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Pressure Vessel Sizing Calculator

Size pressure vessels per ASME Section VIII. Calculate shell and head wall thickness (UG-27), vessel volume, and weight estimate for hemispherical, ellipsoidal, or torispherical heads.

Inputs

Results

Required shell thickness (mm)

7.28

Required head thickness (mm)

7.27

Total volume (m³)2.88
Total volume (liters)2,880
Estimated empty weight (kg)636
Shell calc thickness (mm)4.28
Head calc thickness (mm)4.27
Total surface area (m²)11.13
Head Type Name2:1 Ellipsoidal
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter Design pressure (barg), Design temperature (°C), and Inner diameter (mm).
  2. Set Tan-to-tan length (mm), Allowable stress S (MPa), and Joint efficiency E.
  3. Adjust Corrosion allowance (mm), Head type (0=hemi, 1=ellip, 2=tori) as needed.
  4. Review Required shell thickness (mm) and Required head thickness (mm).
  5. Use Total volume (m³) and Total volume (liters) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Design pressure (barg)

Design pressure (barg)Required shell thickness (mm)Required head thickness (mm)
10047.9245.99
350184.72156.78
650418.07296.32
900713.9418.51

What each input means

Design pressure (barg)
Maximum allowable working pressure (gauge).
Design temperature (°C)
Used to select appropriate allowable stress (enter manually below).
Inner diameter (mm)
Inside diameter of the cylindrical shell.
Tan-to-tan length (mm)
Length of the cylindrical section (tangent to tangent).
Allowable stress S (MPa)
Per ASME II-D at design temperature. SA-516 Gr.70 ≈ 138 MPa at ≤343°C.
Joint efficiency E
Weld joint efficiency: 1.0 (full RT), 0.85 (spot RT), 0.7 (no RT).
Corrosion allowance (mm)
Added thickness for anticipated corrosion over vessel life.
Head type (0=hemi, 1=ellip, 2=tori)
0 = Hemispherical, 1 = 2:1 Ellipsoidal, 2 = Torispherical (F&D).

What each result means

Required shell thickness (mm)
Minimum shell thickness including corrosion allowance.
Required head thickness (mm)
Minimum head thickness including corrosion allowance.
Total volume (m³)
Internal volume of cylinder plus two heads.
Total volume (liters)
Internal volume in liters.
Estimated empty weight (kg)
Rough weight based on surface area and wall thickness.
Shell calc thickness (mm)
Calculated thickness before corrosion allowance.
Head calc thickness (mm)
Calculated head thickness before corrosion allowance.
Total surface area (m²)
Approximate outer surface area for insulation/painting estimates.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Design pressure (barg) = 10, Design temperature (°C) = 200, Inner diameter (mm) = 1000, Tan-to-tan length (mm) = 3000 = 8 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Required shell thickness
    Required shell thickness = tShellCalc + corrosionAllowanceMm
    7.28 = 7.28
  3. Calculate Required head thickness
    Required head thickness = tHeadCalc + corrosionAllowanceMm
    7.27 = 7.27
  4. Calculate Total volume
    Total volume = vCylinder + vHeads
    2.8798 = 2.8798
  5. Calculate Total volume
    Total volume = totalVolume * 1000
    2880 = 2880

Engine last updated . Checked against 3 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators.

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