PROJECT REPORT

A STUDY OF DESIGN OF FIBERGLASS PRESSURE VESSEL (WATERCO

MICRON FILTER TANK, MODEL W500) INSTALLED OUTSIDE OF THE

CANTEEN OF NILAI UNIVERSITY

Supervised by:
Prof Dr. Zainul Huda

THIVAGAR RAJASEKARAN
10664
Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering

1. Project Objectives
The project was conducted to:

Determine whether the water filter tank is a thin walled cylinder or a thick walled
cylinder
Compute the longitudinal stress for the working pressure.
Compute the hoop stress for the working pressure.
Compute the longitudinal stress for the maximum working pressure.
Compute the hoop stress for the maximum working pressure as this will determine
the design stress of the water filter tank.
Asses the factor of safety in the design of the water filter tank.

2. Introduction
A pressure vessel is a closed container designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure
substantially different from the ambient pressure. The vessel is considered to be a thin
walled pressure vessel only if the internal radius, r of the vessel is larger than 5 times the
thickness of it wall, t. [3]

The principal stresses in a pressure vessel are hoop stress,

stress, subjected to uniform gas or fluid pressure, p.

To determine the longitudinal stress,

we consider a cylinder that has been cut across.

Figure 1: cross section of cylinder

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and the longitudinal

As we can see her, the stress from the wall must have a resultant to balance out the
fluid pressure across the cross section. [3] Applying newtons 3rd law of motion,

(1.1)

Where

To determine the hoop stress,

construct a small slice. [3]

we make a cut along the longitudinal axis and

Figure 2: cross section of cylinder (longitudinal)

Applying newtons 3rd law;

(1.2)

Where

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Factor of safety (F.o.S) is used to provide a design margin over the theoretical design
capacity to allow for uncertainty in the design and manufacturing process. FoS is the ratio of
the minimum load that would cause failure to the actual peak load. [4] The FoS can be
deduced as:

(1.3)

Where,
As for our project for our course EE3382 we have selected the WATERCO Micron filter tank,
model W500 that has been installed outside the canteen area of Nilai University.

Figure 3: Micron Water Filter Tank

Figure 4: The Maximum Working Pressure

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3. Experimental work
1. The thickness of the water filter tank was found out to be 40mm as per stated by the
company when they were contacted.
2. The water tank was determined to be made from fiberglass material.
3. The working pressure was found out to be 4.8kgf/cm 2 from the pressure gauge that
was connected to the inlet of the water tank.
4. The maximum working pressure allowed was stated as 700kPa on the surface of the
water tank.
5. The circumference of the water filter tank was measured using a string and
measuring tape. The external radius of the water tank was found out by using the
circumference formula,
.
6. The internal radius was found out by subtracting the thickness of the wall from the
external radius of the water tank.
7. The vessel was determined to be a thin walled pressure vessel as the radius is larger
than 5 times the thickness of the wall.
8. The longitudinal stress and the hoop stress for the working pressure of 4.8kgf/cm2
was calculated using the formula 1.1 and 1.2.
9. The longitudinal stress and the hoop stress for the maximum working pressure of
700 kPa was calculated using the formula 1.1 and 1.2.
10. The safety factor for structural materials for fiberglass was found out to be 4 from
reliable sources from the internet. Hence, the strength of the water filter tank was
determined using the formula 1.3.

5(a)
Figure 5(a&b): Measuring the circumference

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5(b)

4. Results and Calculations

4.1. Results

Figure 3: The working pressure of micron water filter tank

4.1. Calculations

To find the internal radius,

To determine whether the water filter tank chosen is a thin walled pressure vessel:

Converting

of the pressure vessel:

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Calculating working stresses:

Calculating Maximum Stresses:

Calculating Allowable Stress:

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5. Discussion
In the beginning of the experiments it was essential for us to gather all the information from
the manufacturer such as the thickness of the wall. The other essential information such as the
internal radius was gathered by practical work in the field. This two information was deemed to be
the most important before the start of the experiment as these will be used to determine whether
the pressure vessel chosen is a thin walled or thick walled pressure vessel. This is because the
formulas used in calculation for both of the different type of pressure vessel have a vast difference.
Hence, when calculated the radius was indeed larger than 5 times of the thickness proving that the
micron water filter tank is a thin walled pressure vessel.
The working pressure taken from the pressure gauge attached to the water filter tank was
used to calculate the hoop stress and the longitudinal stress caused by the working pressure of
water. The hoop stress for the working pressure of water was calculated to be 2.53MPa and the
longitudinal stress for working pressure was calculated to be 1.27MPa.
The maximum working pressure was stated on the surface of the water tank with a
magnitude of 700kPa. This maximum working pressure was used to calculate the maximum
longitudinal stress and the maximum hoop stress which is the design stress. The maximum
longitudinal stress was calculated to be 1.88 and the design stress which is the maximum hoop stress
was calculated to be 3.76MPa.
One of the initial objective of the experiment was too asses the F.o.S of the micron water
filter. This was most difficult as we failed to get the allowable hoop stress for the micron water filter
from the manufacturer but reliable sources from the internet confirmed that the F.o.S for fiberglass
materials must be equal or more than 4 to be approved for manufacturing by the Health and Safety
authority. Hence, we used the safety factor to calculate the allowable hoop stress of the micron
water filter tank which is 15.04MPa.
This experiment is considered so far the real hands on experience on what we will be facing
in our working life if we ever become a design engineer or a safety engineer. We also learned that it
is utmost important to follow the safety factor standard to avoid catastrophical errors which might
cause loss of lives.

6. Conclusion
The micron water filter tank is a thin walled pressure vessel that has a design stress of
3.76MPa and allowable stress of 15.04MPa which gives a safety factor of 4. It is safe to conclude that
the water filter tank is safely designed

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7. References
1. Thin-Walled Pressure Vessels. 2014. Thin-Walled Pressure Vessels. [ONLINE] Available
at:http://www.efunda.com/formulae/solid_mechanics/mat_mechanics/pressure_vessel.cfm
. [Accessed 24 July 2014].
2. Factor of Safety FOS Review - Engineers Edge. 2014. Factor of Safety FOS Review - Engineers
Edge. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.engineersedge.com/analysis/factor-of-safetyreview.htm. [Accessed 24 July 2014].
3. Prof Dr Zainul Huda (2014). 'Designing Thin Walled Pressure Vessel', lecture notes
distributed in the topic EE 3382 Machine Design. Nilai University, Nilai, Malaysia on 26 Jun
2014.
4. Prof Dr Zainul Huda (2014). 'Materials Strength and Safety Design, lecture notes distributed
in the topic EE 3382 Machine Design. Nilai University, Nilai, Malaysia on 12 Jun 2014.
5. Safety Engineering Resources Literature - Forensic Clues - Fiberglass Failure. 2014. Safety
Engineering Resources Literature - Forensic Clues - Fiberglass Failure. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.mase.pro/2009FC13.htm. [Accessed 24 July 2014].

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