Design of a prismatic pressure vessel: An engineering solution for non-stiffened-type vessels

This paper proposes design principles of a new concept prismatic pressure vessel that is primarily constructed of plane surfaces. These principles were compared with those of conventional pressure vessel which is primarily constructed of revolutionary surfaces. Considering structural characteristics of prismatic pressure vessel, membrane force and bending moment were calculated individually. Formulas including maximum bending moment and membrane force effects were illustrated by applying Levy's method and superposition method. For total stress at the plate of the pressure vessel, membrane force effects obtained from the shear loads of adjacent plates were included to enable to get more accurate solutions. The proposed simplified formulas for prismatic pressure vessel were suggested so that they can be applied for all dimensions and thicknesses. Case studies were conducted to verify the formulas by comparing with FEM results. By providing an overview of the stress relations of a non-stiffened type prismatic pressure vessel, the design principle of a prismatic pressure vessel shows distinctive concept to the conventional cylindrical pressure vessel. The membrane force effect studied in this research will be useful in the design of larger pressure vessels that require stiffeners.