A Finite Element Model to Analyze Cylinder-Cylinder Intersections

A finite element model is proposed to study the stresses in the neighborhood of a cylinder-cylinder intersection. In particular, diameter ratios greater than 0.5 are focused upon since little information is available in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code or in the literature about the stress concentration for these geometries. The aim of the present work is to validate such a model for internal pressure loading. To accomplish this, various parametric finite element studies were conducted. The selected model is then validated by applying it to various available cylinder intersection models and comparing the results. The finite element results are further compared with a solution obtained using a shell theory.