Effect of Number of Stiffening Rings, Their Position and Cross Section on Stress Concentration Near Saddle Support in Horizontal Pressure Vessels

Stiffening rings are very commonly used in horizontal pressure vessels where external pressure is applied to give protection against circumferential buckling but, also in the case of thin and long vessels, where internal pressure is applied, use of stiffening rings become very crucial to avoid stress concentrations at certain parts of the vessel and also give extra stiffness to the shell so that it can resist the load of the bending due to the dead weight and the fluid load. In this study, we performed FE analysis on different configurations of stiffening rings by varying the cross-sectional shapes, number and locations of stiffening rings and studied how the different configurations affect the maximum stress concentration in the pressure vessel. This study is important because knowing the right configuration of stiffening rings will lead to a more optimized way of using stiffening rings leading to savings in material cost.