While plotting out the construction of fuel tank, a slight issue arose regarding the load the flat end plates would see during tests. Having overlooked this initially, some quick calculations were done to find out exactly how much force would be put on those plates during normal operation and during hydrostatic testing.
To find the force on a specific area, specifically the circular face of the end plates, an area calculation would need to done. For this tank, the internal exposed diameter is exactly 5". So The area formula would be: A=pi(r)^2 . Plugging in for r (radius) gets pi(2.5)^2 which is equal to 19.635in^2. Now with the total exposed area, the force over that area can be found by plugging in maximum pressure the tank will see. For the hydrostatic test, a pressure of 1.5x the working pressure is used to insure safe operation of the tank. For this tank, the maximum operational pressure will be 400 PSI, therefore, the hydrostatic testing pressure will be 600 PSI. 19.635in^2(600 lbs/in^2) = 11780.97 LBS. This is going to be a lot of force applied to the flat surfaces and will most likely cause deformation of the aluminum plates.
To counteract dangerous deformation, two 1/2" aluminum rods will be welded in between the two plates spanning the full length of the tank on the interior. Similar to how stays work in steam boilers, these aluminum "stays" will provide exactly the same function, prevent unnecessary stressing and deformation of the plates and increase the operational life of the tank.
Some more load and force calculations will be done to completely rule out failure of the tank at the operational parameters this project aims to obtain.
To find the force on a specific area, specifically the circular face of the end plates, an area calculation would need to done. For this tank, the internal exposed diameter is exactly 5". So The area formula would be: A=pi(r)^2 . Plugging in for r (radius) gets pi(2.5)^2 which is equal to 19.635in^2. Now with the total exposed area, the force over that area can be found by plugging in maximum pressure the tank will see. For the hydrostatic test, a pressure of 1.5x the working pressure is used to insure safe operation of the tank. For this tank, the maximum operational pressure will be 400 PSI, therefore, the hydrostatic testing pressure will be 600 PSI. 19.635in^2(600 lbs/in^2) = 11780.97 LBS. This is going to be a lot of force applied to the flat surfaces and will most likely cause deformation of the aluminum plates.
To counteract dangerous deformation, two 1/2" aluminum rods will be welded in between the two plates spanning the full length of the tank on the interior. Similar to how stays work in steam boilers, these aluminum "stays" will provide exactly the same function, prevent unnecessary stressing and deformation of the plates and increase the operational life of the tank.
Some more load and force calculations will be done to completely rule out failure of the tank at the operational parameters this project aims to obtain.
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