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Pressure Vessel: Physics Setup

Here are the boundary conditions we will impose on the model: Image Added
Symmetry boundary condition at the top edge implies zero displacement in the axial (y) direction. The top edge represents a plane of symmetry since it is located at the mid-length of the cylinder and we are modeling only half the length. In ANSYS, we impose this symmetry boundary condition using a "Frictionless support".

In an axisymmetric model, no displacement constraints are necessary in the radial direction to prevent rigid body motion in that direction. This is because radial displacement represents expansion/contraction of the structure which is resisted structurally.

The following video shows how to specify the physics of the problem: plane stress approximationaxisymmetric analysis, material properties (Young's modulus and Poisson ratio) and boundary conditions. These settings get fed into the element formulation when obtaining the numerical solution later.

Continue to Step 5 - Numerical Solution

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