1.

Introduction
The products manufactured by the Chemical Process Industries (CPIs) are vital for fulfilling the needs
of the modern society.

The process designer is the person in charge of transforming a valuable idea or experiment into an
industrial process.

The creative effort should be rewarded by substantial technical and economic advantages. Thus,
novelty and efficiency are key motivations for process designers.

The Installation of industrial equipment in process industries depends on size and overall equipment
design. If the equipment is to large it will lead to large footprint while smaller equipment will lead to
early failure, it must produce more work.

Today, sustainable development sets new challenges for designers, namely the transition to renewable
resources, as well as the protection of the natural environment.

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1.1. What is chemical Engineering Design
and why it is needed?
Process Design is the creative activity whereby we generate ideas and then translate them into

equipment and process for producing new materials or for significantly upgrading the value of existing

materials.

Conceptual Design refers to that part of a design project that deals with the fundamental elements of

a process:

layout of the units or flowsheet,

material and energy balances, specifications, performance and

sizing of the equipment,

energy requirements, safety, hazard and environmental issues and economic

efficiency.
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Cont…
 At the conceptual design phase, the emphasis is on the behavior of the process
as a system of connections of functional units rather than on the detailed sizing
of the equipment and the plant design.

 Thus proper design of equipment is essential for the production of high quality
and cost effective product.

 The job of a process designer is to fulfil not only originality, efficiency and
sustainability criteria, but also to consider a large number of constraints,
often contradictory.
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Cont…
For example, using biomass as renewable feedstock implies typically a complex
chemistry, with many by-products and impurities.
Better selectivity may be achieved working at lower conversion, but with
supplementary costs in equipment and energy for handling the recycles.
The environmental regulations set severe targets for waste and emissions, adding
supplementary costs.
Modern plants should use less land. In the end, the designer has to find an
optimum ensuring high valorization of materials, low energy requirements and no
pollution, by employing compact and efficient equipment.

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Cont…
The combination of so many aspects gives highly integrated processes. Their optimal
design makes use of systematic conceptual methods and powerful computer simulation.

The emphasis of this course is not on the study of the actual process but on
specifying the functioning and operation of the equipment.

Conditions such as temperature, pressure etc. under which the equipment is expected
to perform are specified by the process requirements.

Generally, the emphasis of the course is design of equipment for chemical process.

Meaning of designing for mechanical design of equipment and process equipment

design may be different as discussed in the table given below.

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Cont…

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1.2. Mechanical Design
The mechanical design is required for the fabrication, erection, installation and
commissioning of the equipment.

The purpose of this part is to present the methods and the procedures adopted in the
mechanical design of process equipment.

The emphasis here is not so much on the study of actual process, but on specifying the
functioning and operation of the equipment and also on the choices of material of
construction and strength considerations.

Meaning of designing in this part is thus thickness of different components of the

equipment is to be calculated. 7
1.2.1. Equipment classification

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Cont…

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1.2.2. General design consideration: pressure vessel

Vessels, tanks, and pipelines that carry, store, or receive fluids are called pressure
vessels.

A pressure vessel is defined as a container with a pressure differential between inside and
outside. The inside pressure is usually higher than the outside, except for some isolated
situations.

The fluid inside the vessel may undergo a change in state as in the case of steam boilers, or
may combine with other reagents as in the case of a chemical reactor.

Pressure vessels often have a combination of high pressures together with
high temperatures, and in some cases flammable fluids or highly radioactive materials.

Because of such hazards it is imperative that the design be such that no leakage can
occur.

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Cont…
In addition these vessels have to be designed carefully to cope with the operating

temperature and pressure.

It should be borne in mind that the rupture of a pressure vessel has a potential to cause

extensive physical injury and property damage.

When discussing pressure vessels we must also consider tanks.

Pressure vessels and tanks are significantly different in both design and construction.

tanks, unlike pressure vessels, are limited to atmospheric pressure; and pressure vessels often

have internals while most tanks do not (and those that do are limited to heating coils or mixers).
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 Cont…
Pressure vessels are used in a number of industries; for example, the power generation industry
for fossil and nuclear power, the petrochemical industry for storing and processing crude
petroleum oil in tank farms as well as storing gasoline in service stations, and the chemical
industry (in chemical reactors) to name but a few.

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1.2.2.1. Selection of the type of vessel

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Cont…

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1.2.2.2. Components to be designed in
pressure vessel

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1.2.2.3. Design codes: History of pressure
vessel codes

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 What is code?
 Code is standard that has been adopted by one or more governmental bodies.
 Codes specify requirements of design, fabrication, inspection and testing of pressure
vessels.
 Number of national codes have been developed for pressure vessels by different countries.
 To design pressure vessels and their components, the importance of design codes is well
established.
 Code gives the guidelines for safety design of process equipment which
are mostly pressure vessels.
 It does not directly concern with the economic design of the equipment.
 Keeping in view "the safety first" principle, It is the designer's responsibility to make his
design the most economical.

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Cont…
 All of the developed countries and many of the developing countries have national standards organizations,

which are responsible for the issue and maintenance of standards for the manufacturing industries and for the

protection of consumers.

The principal ones of interest to chemical engineers are those issued by:

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI),

The American Petroleum Institute (API),

The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM),

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) (pressure vessels and pipes),

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA; safety), and

The Instrumentation Systems and Automation Society (ISA; process control).

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 1.2.2.4. Design Pressure

A vessel must be designed to withstand the maximum pressure to which it is likely to be

subjected in operation.
For vessels under internal pressure, the design pressure (sometimes called maximum allowable
working pressure or MAWP) is taken as the pressure at which the relief device is set.
This will normally be 5 to 10% above the normal working pressure, to avoid spurious
operation during minor process upsets.
When the design pressure is decided, the hydrostatic pressure in the base of the column should
be added to the operating pressure, if significant.
Vessels subject to external pressure should be designed to resist the maximum differential
pressure that is likely to occur in service.
Vessels likely to be subjected to vacuum should be designed for a full negative pressure of 1 bar,
unless fitted with an effective, and reliable, vacuum breaker.

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 1.2.2.5. Design Temperature
 The strength of metals decreases with increasing temperature, so the maximum allowable stress will

depend on the material temperature.

 The maximum design temperature at which the maximum allowable stress is evaluated should be taken

as the maximum working temperature of the material, with due allowance for any uncertainty involved

in predicting vessel wall temperatures.

 Additional rules apply for welded vessels, as described in ASME BPV Code Sec. VIII D.1 part UW.

 The minimum design metal temperature (MDMT) should be taken as the lowest temperature expected in

service.

 The designer should consider the lowest operating temperature, ambient temperature, auto-refrigeration,

process upsets, and other sources of cooling in determining the minimum.

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1.2.2.6. Materials of construction
In choosing suitable material of construction, it is necessary to consider relative merits
of the various materials available such as:
 Mechanical and anti-corrosive properties

 Effective application of protective coatings

 Suitability of the material for fabrication (particularly welding)

 Compatibility of the material with the process environment and

 Economic considerations

These are some of the important factors, which influence the final choice

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Cont…
Pressure vessels are constructed from plain carbon steels, low and high alloy steels, other alloys,

clad plate, and reinforced plastics.

The pressure vessel design codes and standards include lists of acceptable materials, in accordance

with the appropriate material standards.

The ASME BPV Code Sec. II Part D gives maximum allowable stresses as a function of

temperature and maximum temperatures permitted under Sections I, III, VIII, and XII of the BPV

code for ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

The design of pressure vessels using reinforced plastics is described in ASME BPV Code Sec. X.

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Mechanical properties of materials
Strength: Strength represents the capacity of the material to withstand external forces. Depending

on the nature of the force, strength can be classified as tensile, compressive, shear and impact.

External forces are resisted by the material and, therefore induce stresses and deformations.

Stiffness: Stiffness is the ability to resist bending and buckling. It is a function of the elastic

modulus of the material and the shape of the cross-section of the member (the second moment of area).

Elasticity : Elasticity is the ability of material to regain its original shape as soon as load is

removed. In the design of most of the components, permanent deformations are generally avoided and

the material is utilized with a view to retaining its elasticity.

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Cont…
Ductility: Ductility is a measure of the deformability of the material, determined by

percentage of elongation or reduction of area.

Toughness: It is the ability of the material to absorb energy in deformation in the

plastic range and is measured by finding out the total area of stress-strain curve.

Hardness: It represents the surface characteristics of a material and is assessable by the

resistance it offers to scratching.

Creep: It is a slow and progressive deformation of a material with time under constant
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stress.
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Membrane stresses

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Membrane stresses on cylindrical wall

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Example 1

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1.2.2.7. Maximum Allowable Stress (Nominal Design Strength)

 For design purposes, it is necessary to decide a value for the maximum allowable stress(nominal

design strength) that can be accepted in the material of construction.

 This is determined by applying a suitable safety factor to the maximum stress that the material could

be expected to withstand without failure under standard test conditions.

 The safety factor allows for any uncertainty in the design methods, the loading, the quality of the

materials, and the workmanship.

 The basis for establishing the maximum allowable stress values in the ASME BPV Code is given in

ASME BPV Code Sec. II Part D, Mandatory Appendix 1.

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Cont…
At temperatures where creep and stress rupture strength do not govern the selection of stresses,
the maximum allowable stress is the lowest of
1. The specified minimum tensile strength at room temperature divided by 3.5,
2. The tensile strength at temperature divided by 3.5;
3. The specified minimum yield strength at room temperature divided by 1.5;
4. The yield strength at temperature divided by 1.5.
At temperatures where creep and stress rupture strength govern, the maximum
allowable stress is the lowest of
1. The average stress to produce a creep rate of 0.01%/1000 h;
2. F times the average stress to cause rupture at the end of 100,000 h, where F =0.67
for temperatures below 1500 oF (815 oC)—see the code for higher temperatures;
3. 0.8 times the minimum stress to cause rupture after 100,000 h.

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1.2.2.8. Welded-Joint Efficiency and Construction Categories

The strength of a welded joint will depend on the type of joint and the quality of the
welding.
The ASME BPV Code Sec. VIII D.1 defines four categories of weld (Part
UW-3):
A. Longitudinal or spiral welds in the main shell, necks or nozzles, or
circumferential welds connecting hemispherical heads to the main shell, necks or
nozzles.
B. circumferential welds in the main shell, necks or nozzles or connecting a
formed head other than hemispherical.
C. Welds connecting, flanges, tube sheets, or flat heads to the main shell, a
formed head, neck or nozzle.
D. Welds connecting communicating chambers or nozzles to the main shell, to
heads, or to necks.
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 1.2.2.9. Corrosion Allowance

 The corrosion allowance is the additional thickness of metal added to allow for material lost by
corrosion and erosion, or scaling.
 The ASME BPV Code Sec. VIII D.1 states that the vessel user shall specify corrosion allowances (Part UG-
25).
 Minimum wall thicknesses calculated using the rules given in the code are in the fully corroded condition
(Part UG-16).
 Corrosion is a complex phenomenon, and it is not possible to give specific rules for the estimation of the
corrosion allowance required for all circumstances.
 The allowance should be based on experience with the material of construction under similar service
conditions to those for the proposed design.
 For carbon and low-alloy steels, where severe corrosion is not expected, a minimum allowance of 2.0
mm should be used; where more severe conditions are anticipated, this should be increased to 4.0 mm.
 Most design codes and standards specify a minimum allowance of 1.0 mm, but under the ASME BPV Code
Sec. VIII no corrosion allowance is needed when past experience indicates that corrosion is only
superficial or does not occur.

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1.2.2.10. Design Loads

A structure must be designed to resist gross plastic deformation and

collapse under all the conditions of loading.
The loads to which a process vessel will be subject in service are listed
in this section.
They can be classified as major loads, which must always be
considered in vessel design, and subsidiary loads.
Formal stress analysis to determine the effect of the subsidiary loads
is required only in the codes and standards where it is not possible to
demonstrate the adequacy of the proposed design by other means,
such as by comparison with the known behavior of existing vessels.

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 Major Loads

1. Design pressure: including any significant static head of liquid.

2. Maximum weight of the vessel and contents, under operating conditions.
3. Maximum weight of the vessel and contents under the hydraulic test conditions.
4. Wind loads.
5. Earthquake (seismic) loads.
6. Loads supported by, or reacting on, the vessel.

Subsidiary Loads

1. Local stresses caused by supports, internal structures, and connecting pipes.

2. Shock loads caused by water hammer or by surging of the vessel contents.
3. Bending moments caused by eccentricity of the center of the working pressure
relative to the neutral axis of the vessel.
4. Stresses due to temperature differences and differences in the coefficient of
expansion of materials.
5. Loads caused by fluctuations in temperature and pressure.
A vessel will not be subject to all these loads simultaneously. The designer must
determine what combination of possible loads gives the worst situation (the ‘‘governing case’’) and then
design for that loading condition.

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1.2.2.11. Minimum Practical Wall Thickness

There will be a minimum wall thickness required to ensure that any

vessel is sufficiently rigid to withstand its own weight and any
incidental loads.
The ASME BPV Code Sec. VIII D.1 specifies a minimum wall thickness
of 1/16 inch (1.5 mm) not including corrosion allowance, and regardless
of vessel dimensions and material of construction.
 As a general guide the wall thickness of any vessel should not be less
than the following values ; the values include a corrosion allowance of
2 mm:

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Stress –strain relationship

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Types of stress

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Cont…

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Strain

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Volume Strain

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Induced Stresses

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Cont…

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Poisson’s Ratio

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Biaxial stress

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Tri-axial stress

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Example 2

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