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Closed cylindrical shell

Thin-wall vessel stress

pD

Inputs

Uniform internal gauge pressure; enter a positive magnitude.
Nominal inside diameter of the closed cylindrical shell.
Uniform shell wall thickness for the thin-wall screen.

Results

Ideal hoop membrane stress

30

Ideal longitudinal membrane stress

15

Inside diameter-to-thickness ratio

50

σhoop = pD/(2t); σlong = pD/(4t), closed thin cylinder

A first-pass number, not a code check, certification, or approval. Read the method and its limits below. What this is and is not.

Nearby: Axial response · Beam deflection & reactions · Elastic stability · Solid-shaft torsion

Method

Formula, when it applies, and when it does not

Calculate ideal hoop and longitudinal membrane stresses for a closed, thin-walled cylindrical pressure vessel from pressure and nominal geometry.

σhoop = pD/(2t); σlong = pD/(4t), closed thin cylinder

When

  • Closed cylindrical shell
  • Thin wall
  • Uniform internal pressure
  • Membrane stress only

Don’t

  • This is a closed cylindrical thin-shell membrane-stress relationship. It excludes thick-wall behavior, discontinuities, heads, nozzles, welds, external pressure, fatigue, corrosion allowance, material allowables, code requirements, relief sizing, and pressure-vessel certification.
Boston University thin-wall vessel reference