Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Thesis - Restricted
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Mechanical Engineering
First Advisor
Widera, G. E. O.
Second Advisor
Nigro, Nicholas J.
Third Advisor
Foley, Christopher M.
Abstract
Cylindrical shell intersections are commonplace in many industries, including nuclear and fossil power, petrochemical, chemical processing, and aerospace to name a few. It is well known that under loading conditions, due to the sudden change in geometry at the intersection, stress concentrations will occur at the intersection. As a result, the intersection of cylindrical shells becomes the weakest link in the associated structure, and the limiting factor in the design of these structures. Over the last thirty years, much effort has been spent trying to standardize on a method to determine the stresses at shell intersections. This effort has had mixed success due to the difficult geometry of the intersection, coupled with the variety of loading that must be carried through this intersection. Reasonable guidelines have been established for cases up to and including intersections where the main cylinder is twice the diameter of the intersecting cylinder. For cases where the intersecting cylinder diameter is half of the main cylinder, up to the case where the intersecting cylinder is the same size as the main cylinder, a standardized method of determining the stresses at the intersection has not been agreed upon. The emphasis of this study is to concentrate on the stresses at the intersection of cylindrical shells where the cylinders are subjected to internal pressure and an axial load on the intersecting cylinder. The internal pressure and axial load cases are considered independently and simultaneously, where the d/D ratio of the intersecting cylinders ranges from 0.333 to 1.0. By using this range of diameter ratios, correlation with established procedures and available test data will provide a level of confidence for the larger body of models for which a standardized method or test data is not available. In addition, work is undertaken to compare linear elastic analysis methods with non-linear elastic-plastic analysis methods, taking into effect non-linear material properties and large deformations. This work contributes more data to support a standardized method of determining the stresses at the intersection of cylindrical shells.
Recommended Citation
Kiesling, Douglas A., "Parametric Finite Element Analysis of Large Diameter Shell Intersections Subjected to Internal Pressure and Axial Loads" (2003). Master's Theses (1922-2009) Access restricted to Marquette Campus. 4940.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/theses/4940