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6, Three Spires House
Station Road, Lichfield WS13 6HX

T: +44 (0)1675 437 733

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Dished Ends

Masteel UK Limited are market leaders in the supply of high quality pressure vessel and HIC tested steel plate to the oil, gas and petrochemical industry. As an extension of these services, we supply dished ends (also referred to as dished heads) to vessel fabricators servicing these industries.

A Different Approach

Normally, procurers will approach dished end manufacturers with a specification which will include a particular material requirement. In turn the manufacturer will often then need to source the steel from companies such as Masteel. Dependent on the source of the supply, this could indeed lengthen the supply process considerably.

Masteel operate this service in reverse. We already stock pre-tested pressure vessel grade steel plate, which is available for immediate supply. We can therefore project manage your requirement with the dished end manufacturer, by supplying them with the steel to your specification and ensuring that the dished ends are produced to your exact requirements.

The Advantages
  • Our pressure vessel, boiler quality, and HIC tested steels are available from stock
  • Much of these steels are already tested to stringent standards which means that in most cases, the steel is already available for supply
  • As we are already part of the mill stock production programs, if we don’t have the steel in stock, we can certainly get it quicker to you than if you were to source it elsewhere
  • We specialise in HIC resistant steel which is ideal for sour gas applications

Masteel UK Limited regularly and successfully supply dished ends and dished heads to customers on this basis, primarily because the advantages speak for themselves. We work with a number of worldwide manufacturers with emphasis place heavily on a quality and expedient service.

We can cut steel to your exact requirements.As well as rolling and dished end supply we also offer all work with the options of N.D.T. operations including;- radiography, ultrasonic test, dye pen and M.P.I. also heat treatment operations including:- stress relieving, normalising and solution annealing.

Pressure Vessel Heads

Pressure vessels are used for a variety of purposes throughout the oil, gas and petrochemical industry, and material considerations are based around the gas or liquid being stored.

Heat and corrosion resistance are common consideration along with the strength and fracture toughness of the material. Obviously the same consideration and scrutiny should be extended to material used to manufacture the pressure vessel heads.

Pressure vessel heads and dished ends are essentially the same – the end caps of a pressure vessel tank or an industrial boiler. They are supplied with a flanged edge to make it easier for the fabricator to weld the head to the main body of the tank.

Why Choose Masteel for Pressure Vessel Head Supply?

We do not make pressure vessel heads but we do have a major influence on how quickly the end product can be supplied. As a specialist supplier of high quality pressure vessel grade steels, there are major benefits in choosing us to handle the supply of pressure vessel heads.

Benefits
  • Speed – we have pre-tested stock available for immediate shipment to the manufacturer
  • Specification – as a pressure vessel and boiler quality steel specialist our knowledge and quality of steels are second to none.
  • Treatments & Testing – requirements of the industry include steel testing for resilience to the effects of hydrogen induced cracking (HIC). Again we are specialists in this field.

We can manage the entire supply cycle from receiving your drawing and steel specification to end shipping to you or your vessel fabricator.

The Forming Process

This page provides information on how dished heads supplied by Masteel UK Limited are produced.

Firstly the steel needs to be cut shape, normally with CNC plasma cutting machines or industrial circular shears. The method for producing the dished heads is either via a spinning process or pressing & flanging process (or a combination of the two).

Spinning

The steel disc is spun on a hydraulic lathe which is then pressed to a tool. This pressing and spinning motion determines the overall shape of the head. The tool can be set to have both the knuckle and spherical radius which allows for the dished head to be produced in one go.

Pressing & Flanging

The dished head is created by firstly being cold pressed into a spherical cap shape and then flanged which creates the knuckle radius and straight flange. The straight flange allows for the finished dished head to be welded to the pressure vessels main body.

Spinning & Flanging

Dished heads can also be manufactured using a combination of both processes, where the spherical radius is made via the spinning process and the knuckle is created under the flanging method.

Torispherical Dished Ends

Torispherical dished ends are one of the many types of vessel ends which Masteel can produce, and they can be manufactured from a number of steel types including pressure vessel, boiler quality, chrome moly and stainless.

10% torispherical dished ends are the most popular (also known as Klopper or Decimal Heads) where the knuckle radius represents 10% of the diameter of the cylinder.

One Stop Supply Solution

Masteel will supply the steel to one of our manufacturing partners to your particular material specification – the torispherical dished ends will then be produced and shipped directly to you. We will project manage the entire process for you and can offer a single stop solution for the production of vessel heads. The material we supply is of the highest quality and to the most stringent testing standards.

Semi–Ellipsoidal Dished Ends

2:1 Semi-Ellipsoidal dished heads are deeper and stronger than the more popular torispherical dished heads.

The greater depth results in the head being more difficult to form, and this makes them more expensive to manufacture. However, the cost is offset by a potential reduction in the specified thickness due to the dished head having greater overall strength and resistance to pressure.

Masteel UK Limited will supply the steel to one of our manufacturing partners for the dished end to be produced. We can supply a variety of steels for this purpose which include pressure vessel grade steel, boiler quality, chrome moly and stainless.

Project Management

What makes our services different is that we can supply the steel directly from our stockholding and then project management the entire production process for you to ensure that both the material quality and the finished product adheres to your exact specification.