303-Pressure Vessels - Thin and Thick-Walled Stress Analysis

Pressure vessels are very common in industry with examples such as pipes, water towers, hydraulic cylinders, and boilers. It is important for engineers to understand stresses developed in pressure vessels when subjected to internal or external pressure loads. This course provides a general introduction to understanding stresses in thin-walled and thick-walled pressure vessels. Though some theory is provided, the course focuses on applications of stress equations. Failure theories are discussed for brittle and ductile materials. The failure theories are used to discuss design of pressure vessels.

A general understanding of mechanics of materials is required for this course. Equations of stress and strain are used to develop equations for pressure vessels. Concepts of principal stresses are used for failure theories.

This course covers the basic stress analysis of pressure vessels and does not cover specific design codes for pressure vessels due to the vast types of applications. The reader should consult any appropriate codes, such as ASME Code Section VIII, for more details.