18-Pressure Vessel Design and Fabrication Flyer

Pressure Vessel Design and Fabrication

Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) designs, analyzes, and fabricates pressure vessels subjected to both internal and external pressure loadings. Examples of these types of chambers include:

Hyperbaric chambers

Deck decompression chambers

Casing collapse chambers

Submersible hulls

Scale models of submarine hulls

Undersea communications and equipment chambers

Large diameter subsea simulation chambers

Pressure vessels for specialized research programs

Quarter-scale model of 50,000-psig test chamber with sapphire viewports

Capabilities

Design and analysis of pressure vessels using:

ASME B&PV Code, Section VIII, Division 1
ASME B&PV Code, Section VIII, Division 2
ASME B&PV Code, Section VIII, Division 3
ASME Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy
American Bureau of Shipping Rules
U.S. Navy Design Rules

50-in ID, 24-ft long, 6,500-psi deep ocean test chamber at SwRI

Design of structures and load frames using AISC “Specification for the Design, Fabrication, and Erection of Structural Steel for Buildings”

Fabrication

ASME B&PV Code, Section VIII, Division 1
ASME B&PV Code, Section VIII, Division 2
ASME B&PV Code, Section VIII, Division 3
ASME Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy
American Bureau of Shipping Rules
U.S. Navy Fabrication Procedures

	SwRI designed, built and tested pressure hulls for U.S. Navy next-generation submarine rescue system

Experience

Examples of pressure vessels designed and fabricated:

Hull for U.S. Navy next-generation submarine rescue system
Quarter-scale model of U.S. Navy Seawolf Class attack submarine
Casing collapse chambers with internal pressure ratings of 30,000 psig, 16-inch inside diameter, and 120-inch inside working length
Research vessel with sapphire viewports with pressure rating of 50,000 psig
Hyperbaric chambers
6,500 msw research submarine (design and fabrication in progress)

SwRI built the Kokanee submarine, the largest unmanned sub in the world (roughly 100 feet long and 10 feet in diameter), to simulate the acoustic and hydrodynamic characteristics of the Seawolf Class attack submarine. All structures, foundations, and control planes were designed and fabricated at SwRI.


Undersea Electronics Equipment Chamber

This flyer was published in May 2007. For more information about Pressure Vessel Design and Fabrication, contact Joseph E. Crouch, Program Manager, Phone (210) 522-4295, Fax (210) 522-3042, Mechanical and Materials Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510.