Experimentally Determination of Burst Pressure and Failure Location of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Cylinder

Abstract

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder is a thin pressure vessel used to meet energy requirements in household applications. Bursting of a pressure vessel is disastrous and many fatal accidents are happened due to pressure vessel bursting. The main goal of the current paper is focused to determine experimentally the burst pressures (BP) and failure locations of LPG cylinders. To ensure that the cylinders are in conformance with International Standards. The experiments were carried out on two samples of LPG cylinders used in Libya (C1 and C2). The experimental burst test investigations done by hydrostatic test in which the cylinders were internally pressurized with water. The permanent volume expansions of the LPG cylinders due to internal pressure were also examined. All tests in this study were subject to standard specifications (ISO 4706), which is needed to be conducted on LPG cylinders before introducing them to the Libyan market. Among these tests, the hydro-tests are major tests to be conducted on LPG Cylinders to get approval and acceptance. Hydro-tests on LPG cylinders reveal permanent volumetric expansion of the cylinder, nominal hoop stresses at the time of destruction and the internal pressure at which a cylinder burst. These values are important to ensure that the design and construction of cylinders are safe and compiled to standards.