Stresses in Thick Pressure Vessel Heads

The finite element method is used to study stresses in two types of spherical pressure vessel heads having very wide range of applications in industries. The first problem involves a nozzle to sphere intersection reinforced by a pad and subjected to radial thrust load. The second problem deals with a pressurized thick hemispherical drumhead with a circular manhole. These structures are modeled using eight-node axisymmetric solid of revolution finite elements. Numerical values of circumferential and meridional stresses from the present analysis show excellent agreement with experimental data from the literature.