Dismiss Notice
Join Physics Forums Today!
The friendliest, high quality science and math community on the planet! Everyone who loves science is here!

I have a doubt

  1. Sep 16, 2005 #1

    rafael_josem

    User Avatar

    I have a doubt....

    Hi, I want to know, why do we use tanks with cylinder forms for fuel transportation and not with another geometric form, like a 3D rectangle (i dont know the english word for it.... :smile:) ?

    thanks...
     
    rafael_josem, Sep 16, 2005
  2. jcsd
    Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories on Phys.org
  3. Sep 16, 2005 #2

    rbj

    User Avatar

    well, in some cases, tanks are spherical in shape.

    i think that one issue is, given a fixed volume to contain, selecting a shape that minimizes surface area. the sphere would be the absolute best but a cylynder is better than a rectanguloid or whatever the english word is.

    another reason is that corners and (welded) joints are bad for tanks, particularly those under pressure.
     
    rbj, Sep 16, 2005
  4. Sep 17, 2005 #3

    Antiphon

    User Avatar

    The cylinder maximizes the volume for a given amount of metal while remaining
    a practical form to take down a road. A large sphere towed from the back of a truck
    would have trouble going down narrow roads.

    Cylinders are also much stronger than boxes.
     
    Antiphon, Sep 17, 2005
Share this great discussion with others via Reddit, Google+, Twitter, or Facebook