straingageestimationofinternalpressurewithanaluminum（7页）.docVIP

Introduction In many pressure vessel filling operations, the evaluation of success or failure is often difficult. Any direct measure of pressure requires either the installation of a gauge in every unit, which can be expensive and impractical, or is a destructive measure that involves puncturing the vessel in some form. One major downside to any destructive testing method is the existence of a certain degree of doubt as to whether or not the contents of the ruptured vessel truly reflect the state of the undamaged vessel. This comes in addition to two further concerns - both 1) the actual loss of the vessel itself - which in some low-quantity applications may be unacceptable – and 2) the potential contamination of the contents of the vessel – which could range from undesired pollutants in mechanical applications to potentially deadly foreign matter in biological applications. If presented with a case of a valuable container than we cannot sacrifice filled with contents that cannot be contaminated, the search must continue for other externally measurable variables that give rise to pressure detection. As the pressure inside the can rises, the vessel responds elastically (assuming the vessel is properly designed to not fail), and there is a direct relationship between hoop strain and internal pressure as determined by simple constitutive strain theory. The experiment is based upon this relationship. Theoretical Analysis Hoop Strain In treating the can as a thin-walled pressure vessel (where the thickness of the wall is negligible in comparison to other significant dimensions) a simple material relation between pressure and strain can be derived. Consider the following free body diagram of a half-cross-section of the can, with pressure p, diameter D, tension T and wall thickness t:  Figure 1: Can Cross Section Free Body Diagram The net upward pressure force per unit height pD must be balanced by the downward tensile fo