REVIEW ON STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF A PRESSURE VESSEL VIA ANSYS-BASED STRESS ANALYSIS

Abstract

The pressure vessel is a crucial component in many industrial plants, requiring thorough stress analysis to ensure safety and reliability. These vessels face primary stresses from internal pressure and secondary stresses due to thermal loading, especially in those containing hot fluids. For example, liquid metal reactors (LMRs) undergo complex thermo-mechanical loadings. Traditional analytical methods, such as those prescribed by ASME codes, are typically used to calculate these induced stresses. However, in this project, a coupled field study using ANSYS software is conducted to gain a more comprehensive understanding of thermo-mechanical stresses. Comparing the results from ANSYS with conventional analytical techniques highlights the usefulness of commercial finite element analysis (FEA) tools in designing pressure vessels. Although FEA is not yet widely adopted in the industry for such analyses, this project demonstrates its potential advantages, particularly in managing coupled field analysis involving both thermal and mechanical Load.