You might be surprised by all of the technology you take advantage of every day. Not just your phone or your computer, but the modern technology working behind the scenes to make it all possible. One of those technologies is the pressure vessel.
You frequently benefit from the amazing technology behind pressure vessels, most likely without even realizing it. But before going any further, you might be wondering, "What's that?" To the untrained eye, a pressure vessel is a massive metal tube. However, the important part is what happens inside those tubes.
Many applications rely on high pressure as a power source and to accomplish a number of tasks. Whether you're referring to early steam engines that used a pressure vessel to power their engine or pressure reactors used in modern scientific applications around the world - these large (usually metal) vessels play an important role in both science and industry.
However, when it comes to pressure vessels that you regularly benefit from - you only need to go as far as the nearest hospital or dentist office. Chances are, you've most likely been to a dentist or hospital before. In both locations, you also probably benefited from effectively sterilized equipment. For this luxury (it truly is a luxury) you have the autoclave to thank. Autoclaves are modern sterilization devices that use pressure vessels to pressurize saturated steam at a high temperature, and then use that steam to effectively sterilize contaminated equipment.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, it is also important to remember that pressure vessels aren't just for achieving high pressure. Rather, they are used to hold gases or liquids at a higher or lower level than the ambient pressure. A perfect example of this is how pressure vessel technology is used to create a livable habitat inside a submarine.
Despite the crushing pressure of the ocean, pressure hulls present in submarines enable them to journey to deep depths for extended periods. This is accomplished by the inner pressure hull, which is encased by the outer casing of the submarine, and holds the difference between outside and inside pressure. This has not only enabled navies around the world to protect their shores, but it has also enabled high profile ship recoveries and valuable scientific exploration.
The process of building a pressure hull like this is extremely difficult due to the forces that will be exerted on it. Because of this, every pressure hull for a submarine is constructed with extreme precision. When submarines descend deeper into the ocean, their circular shape forces the pressure to compress across the entire surface of the vessel equally. Because of this, any deviation in the vessel's quality can result in the pressure affecting those areas to a greater degree - which can be disastrous.
This brings attention to the dangerous nature of pressure vessels. Because vessels hold (or hold out) extreme pressure, any sort of rupture can be catastrophic. In the case of a submarine, you might have seen footage in movies of a submarine "imploding". This is because a hole or rupture in a submarine introduces a pocket of negative pressure that takes almost no-time to become filled. With a standard vessel, a rupture would cause the absolute opposite effect, resulting in a large explosion as the pressurized contents rush out.
Apart from autoclaves and submarines, pressure vessels can even be found in your own basement. If you've ever used a compressed air machine to do anything from blow up a car tire or pool toy - you've taken advantage of the pressure vessel's ability to hold gas at a higher pressure than is normally available.
No comments:
Post a Comment