scope:

This Bulletin has been prepared to provide the designer with a simple and approximate method of calculating maximum stresses due to internal pressure at cylinder intersections. Formulas are provided for calculating membrane and bending stresses in both the vessel and the nozzle. However, this Bulletin does not present any rules for design, but it is rather intended to be an aid in assessing the local structural integrity of the vessel. Publication of this WRC Bulletin - WRC Bulletin No. 368 was sponsored by the Committee on Reinforced Openings and External Loadings of the Pressure Vessel Research Council. Cylinder-cylinder intersections are commonly encountered as nozzles in pressure vessels or branches in piping. WRC Bulletins 1077 and 2976 provide simple cookbook methods of calculating stresses at such intersections due to external loadings. However, there is no widely used document providing for simple calculation of stresses at cylindrical intersections due to internal pressure.