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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.

A
:
D_{i}
:
D_{o} :
h
:
L
:
L_{f}
:
R
:
R_{c}
:
R_{k} :
t
:
V_{p} :
V_{t}
:
z
:
\varepsilon :

Wetted Area
Inside Diameter of Vessel
Outside Diameter of Vessel
Liquid level above vessel bottom
Length of vessel, tan-line to tan-line
Straight Flange
Inside Vessel Radius
Inside crown radius
Inside knuckle radius
Vessel Wall Thickness
Partially Filled Liquid Volume
Total Volume of head or vessel
Inside Dish Depth
Eccentricity of elliptical heads

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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.

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 are presented as follows.

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A = \pi h \frac{D_{i}}{2}
V_{p} = \frac{1}{3} \pi h^2 \left( 3R - h \right) V_{p} =
D_{i}^{3}\frac{\pi}{6} \left(3\left(\frac{h}{D_{i}}\right)^{2}2\left(\frac{h}{D_{i}}\right)^{3}\right)

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 the 2:1 semi-elliptical head are presented as follows.

For a 2:1 semi-ellipsoidal head is equal to 0.866, for other geometries the
formula below may be used to calculate .
\begin{equation} \begin{split} A_{w} &= \frac{\pi D_{i}^{2}}{8} \left(
\left(\frac{h}{D_{i}}-0.5 \right) B +1+\frac{1}{4 \varepsilon} ln \left( \frac{
4 \varepsilon \left( \frac{h}{D_{i}}-0.5 \right) + B}{2- \sqrt{3}} \right) \right)
\\ B &= \sqrt{1+12 \left( \frac{h}{D_{i}}-0.5 \right)^{2}} \\ \varepsilon &=
\sqrt{1-\frac{4z^{2}}{D_{i}^{2}}} \end{split} \end{equation}
The wetted area calculated using this method does not include the straight flange
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of the head. The length of the straight flange must be included in the calculation
of the wetted area of the cylindrical section.
V_{p} = D_{i}^{3}C\frac{\pi}{6} \left(3\left(\frac{h}{D_{i}}\right)^{2}2\left(\frac{h}{D_{i}}\right)^{3}\right)
Where,
for ASME 2:1 Elliptical heads:
C = 1/2
for DIN 28013 Semi ellipsoidal heads:
C = 0.49951+0.10462\frac{t}{D_{o}}+2.3227\left(\frac{t}{D_{o}}\right)^{2}
The volume calculated does no 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 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 a partially filled torispherical
head is presented as follows.

We can approximate the partially filled surface area of the torispherical head
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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.
\begin{equation} \begin{split} A_{w} &= \frac{\pi D_{i}^{2}}{8} \left(
\left(\frac{h}{D_{i}}-0.5 \right) B +1+\frac{1}{4 \varepsilon} ln \left( \frac{
4 \varepsilon \left( \frac{h}{D_{i}}-0.5 \right) + B}{2- \sqrt{3}} \right) \right)
\\ B &= \sqrt{1+12 \left( \frac{h}{D_{i}}-0.5 \right)^{2}} \\ \varepsilon &=
\sqrt{1-\frac{4z^{2}}{D_{i}^{2}}} \end{split} \end{equation}
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.
V_{p} = D_{i}^{3}C\frac{\pi}{6} \left(3\left(\frac{h}{D_{i}}\right)^{2}2\left(\frac{h}{D_{i}}\right)^{3}\right)
Where,
for ASME Torispherical heads:
C = 0.30939 + 1.7197 \frac{R_{k} - 0.06 D_{o}}{D_{i}} - 0.16116
\frac{t}{D_{o}} + 0.98997 \left( \frac{t}{D_{o}} \right)^{2}
for DIN 28011 Torispherical heads:
C = 0.37802 + 0.05073 \frac{t}{D_{o}} + 1.3762 \left( \frac{t}{D_{o}}
\right)^{2}
The volume calculated does no 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.
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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.
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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.
\begin{equation} \begin{split} A_{w} &= \frac{\pi D_{i}^{2}}{8} \left(
\left(\frac{h}{D_{i}}-0.5 \right) B +1+\frac{1}{4 \varepsilon} ln \left( \frac{
4 \varepsilon \left( \frac{h}{D_{i}}-0.5 \right) + B}{2- \sqrt{3}} \right) \right)
\\ B &= \sqrt{1+12 \left( \frac{h}{D_{i}}-0.5 \right)^{2}} \\ \varepsilon &=
\sqrt{1-\frac{4z^{2}}{D_{i}^{2}}} \end{split} \end{equation}
V_{t} = 1/2 \pi z^{2} \left( 3R_{c}-z \right) V_{p} = \frac{3V_{t}}{4}
\left(\frac{h}{R} \right)^{2} \left( 1-\frac{h}{3R} \right)
The partially filled volume equation is an approximation, but will give a
reasonable accuracy for vessel volume calculations.

Here we present formulae for calculated the wetted area and volume for an
arbitrary liquid level height in the cyclindrical section of a horizontal drum.

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A_{p} = 2 L R cos^{-1} \left( \frac{R-h}{R} \right) A_{p} = L D_{i} cos^{-1}

\left( 1- 2\frac{h}{D_{i}} \right)
V_{p} = L \left( R^{2} cos^{-1} \left( \frac{R-h}{R} \right) - (R-H) \sqrt{2Rhh^{2}} \right) V_{p} = L D_{i}^2 \left( \frac{1}{4} cos^{-1} \left( 12\frac{h}{D_{i}} \right) - \left( \frac{1}{2}- \frac{h}{D_{i}} \right) \sqrt{
\frac{h}{D_{i}} - \left( \frac{h}{D_{i}} \right)^{2}} \right)
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.

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

Bumped Cylindrical Dished Hemispherical Horizontal Drum Liquid Level

Partially Filled Torospherical Vessel Vessel Head Volume Wetted Area
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Article Created: March 1, 2013

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