- #1
carveranderson
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- TL;DR Summary
- I'm building a DIY pressure tube to run some experiments in at 100-200 psi max and not sure how to calculate thickness of a poly or acrylic lid that will be safe to look in at those pressures :)
The tube I'm using is 6" long, 6" diameter and .5" wall thickness and made of 6061 aluminum. The bottom is a 6" diameter, 3/8" thick MIC6 Cast Aluminum Disc. The top I TRIED is a 6" diameter, 1/2" thick clear polycarbonate disc. Both top and bottom are bolted on with a 1/16" buna-n o-ring and 6 evenly distributed 1/4-20 stainless bolts on each end. At about 80-90 psi (and a safe distance away) I can see the lid start to flex and begins to leak around the o-ring, but only on the poly top. The aluminum bottom seems fine. I think all the aluminum sides are plenty of overkill, but the poly lid doesn't seem adequate. What calculations would I need to use to determine what thickness poly I'd need at that 6" diameter to avoid flexing and breaking the seal at up to 200 psi? Any help with what calculations and formulas I'd use here would be appreciated in case I need to make this smaller in size, etc. Thanks!