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VOLUME AND WETTED AREA OF PARTIALLY FILLED

HORIZONTAL VESSELS

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VOLUME AND WETTED AREA OF PARTIALLY FILLED

HORIZONTAL VESSELS

SUMMARY
The calculation of a horizontal vessels wetted area and volume is required for engineering
tasks such fire studies and the determination of level alarms and control set points.
However the calculation of these parameters is complicated by the geometry of the vessel,
particularly the heads. This article details formulae for calculating the wetted area and
volume of these vessels for various types of curved ends including: hemispherical,
torispherical, semi-ellipsoidal and bumped ends.

DEFINITIONS
AA : Wetted Area
DiDi : Inside Diameter of Vessel
DoDo : Outside Diameter of Vessel
hh : Liquid level above vessel bottom
LL : Length of vessel, tan-line to tan-line
LfLf : Straight Flange
RR : Inside Vessel Radius
RcRc : Inside crown radius
RkRk : Inside knuckle radius
tt : Vessel Wall Thickness
VpVp : Partially Filled Liquid Volume
VtVt : Total Volume of head or vessel
zz : Inside Dish Depth
εε : Eccentricity of elliptical heads

INTRODUCTION
The calculation of the liquid volume or wetted area of a partially filled horizontal vessel is
best performed in parts, by calculating the value for the cylindrical section of the vessel
and the heads of the vessel and then adding the areas or volumes together. Below we
present the wetted area and partially filled volume for each type of head and the cylindrical
section.
The partially filled volume is primarily used for the calculation of tank filling times and
the setting of control set points, alarm levels and system trip points.
The wetted area is the area of contact between the liquid and the wall of the tank. This is
primary used in fire studies of process and storage vessels to determine the emergency
venting capacity required to protect the vessel.
The volume and wetted area of partially filled vertical vessels is covered separately.

HEMISPHERICAL HEADS - HORIZONTAL VESSEL

Hemispherical heads have a depth which is half their diameter. They have the highest
design pressures out of all the head types and as such are typically the most expensive head
type. The formula for calculating the wetted area and volume of one head are presented as
follows.
Wetted Area
A=πhDi2A=πhDi2

Volume
Vp=16πh2(3R−h)Vp=16πh2(3R−h)
Vp=D3iπ12(3(hDi)2−2(hDi)3)Vp=Di3π12(3(hDi)2−2(hDi)3)

SEMI-ELLIPSOIDAL OR ELLIPTICAL HEADS - HORIZONTAL

VESSEL
The semi-ellipsoidal heads are shallower than the hemispherical heads and deeper than the
torispherical heads and therefore have design pressures and expense lying between these
two designs.
The most common variant of semi-ellipsoidal head is the 2:1 elliptical head which has a
depth equal to 1/4 of the vessel diameter. The formula for calculating the wetted area and
volume for one 2:1 semi-elliptical head are presented as follows.
Wetted Area
For a 2:1 semi-ellipsoidal head ε is equal to 0.866, for other geometries the formula below
may be used to calculate ε.

AwBε=πD2i8⎛⎝⎜(hDi−0.5)B+1+14εln⎛⎝⎜4ε(hDi−0.5)+B2−3–
√⎞⎠⎟⎞⎠⎟=1+12(hDi−0.5)2−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−√=1−4z2D2i−−−−−−−√Aw=π
Di28((hDi−0.5)B+1+14εln(4ε(hDi−0.5)+B2−3))B=1+12(hDi−0.5)2ε=1−4z2Di2
The wetted area calculated using this method does not include the straight flange of the
head. The length of the straight flange must be included in the calculation of the wetted
area of the cylindrical section.

Volume
Vp=D3iCπ12(3(hDi)2−2(hDi)3)Vp=Di3Cπ12(3(hDi)2−2(hDi)3)
Where,
for ASME 2:1 Elliptical heads:
C=1/2C=1/2
for DIN 28013 Semi ellipsoidal heads:
C=0.49951+0.10462tDo+2.3227(tDo)2C=0.49951+0.10462tDo+2.3227(tDo)2
The volume calculated does not include the straight flange of the head, only the curved
section. The straight flange length must be included in the calculation of the volume of the
cylindrical section.

TORISPHERICAL HEADS - HORIZONTAL VESSEL

Torispherical heads are the most economical and therefore is the most common head type
used for process vessels. Torispherical heads are shallower and typically have lower design
pressures than semi-elliptical heads. The formula for the calculation of the wetted area and
volume of one partially filled torispherical head is presented as follows.

Wetted Area
We can approximate the partially filled surface area of the torispherical head using the
formula for elliptical heads. This approximation will over estimate the surface area because
a torispherical head is flatter than a ellipsoidal head. This assumption is conservative for
pool fire relieving calculations.

AwBε=πD2i8⎛⎝⎜(hDi−0.5)B+1+14εln⎛⎝⎜4ε(hDi−0.5)+B2−3–
√⎞⎠⎟⎞⎠⎟=1+12(hDi−0.5)2−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−√=1−4z2D2i−−−−−−−√Aw=π
Di28((hDi−0.5)B+1+14εln(4ε(hDi−0.5)+B2−3))B=1+12(hDi−0.5)2ε=1−4z2Di2
The wetted area calculated using this method does not include the straight flange of the
head. The length of the straight flange must be included in the calculation of the wetted
area of the cylindrical section.

Volume
Vp=D3iCπ12(3(hDi)2−2(hDi)3)Vp=Di3Cπ12(3(hDi)2−2(hDi)3)
Where,
for ASME Torispherical heads:
C=0.30939+1.7197Rk−0.06DoDi−0.16116tDo+0.98997(tDo)2C=0.30939+1.7197Rk−0.
06DoDi−0.16116tDo+0.98997(tDo)2
for DIN 28011 Torispherical heads:
C=0.37802+0.05073tDo+1.3762(tDo)2C=0.37802+0.05073tDo+1.3762(tDo)2
The volume calculated does not include the straight flange of the head, only the curved
section. The straight flange length must be included in the calculation of the volume of the
cylindrical section.
top

BUMPED HEADS - HORIZONTAL VESSEL

Bumped heads have the lowest cost but also the lowest design pressures, unlike
torispherical or ellipsoidal heads they have no knuckle. They are typically used in
atmospheric tanks, such as horizontal liquid fuel storage tanks or road tankers.
Here we present formulae for calculated the wetted area and volume for an arbitrary liquid
level height in a single Bumped head.
Wetted Area
We can approximate the partially filled surface area of the bumped head using the formula
for elliptical heads. This approximation will over estimate the surface area, which is
conservative for pool fire relieving calculations.

AwBε=πD2i8⎛⎝⎜(hDi−0.5)B+1+14εln⎛⎝⎜4ε(hDi−0.5)+B2−3–
√⎞⎠⎟⎞⎠⎟=1+12(hDi−0.5)2−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−√=1−4z2D2i−−−−−−−√Aw=π
Di28((hDi−0.5)B+1+14εln(4ε(hDi−0.5)+B2−3))B=1+12(hDi−0.5)2ε=1−4z2Di2

Volume
Vt=13πz2(3Rc−z)Vt=13πz2(3Rc−z)
Vp=3Vt4(hR)2(1−h3R)Vp=3Vt4(hR)2(1−h3R)
The partially filled volume equation is an approximation, but will give a reasonable
accuracy for vessel volume calculations.

CYLINDRICAL SECTION - HORIZONTAL VESSEL

Here we present formulae for calculated the wetted area and volume for an arbitrary liquid
level height in the cylindrical section of a horizontal drum.
Wetted Area
Ap=2LRcos−1(R−hR)Ap=2LRcos−1(R−hR)
Ap=LDicos−1(1−2hDi)Ap=LDicos−1(1−2hDi)

Volume
Vp=L(R2cos−1(R−hR)−(R−H)2Rh−h2−−−−−−−−√)Vp=L(R2cos−1(R−hR)−(R−H)2Rh−
h2)
Vp=LD2i(14cos−1(1−2hDi)−(12−hDi)hDi−(hDi)2−−−−−−−−−−−√)Vp=LDi2(14cos−1(1
−2hDi)−(12−hDi)hDi−(hDi)2)
Where the vessel has torispherical or ellipsoidal heads the straight flange length of the head
should be included in the cylindrical section length when calculating the volume or surface
area.

REFERENCES
1. B Wiencke, 2009, Computing the partial volume of pressure vessels
2. R Doane, 2007, Accurate Wetted Areas for Partially Filled Vessels
3. E Ludwing, 1997, Applied Process Design for Chemical and Petrochemical Plants
(Volume 2)
4. E Weisstein, 2013, Cylindrical Segment. From MathWorld
Article Created: March 1, 2013
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ARTICLE TAGS
Bumped

Cylindrical

Dished

Hemispherical

Horizontal Drum

Liquid Level

Partially Filled

Torospherical

Vessel

Vessel Head

Volume

Wetted Area

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