Pressure Vessel Sizing Page 1 of 6

Pressure Vessel Sizing

To access pressure vessel sizing, select Sizing > Vessel on the main CHEMCAD menu, then click on either
LV Vessel or LLV Vessel and select the relevant UnitOp.This brings up the Vessel Sizing dialog box.
CHEMCAD will calculate the dimensions, thicknesses, and weights of vertical and horizontal pressure
vessels. Only FLAS, TOWR, TPLS, and SCDS units can be sized using this procedure.
The calculation is necessarily in two parts:
1. The calculation of the vessel dimensions
2. The calculation of the vessel wall thickness and weights
The calculation procedure for the dimensions is different for vertical and horizontal vessels. The mechanical
(thickness) calculations are the same.

Vessel Sizing Dialog Box

The entries on this screen apply to both horizontal and vertical vessels. Most of these fields are used in the
thickness calculations. Only the vessel type and the Kv factor have relevance to the process (sizing)
calculations. After this screen is complete, further data entry screens specific to the vessel type will appear.
Vessel type
Identify the orientation of the unit. As mentioned above, the sizing procedure for horizontal and vertical
vessels is different.
Kv factor
The Kv factor is used to determine the maximum allowable vapor velocity. If the user does not input this
value, CHEMCAD will compute it using the relation given below in the design procedure.
For horizontal vessels, CHEMCAD uses a Kv value 1.25 times that computed for vertical vessels.

General design parameters

Design pressure
The design pressure is the basis for the wall and head thickness calculations. The default setting is the feed
pressure.
Allowable stress
The allowable stress is a function of the material of construction of the vessel and the operating
temperature. This value is used in the wall and head thickness calculations.
The CHEMCAD default assumes the vessel is constructed of carbon steel. Therefore, the default allowable
stress is 15150 psia, which is the ASME code allowable for carbon steel.
Enter your own case-specific value.
Shell joint eff./Head joint eff.
All joint efficiencies are assessed to be 1.0 unless otherwise input. The joint efficiency affects the thickness
and therefore the weight also.
Corrosion allow
The corrosion allowance is added to the calculated wall and head thicknesses. The program rounds up to
the nearest commercially available thickness. The default value is 0.125.
Wt. percent allow
This percentage is added to the computed weight to account for the weight of nozzles, skirts, etc. The
default value is 20%.
Head type
Three head types are available: hemispherical, ellipsoidal, and torispherical. The thickness calculations are
different for each head type.
Vessel density
Vessel density is a function of the material of construction and affects the weight of the vessel. The default
3
value is the density of carbon steel: 489.024 lb/ft .
Straight flange
The straight flange is the vessel body flange, which frequently holds vessel heads onto the body. The entry
in this field is the thickness of the flange. Two times this thickness is then added to the overall vessel length.
Min. diameter

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The default value is 0.3333 ft.

Horizontal Vessel Sizing

When you complete the Vessel Sizing dialog box and click OK, the Horizontal Vessel Sizing dialog box will
appear if you have specified a horizontal vessel.
Kv multiplier
The Kv factor is used to determine the maximum allowable vapor velocity. The K v factor can be entered on
the Vessel Sizing dialog box or computed by CHEMCAD using the relation described in the design
procedure below. For horizontal vessels, the Kv is normally higher under similar operating condition than for
vertical vessels. Therefore, the computed Kv is multiplied by the Kv multiplier. The default multiplier is 1.25.
Higher multipliers produce higher maximum allowable vapor velocities and consequently smaller vessels.
L/D (length to diameter ratio)
When sizing horizontal vessels, CHEMCAD first calculates the required cross-sectional area of the vessel
and calculates the length of the unit by multiplying by the L/D ratio. The program uses a default value of 3
because this generally results in the greatest economy. However, you should verify that this produces
reasonable residence times.
The minimum residence time (below) overrides the L/D ratio.
Minimum retention time
Once the vessel has been sized using the L/D ratio (above), CHEMCAD will check to see if the resulting
residence time is greater than the minimum residence time input in this field. If it is not, the length of the
vessel will be recomputed to meet the residence time requirement. The default value is 5 minutes.
Vapor area/Cross sec. area
CHEMCAD uses Kv to calculate the maximum vapor velocity. The velocity is used to calculate the vapor
space required. This vapor space is then divided by the ratio of vapor area/cross-sectional area to get the
total required cross-sectional area. The default ratio is 0.20.

Vertical Vessel Sizing

When you complete the Vessel Sizing dialog box and click OK, the Vertical Vessel Sizing dialog box will
appear if you have specified a vertical vessel.
Minimum disengaging height
This is the area above the feed nozzle. For this area, it is normally recommended that 36 inches, plus on
half the feed nozzle (48 inches minimum) be allowed. The default setting is 48 inches.
Minimum inlet nozzle to HLL
This is the space below the feed nozzle to the highest liquid level. This should be at least 12 inches, plus
one half the feed nozzle OD, or a minimum of 18 inches. The default setting is 18 inches.
Mist eliminator
Enter the depth of the mist eliminator, if any. This value is added to the length of the vessel. The default
setting is 6 inches.
Specify HLL/NLL or retention time/surge time
You can specify either the high liquid level and the normal liquid level (height from the bottom of the vessel)
or the retention time and surge time, but not both. These entries will be used to determine the liquid space.
By default, CHEMCAD sets a retention time of five minutes and a surge time of one minute.

Pressure Vessel Design Procedure

Sizing of Vertical Vessels
Vertical vapor-liquid separators are used primarily to disengage a liquid from a vapor when the volume of
liquid is small compared with the vapor volume. To reduce liquid entrainment, the maximum allowable vapor
velocity in a vertical vessel is a function of liquid and vapor density and the parameter Kv. The parameter Kv
is itself a polynomial function of vapor and liquid density and vapor and liquid flow rates. This polynomial
function was developed by Watkins (see References, below) and is valid for a range of separation factors
(defined below) of 0.006 to 5.0. You can override the computed value of Kv. The definitions of Kv and the
separation factor (Sfac) are given below:

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WL = liquid flow, lb/hr B = -1.877478097

Wv = vapor flow, bl/hr D = -0.8145804597
ρv = vapor density, lb/ft3 E = -0.1870744085
ρ = liquid density, lb/ft3 F = -0.0145228667
L
X = In (Sfac) G = -0.0010148518

From these, the maximum vapor velocity is computed as follows:

The required vapor space (area) is determined as follows:

where:
Qv = vapor volumetric flow, f3/sec
Av = vapor space as a cross-sectional area, K ft2

The vessel diameter, D, is then:

The next larger commercially available size is chosen and the area is recomputed:

The vapor space height is set to the sum of the values:

Vapor height = MDH + NOZHLL + MIST
where:
MDH = minimum disengaging height
NOZHLL = minimum inlet nozzle to highest liquid level
MIST = mist eliminator height

The liquid height is set either by user input or by computing the level required for retention time:

where:
QL = liquid volumetric flowrate, ft3/min
WL = liquid flow, lb/hr

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ρL = liquid density, lb/hr

LL = liquid level
A = cross-sectional area, ft2
Sizing of Horizontal Vessels
Horizontal vessels are used for vapor-liquid separation, where the liquid holdup space must be large.
Maximum vapor velocity and minimum vapor space are determined as follows:

where:
KH = K for horizontal vessels
KVM = Kv multiplier (input by user but normally 1.25)
Kv = K for vertical vessels (see above section)
Vmax = maximum vapor velocity, ft/sec
ρL = liquid density, lb/ft3
ρv = vapor density, lb/ft3
Wv = vapor flow, 1b/hr

The total cross-sectional area is computed as follows:

where:
AT = total cross-sectional area
Rvc = ratio of vapor area to cross-sectional area (default = 0.2)
D = diameter

The length is computed as follows:

where:
L = length
L/D = ratio input by user
The residence time is checked as follows:

where:
T = residence time, min
AL = cross-sectional area of vessel occupied by liquid, ft2
If the computed T is less than the minimum retention time (MRT) that you have entered, then length is
increased until T > MRT.
Preliminary Mechanical Design Vessels
The mechanical portion of CHEMCAD's vessel sizing function will estimate shell thickness and shell weight

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and head thickness and head weight for cylindrical pressure vessels. Head thickness and weight are
calculated for hemispherical, ellipsoidal, and torispherical heads. Total vessel weight is calculated (shell and
heads) exclusive of nozzles, attachments, and vessel internals. Weight for these items is added in using the
weight percent allowance input by the user.
Thicknesses are calculated as follows:

where:
TK S = shell thickness, in
TK HH = hemispherical head thickness, in
TK ELL = ellipsoidal head thickness, in
TK TOR = torispherical head thickness, in
P = internal design pressure, psia
R = inside radius, in
2
S = allowable stress, lb/in
E = joint efficiency
C = corrosion allowance, in
D = inside diameter of shell or head, in
RC = crown radius of torispherical head, in

Weights are then calculated as shown:

where:
SF = straight flange length, in
BD = head blank diameter, in
WT H = weight of head, lb
WT S = weight of vessel shell, lb
LN = shell length, ft
ρs = density of vessel material, lb/ft3
OD = outside diameter of head, in
H FAC = head blank diameter factor (see following table)
WPA = weight percent allowance

H FAC Table

Head Type OD/TK H FAC

Torispherical >50 1.09

30-50 1.11

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20-30 1.15

Ellipsoidal >20 1.24

10-20 1.30

Hemispherical >30 1.60

18-30 1.65

10-18 1.70

References
Watkins, RN, "Sizing Separators and Accumulators," Hydrocarbon Processing, pp. 253-256, November
1967.

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