Burst resistant ribbon wound pressure vessels for ammonia plants

This paper presents the design of ribbon wound pressure vessels useful for ammonia, Urea and Methanol plants. The design is to create a thin shell of 1/5 the total wall thickness required, weld it to the end pieces, and wind 4 to 8 mm thick ribbons of 80 mm width at an angle of 25 to 30 degrees on the inner shell, using a prestress. The ribbons are welded at the ends and an even number of layers are wound cross-helically on to the shell. With more than 7000 vessels over the pressure range of 50 to 350 atmospheres in use in the various chemical industries in China over the past 30 years, their safety record has been excellent. Of particular interest has been the application of this technology in the Ammonia and Urea plants, where the design allows fabrication of these vessels at substantial reduction in cost, and early delivery, when compared to the mono wall technology.