B.Sc.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Mechanics of Materials-II
Problem Sheet No. 6

1. A spherical gas tank has an inner radius of 1.5 m. If it is subjected to an internal pressure of
300 kPa, determine its required thickness if the maximum normal stress is not to exceed 12 MPa.
(Ans: 18.8 mm)
2. The maximum gage pressure is known to be 8 MPa in a spherical steel pressure vessel having a
250 mm outer diameter and a 6 mm wall thickness. Knowing that the ultimate stress in the steel
used is 400 MPa, determine the factor of safety with respect to tensile failure. (Ans: 4.8)
3. A stainless-steel cylindrical shell has a 1 m inside diameter and is 13 mm thick. If the tensile
strength of the material is 550 MPa and the factor of safety is 5, what is the allowable working
pressure? (Ans: 2.86 MPa)
4. A thin spherical steel vessel is made up of two hemispherical portions bolted together at flanges.
The inner diameter of the sphere is 300 mm and the wall thickness is 6 mm. Assuming that the
vessel is a homogeneous sphere, what is the maximum working pressure for an allowable tensile
stress in the shell of 150 MPa? If twenty bolts of 16 mm diameter are used to hold the flanges
together, what is the tensile stress in the bolts when the sphere is under full pressure?
(Ans: 12 MPa; 211 MPa)
5. The gas storage tank is fabricated by bolting together two half cylindrical thin shells and two
hemispherical shells. If the tank is designed to withstand a pressure of 3 MPa, determine the
required minimum thickness of the cylindrical and hemispherical shells and the minimum required
number of bolts for each hemispherical cap. The tank and the 25 mm diameter bolts are made from
material having an allowable normal stress of 150 MPa and 250 MPa, respectively. The tank has an
inner diameter of 4 m. (Ans: 40 mm; 20 mm; 308 bolts)
6. A thin-walled steel cylinder of 2 m diameter is subjected to an internal pressure of 2.5 MPa. Using
a safety factor of 2 and a yield stress in simple tension of 400 MPa, calculate wall thickness on the
basis of Tresca and von Mises yield criteria. It may be assumed that the radial stress in the wall is
negligible. (Ans: 12.5 mm; 10.8 mm)
7. A thin cylindrical shell, 1.5 m internal diameter, 2.4 m long, plates 25 mm thick, is under internal
pressure of 1 MPa. Assuming the end plates are rigid, find the changes in length and diameter.
E = 206 GPa;  = 0.267. (Ans: 0.081 mm; 0.19 mm)
8. A tall standpipe with an open top has diameter 2.0 m and wall thickness 18 mm. (a) What height of
water will produce a circumferential stress of 10.9 MPa in the wall of the standpipe? (b) What is the
axial stress in the wall of the tank due to the water pressure? (Ans: 20 m; Zero)
9. A strain gage is installed in the longitudinal direction on the surface of an aluminum beverage can.
The radius-to-thickness ratio of the can is 200. When the lid of the can is popped open, the strain
changes by 170 × 10-6. What was the internal pressure in the can? E = 200 GPa;  = 0.33.
(Ans: 1 MPa)
10. A cylinder filled with oil is under pressure from a piston. The diameter of the piston is 90 mm and
the compressive force is 42 kN. The maximum allowable shear stress in the wall of the cylinder is
40 MPa. What is the minimum permissible thickness of the cylinder wall? (Ans: 1.86 mm)