Many kinds of liquids are transported
by road and railway. The tanks carrying these liquids are made cylindrical in
shape and not cubical. Why is this so?
If tanks are made in cube or cuboid, the capacity of the tanks
will increase and they can hold more cargo. Even the large tanks used in
refineries for holding the petroleum products are cylindrical in shape.
This is because cylinders
don’t have corners. Cubes and cuboid have more space, but their corners make
them unsuitable for carrying fluid. When carrying liquids under pressure, the
stress acting at a corner is more than the stress acting on the sides. Because of
this, the stress concentrates more at the corners. And because of this there
are more chances of a tank to buckle or break if they are made cubical. There
are less chances for cracks in a cylindrical tank than in a cubical tank. Even
the ends are made semi-spherical in modern tanker trucks.
The LPG cylinders used for
cooking are also made cylindrical. This is not to make them roll easily. If you
observe closely, you will find that the LPG cylinder is not flat bottomed. It has a false bottom welded to the bottom of the cylinder.
This is why all the tanks
transporting liquids are made cylindrical in shape. One more advantage is that,
the liquids can be easily drained in these tanks.
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