gage location

2 ()

3 ()

Table 2. Pressure and strain measurements for Run 2.

TA Approval:
___________
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Pressure
transducer (psi)

Pressure gauge
(psi)

1 ()

Strain at gage location

2 ()

3 ()

Table 3. Pressure and strain measurements for Run 3.

Pressure
transducer (psi)

Pressure gauge
(psi)

1 ()

Strain at gage location

2 ()

3 ()

Table 4. Pressure and strain measurements for Run 4.

TA Approval:
___________

43

Pressure
transducer (psi)

Pressure gauge
(psi)

1 ()

Strain at gage location

2 ()

3 ()

Table 5. Pressure and strain measurements for Run 5.

TA Approval:
___________

44