Do vacuum vessels have issues with the interior layers flaking off?

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pa5tabear
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I've heard of issues in low pressure chemical reactors where the interior scaling might flake off when a vacuum is pulled.

Which principles govern this?

I know it has to do with internal shear forces and am wondering if a vessel wall would ever split in half.

I saw this related thread on quora but there isn't a good answer.

http://www.quora.com/Is-the-flaking...uch-as-possible-or-should-I-replace-the-flask
 
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Just my first thought...

If you have a layer that is coating the inside you may have outgassing under that layer due to the lack of pressure. This could instigate or perpetuate flaking.
 
The maximum differential pressure on vacuum vessels is only One Atmosphere (unless you go deep under water) and that will not cause much distortion - the vessel design should limit such distortions to an acceptable amount.. Consequently, I wouldn't imagine that flaking would be a problem as long as the inside is already clean and free of contaminants (as it should be).