Pressurized Orthotropic Container

Application ID: 12669


A thin-walled container made of rolled steel is subjected to an internal overpressure. As an effect of the manufacturing method, one of the three material principal directions—the out-of- plane direction— has a higher yield stress than the other two. Hill’s orthotropic plasticity is used to model the difference in yield strength. The example also shows how to define and use curvilinear coordinates aligned with the principal directions of the material, which in this case follow the contours of the container.

The container has the shape of a cylinder capped by two torispherical heads (also called Klöpper head).

This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products: