Transcribed Image Text: 3.50. The chemical reactor shown below has a cover that is held in place by a series of bolts. The cover is made of stainless steel (SG = 8.0) , is
3 inches thick, has a diameter of 24 inches, and covers and seals an opening 20 inches in diameter. During turnaround, when the reactor is
taken out of service for cleaning and repair, the cover was removed by an operator who thought the reactor had been depressurized using a
standard venting procedure. However, the pressure gauge had been damaged in an earlier process upset (the reactor pressure had exceeded the
upper limit of the gauge), and instead of being depressurized completely, the vessel was under a gauge pressure of 30 psi.
24 in.
BOLTS
3 in.
COVER
REACTOR –
20 in.
BOURDON
GAUGE
a. What force (lbf) were the bolts exerting on the cover before they were removed? (Hint: Don’t forget that a pressure is exerted on the top of
the cover by the atmosphere.) What happened when the last bolt was removed by the operator? Justify your prediction by estimating the
initial acceleration of the cover upon removal of the last bolt.
V Answer
576 ft/s2
b. Propose an alteration in the turnaround procedure to prevent recurrence of an incident of this kind.
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