Mechanical Design

Of
Process Equipment
 Objectives

• Select suitable material of construction

• Specify design temperature and
pressure
• Calculate wall thickness
 Material of Construction
• Mechanical and physical properties
• Corrosion resistance
• Ease of fabrication
• Availability in standard sizes
• Cost
 Material of Construction
(Cont’d)
Preliminary Selection

 Selection Charts
 Literature
 Previous experience
 Advise from materials supplier
 Advise from equipment manufacturer
 Advise from consultants
 Material of Construction
(Cont’d)
Final Selection
• Based on economic analysis which
would include
–Material cost
–Maintenance cost
 Commonly Used
Materials of Construction

• Metals
• Polymers or Plastics
• Ceramic Materials
 Metals
• Carbon steels

• Stainless steels

• Specialty alloys
 Carbon Steels
Most common engineering material
Advantages
 Inexpensive
 Good tensile strength and ductility
 Available in a wide range of standard forms and sizes
 Easily worked and welded
 Carbon Steels (Cont’d)
Limitations
• Corrosion resistance not good
• External surface need painting to prevent
atmospheric corrosion
Suitable for use with:
 Most organic solvents
 Steam, air, cooling water, boiler feed water
 Concentrated sulfuric acid and caustic
alkalies
 Stainless Steels

• Most frequently used corrosion

resistant materials in the chemical
industry
• High chromium or high nickel-
chromium alloys of iron
–chromium content must be > 12%
–Nickel added to improve weldability
and corrosion resistance in non-
oxidizing env.
 Stainless Steels
(Cont’d)

Main Types of Stainless Steel

 Type 304 – 18% Cr & 8% Ni
 Type 304L – low carbon version to
improve welding of thick plates
 Type 316 – Mo added to improve
corrosion resistance in reducing
conditions and at high temperature.
 Stainless Steels
(Cont’d)
Limitations
–Intergranular corrosion or weld decay
possible in reducing environment
–Stress cracking can be caused by a few
ppm of chloride ions
 Specialty Alloys
• Monel – 67% Ni, 33% Cu
– Better corrosion resistance than SS
– No stress-corrosion cracking in chloride
solutions
– Temp. up to 500oC
• Inconel - 76% Ni, 15% Cr, 7% Fe
– High temperature acidic service
– Temp. up to 900oC
 Plastics
Provide corrosion resistance at low cost.
Main advantages:
Excellent resistance to weak mineral acids
Tolerate small changes in pH, minor impurities
or oxygen content
Light weight, easy to fabricate and install
 Plastics (Cont’d)
Major Limitations:
• Moderate tempeature and pressure
applications (T < 100oC; P < 5 atm.)
• Low mechanical strength
• Only fair resistance to solvents
 Plastics (Cont’d)

Main Classes:
1. Thermoplastic – can be reshaped
2. Thermosetting – cannot be remoulded
Thermoplastic
• Polyethylenes (low cost; T < 50oC)
• Polypropylene ( T up to 120oC)
• Polyvinyl chloride ( T  60oC)
 Plastics (Cont’d)
Thermosetting
- good mechanical properties (T  95oC)
- good chemical resistance (except strong
alkalies)
Examples:
• Phenolic resins –filled with carbon, graphite,
silica
• Polyester resins – reinforced with glass or
carbon fibre to improve strength
 Plastics (Cont’d)
Polytetrafloroethylene
(PTFE)
 Known under the trade names of Teflon
and Fluon
Can be used up to 250oC – highest for all
plastics
Resistant to all chemicals except fluorine
and molten alkalies
 Rubber Lining

Metal surface lined with rubber to provide;

Cost effective solution for corrosion control
and abrasion resistance e.g. acid storage,
steel pickling
Why rubber?
• Able to bond strongly to various
surfaces
• Good combination of elasticity and
tensile strength
 Ceramic Materials

• Provide high temperature corrosion

resistance and/or thermal protection (up
to 2000oC)
• Ceramic or refractory materials – metal
oxides, carbides and nitrides
• Used as either solid bodies or coatings
• Glass – mostly used in glass lining
 Pressure Vessel

• What is Pressure Vessel?

– Any vessel which contains fluid above 15
psi (or 103 kPa)
– Examples: reactors, distillation towers,
separators
– ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code
contain rules for design, fabrication and
inspection
 Wall Thickness
For cylindrical shells
PxRi
t = _________ + C
SxE - 0.6P
t minimum wall thickness (in)
E efficiency of joints expressed as a fraction
P maximum allowable internal pressure (psig)
Ri inside radius of the shell, before corrosion
allowance (in)
S maximum allowable working stress (psi)
C allowance for corrosion (in)
 Maximum Allowable Internal Pressure

• Maximum pressure it is likely to be subjected

in operation
• Normally taken as relief valve set pressure –
10% above the normal working pressure
– Add hydraulic head in the base of the vessel to the
operating pressure
– For bioreactor, consider steam pressure for
sterilization
 Design Temperature
• Max. operating temperature + 50oC
• Max. allowable working stress (S) –
function of temperature
for carbon steel = 13,700 psi
(T<350oC)
• Joint efficiency (E)– defines quality of
weld joint
–Range 0.85 to 1
–Common value = 0.85
 Corrosion Allowance

• Additional thickness added to allow for

material lost by corrosion and erosion
• Usually based on experience
• For carbon and low-alloy steel use a
minimum of 2.0 mm
• For more severe conditions increase to 4.0
mm.
• No allowance for SS and other high-alloy
steels
THANK YOU…

CHETAN PATEL