How thick are the walls of a tank?

[charlesml3]

Gang,

I was watching the videos on YouTube for how a tank is made. There's one on aluminum tanks and another on steel.

I couldn't tell from the videos and it's just a curiosity for me.

Does anyone know how thick the walls of an aluminum and steel tank are?

Thanks!

-Charles

 

[Walter]

Depends on the tank. The Tiger II had 180 mm in the front, the Sherman had 51 mm while the Cromwell had 76 mm. Additionally, the Tiger's armor was sloped making it even more effective.

 

[battles2a5]

I don't have exact figures but the walls of an aluminum tank are much thicker than those of a steel tank. Al is around 3/4" and steel is around 1/8". Again, this is by no means scientific, just estimates. This is why a high(er) pressure AL80 at 3000psi is actually a little bigger than an LP Steel 85. There's a lot more material in the AL cylinder so the internal volume is much smaller.

 

[ReefGuy]

Depends on the tank. The Tiger II had 180 mm in the front, the Sherman had 51 mm while the Cromwell had 76 mm. Additionally, the Tiger's armor was sloped making it even more effective.

Were any of those aluminum??

 

[Luis H]

On the 8th column you can find the Minimum Wall thickness (in inches) for a number of tanks.

This data has been compiled from a number of sources and it is not guarantied for its accuracy. The use of any numbers out of this table is at your own risk.

The calculated data (stresses, etc.) is from a spread sheet I wrote a wile back and I haven’t checked it in a long time. If you find any mistakes you are welcome to PM.

Note: the traditional “steel 72” is label as a steel 65 since that is its volume at 2250 psi.

For the most part, I have only checked the data for the “steel 72” (65 cu ft), the aluminum 80, and perhaps the steel 80.

I have also measured several tanks wall thickness, and as expected for the most part, they all come out a bit thicker than the minimum allowed (even tanks that have been condemned).

 

[Luis H]

Depends on the tank. The Tiger II had 180 mm in the front, the Sherman had 51 mm while the Cromwell had 76 mm. Additionally, the Tiger's armor was sloped making it even more effective.

Thanks

 

[Gilldiver]

Were any of those aluminum??

I don't know about the MBT's but the M113 and many of the Russian BRT's, BMP and other personnel carriers use an aluminum alloy armor. One of the reasons they burn so well when hit with a WP round.

 

[spectrum]

What about scuba cylinders?

 

[charlesml3]

Cool. About 3/4 inch for aluminum and 1/8 for steel. That's what I was looking for.

Is it also true that ALL steel tanks have a round bottom and require a boot to stand up?

-Charles

 

[Luis H]

Cool. About 3/4 inch for aluminum and 1/8 for steel. That's what I was looking for.

Is it also true that ALL steel tanks have a round bottom and require a boot to stand up?

-Charles

If you see my chart it is closer to 1/2" for aluminum 80 and 3/16" for most steel.


All new Scuba steel tanks have rounded bottoms.
Some old steel tanks had a concave bottom and some even had bumps (5 if I recall correctly) in the bottom so they could stand up.