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Wine Stainless Steel Storage Tanks

storage tank thickness calculation design stainless steel wine

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#1 manko

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Posted 07 January 2017 - 07:58 AM

Is there a code to design stainless steel cylindrical wine tanks? ASME or API codes provide bigger thickness. For instance a 5000 liters capacity tank. Manufacturers use 2mm plates for the bottom and 1,5mm for the shell.

#2 Art Montemayor

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Posted 07 January 2017 - 11:34 AM

Manko:

 

If you are a chemical engineer - or any other type of engineer - I recommend you understand the reason and purpose of the ASME code and other similar existing vessel codes: it is a pressure vessel code (a code for vessels containing over 15 psig pressure) and is meant to protect the public from over-pressurization hazards. 

 

What you are describing is a wine storage or processing tank designed for what I believe to be as essentially atmospheric pressure - no internal pressure.  Outside of leaks and spillage, what are your concerns with the existing, empirical methods of fabricating a wine vessel?  Do you intend to pressurize the vessel?  If so, than state that.  Otherwise, I can't imagine why you would require an engineering code for such a vessel.  You would require, of course, a sanitary code for containing human consumable liquids (hence, the stainless steel material).   Other than drinking too much of the wine, I don't see any involved hazard in containing the wine.

 

Humans have been producing, storing, and transporting wine longer than history has been able to document it and all the practical and necessary design criteria has been carefully worked out empirically and practically - even down to the oaken aging barrels.  I consider the wine product so valuable that any potential leaks or spillage has been eliminated in the basic designs.



#3 manko

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Posted 07 January 2017 - 01:54 PM

Mr Montemayor,

Of course I am a chemical engineer. But l haven't been involved in the design of equipment. I work as winemaker. Wine as you mention, has been produced longer that history been able to document it. But today wine is produced in a more sophisticated way. These tanks are used for settling wine, fermenting wine, crystallization and storing it with a nitrogen blanketing system. There is a multi use due to batch processing character of wineries. Also I have seen tanks, which could be designed "empirically" to leak and fail. So l want to design a tank and l wondering if l could. Is there a code or a process to calculate without carrying out simulation.

#4 Art Montemayor

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Posted 07 January 2017 - 06:39 PM

Manko:

 

If your intentions are to pressurize the wine vessel with an inert blanket, then I would recommend you follow the design procedures for an API storage tank, such as API 620 or 650.  I have participated in designing API 650 storage tanks and had API 620 tanks built to specifications.  All of these tanks were designed for nitrogen blanketing and served well.  Depending what your detailed tank specifications and scope of work involve, you can opt for either of the following:

 

API 620
The maximum positive gauge pressure for which this space is designed shall be understood to be the nominal pressure rating for the tank (sometimes referred to as the design pressure) and shall not exceed 15 lbf/in2 gauge.

API 650
The Design Internal Pressure shall not exceed 2.5 lbf/in2.

 

Detailed design guidelines for API 650 are found in our Forum - the ones I am familiar with are in the Spanish Professional Forum and these may be found and downloaded using our Search Engine.  You can also purchase Excel Workbooks that allow for a mechanical design calculation.

 

I hope this helps you out.  I have personally toured several wineries in both Italy and Spain and have seen their installed stainless steel vessels.  Being a veteran wine consumer, I have some knowledge of the various unit operations involved but never have come across detailed design calculations for the tanks employed.  Being low pressure vessels, I can simply conclude that the most difficult part in fabricating them is selecting a suitable stainless steel plate thickness that won't "pucker" (deform) when using electric arc welding.  The selection of bottom and top heads should not be a big problem, especially if you opt of pre-formed stamped or welded dished heads to allow for easy drainage and withstand an ample range of internal pressure, however small.  Good luck.  I envy the attractiveness of your project - especially the part where you have to taste test the processed results.






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