SM-203 |Thin Walled Cylinder Apparatus

Pipes, pressure vessels, steam boilers etc. are considered as thin-walled vessels during design. The principal stresses are key variables in calculating and designing these vessels. The stresses and strains occurring in a vessel are not directly measured but are determined by measuring the strains on the surface using strain gauges.  This apparatus experimental unit is used to investigate stresses and strains in a thin-walled vessel subjected to internal pressure. A hand wheel with a threaded spindle is used to move the piston. Two load cases are presented: biaxial stress state of a closed vessel such as a boiler tank and uniaxial stress state of an open vessel such as a pipe. Internal pressure is generated inside the vessel by a hydraulic pump. A manometer indicates the internal pressure. Strain gauges are attached to the surface of the vessel to record the strains. Mohr’s stress circle is used to graphically represent the conversion of the strain and to determine the principal strains. The principal stresses are calculated from the principal strains by applying the law of elasticity.