Engineering Technology For Vessel Fabrication
Pressure vessels are not like the other commonly used industrial vessels. This is because, as the name suggest, pressure vessels hold pressurized substances. Thus, these vessels need to have higher mechanical and tensile strength than the normal material holding vessels. If anything, whether gas or liquid is compressed, then it will 'try' to force its way out through any weakened areas. Thus, it is only a properly designed vessel that can hold pressurized gases or liquids. In the past, before the advancement of current technology standards, there were many factory accidents caused by bursting pressure vessels. However, engineering technology has helped improve the safety and reliability of safety vessels.
One of the well-known technological advancements in the design and contribution of pressure vessels is stainless fabrication. Engineers use stainless steel for the manufacture of pressure vessels. Steel is highly versatile, and there are various techniques of fabricating it. Steel is very highly malleable and can thus be spun, deep drawn, welded, machined, folded or bent and steel has high rates of work hardening and strength. There are three major types of engineering technology used in stainless fabrication namely welding, machining and work hardening.
Work hardening
Work hardening can be described as the process of adding strength to stainless metal by deforming it. As compared to the other steel types, the rate of hardening for stainless steel work is quicker, although the exact rate of hardening is dependent on the particular alloy grade. For example, austenitic stainless steel has a slightly higher rate of hardening than carbon steel, and thus is widely used in the processes of stainless fabrication.
Machining Stainless steel grades 416, 410, 430 and 303 acquire resistance to chipping when they are alloyed (mixed) with manganese sulphide. The decreased corrosion and ductility resistance which comes when manganese sulphide is added to steel, have resulted in these steel grades have lower matching applications, although modern engineering technology has led to the development of various free machining grades to address this particular problem.
To overcome the limits that arise when it comes to machining some certain stainless steel types, some manufacturing companies have adopted some exclusive techniques of melting steel to enhance the machine-ability of the austenitic stainless steel grades that are commonly used in steel fabrication. These special processes can cause improvement in the efficiency of machining and may help enhance the life of the pressure vessel. These processes are beneficial because of the various factors that must be considered such as the need of chipping, the process of matching stainless steel can be complex.
Welding Most steel types can be welded for purposes of vessels fabrication. However, the efficiency degree is dependent on the grade of the stainless steel. The need of complying with various pressure vessel design requirements, manufacturers and engineers can apply one or several methods of fabrication stainless steel. Resources: http://mpgia.com/blog/en/reliable-asme-pressure-vessel-fabricator/ http://ezinearticles.com/?Engineering-Technology-For-VesselFabrication&id=8177954
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