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 vessel, 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.
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