Manual CAEPipe
Manual CAEPipe
Manual CAEPipe
Disclaimer
Please read the following
carefully:
CAEPIPE and this tutorial have been developed and checked for
correctness and accuracy by SST Systems, Inc. However, no warranty,
expressed or implied, is made by the authors or by SST Systems, Inc.,
as to the accuracy and correctness of the tutorial or the functioning of
CAEPIPE and the accuracy, correctness and utilization of its
calculations. Users must carry out all necessary tests to verify
CAEPIPE calculations, and the applicability of their results. All
information presented by CAEPIPE is for review, interpretation,
approval and application by a Registered Professional Engineer.
CAEPIPE is a trademark of SST Systems, Inc. All other product
names mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective companies/holders.
[email protected]
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Basic Pipe Stress Analysis Tutorial
Good, relevant and non-overwhelming technical information on pipe
stress analysis is hard to come by. To partly remedy this problem, we
provide a simple tutorial on the basics of piping stress analysis. This
tutorial is directed towards newcomers to Pipe Stress Analysis just as
much as to engineers new to CAEPIPE.
To get the full benefit from this tutorial, you will need a working
copy of CAEPIPE, pipe stress analysis software.
Download a Free Copy of CAEPIPE here
CAEPIPE - Features and Benefits
Useful learning
resources:
CAEPIPE Tutorial 1
CAEPIPE Tutorial 2
CAEPIPE User's
Manual Pipe Stress
Tips Archive The
Piping Journal Blog
You are welcome to use any other program if you choose to.
Tutorial: Table of Contents
Technical Article: Pipe Stress Analysis: Basic
Concepts Technical Article: Preliminary Pipe
Stress Analysis Procedure Example 1 - Using
Expansion Loops
Example 2 - Splitting Thermal Growth
Example 3 - Axial Restraints to Direct Thermal Growth
Example 4 - Locating Supports For Deadweight Analysis
Example 5 Making Layout Changes to Reduce Thermal Stresses
From the thermal stress contour plot and the deflected shape
for thermal load case, suitably route the pipe to make it more
flexible and position axial restraints and/or intermediate anchors, if
required, to direct thermal expansion/contraction away from
critical locations such as equipment nozzles. Similarly, decide the
types and locations of vertical supports based on the stress contour
plot and deflected shape for sustained (= weight + pressure) load
case as well as the deflected shape for operating load case (=
sustained load + thermal load).
Here is a step-by-step procedure
Step
1
Review the thermal stress contour plot first. The plot is color-
coded such that blue region denotes areas with the least
stress ratios (where stress ratio equals to actual computed stress
divided by material allowable stress), green region with higher
stress ratios, yellow region with even higher stress ratios, and
red region with the highest stress ratios. Intermediate areas
between these distinct colors will be of bluish-green, greenish-
yellow and orange colors.
The goal will be to arrive at a layout that avoids orange and red
zones in thermal stress plot so that there is suficient thermal margin
left for performing a detailed piping analysis when the layout is
finalized at the 3D-design stage. You may wish to avoid even the
yellow zone in the stress contour plot so as to provide additional
thermal margin for future use. Since thermal stresses generated
are directly dependent on how stif or flexible the layout is, in
order to reduce thermal stresses, it may be necessary to make the
layout flexible (by including bends, offsets, loops etc.). So, the first
step is to make sure thermal stress ratios remain within blue to
yellow range and not get into orange and red zones. For more
flexible layout, even yellow zone can be avoided.
Step
2
In case thermal stress ratios exceed yellow zone (and are in
orange and red zones in one or more areas of the piping system),
it is important to study the thermal case deformed shape provided by
CAEPIPE in order to understand how the piping responds to pure
thermal load. By studying such deformed shape, it is possible to
arrive at a layout with appropriate bends, offsets and loops and/or
with appropriately located axial restraints/intermediate anchors
such that thermal stress ratios do not exceed yellow zone. This
process may require you to perform several layout and/or restraint
scheme iterations.
Step
3
After finalizing piping layout under Steps 1 and 2 for thermal
loading, the next task is to support the system vertically to carry its
deadweight under operating condition. In this connection, first
review sustained stress ratio contour plot generated by deadweight
and pressure for the system without any vertical supports excepting
those provided by equipment nozzles, shown in color codes from
blue to green to yellow to red (as in Step 2 above).
Your goal is to arrive at a vertical support
scheme consisting of
(a) resting steel supports (b) rod hangers (c) variable spring
hangers and (d) constant support hangers
at appropriate locations (where such pipe supports can be attached
to adjacent concrete/steel structures, platforms etc.) so that stress
contour plot for sustained stress ratios avoids orange and red
zones and remains within blue to yellow range.
Step
4
In case sustained stresses exceed yellow zone in one or more areas
of the piping system, study the deformed shape for sustained load
case in order to understand how the piping responds to its own
deadweight: next, identify pipe locations in the 3D model where the
pipe can be vertically supported by the support types listed above.
Based on this information, it is possible to vertically support the
piping such that sustained stresses do not exceed yellow zone.
This step may require you to execute several iterations within
CAEPIPE with several vertical support schemes.
In case, resting steel supports are selected to provide vertical
support for piping under sustained load, it is to be made sure that
piping continues to rest on such steel supports even during
operating condition (= weight + pressure + thermal) and does not
lift off from these supports. If pipe lifts up at any of these resting
supports during operating condition, then that support does not
carry any pipe weight and hence will not serve its purpose. Similarly,
at rod hanger locations, the tendency of piping should be to deform
downward for operating load case, so that the rod hangers carry the
pipe weight under tension. On the other hand, if pipe lifts up at any
of the rod hangers, then that rod hanger goes into compression
thereby not carrying the weight of the piping during operating
condition.
CAEPIPE displays the deflected shape of piping under operating load
case too. By viewing this deflection from different directions, you can
make sure that piping is resting on steel supports and/or piping is not
deforming upward at rod hangers.
Step
5
You should perform Steps 1 to 4 for all piping systems of the project.
Systems, for which the layout and support schemes are finalized,
are ready for detailed analyses and stress report preparation.
Verification
Step
Provide all additional input data into the models such as insulation
thickness and density, corrosion allowance and mill tolerance of
pipe sections, thermal anchor movements,
seismic anchor movements, support conditions such as friction and
gap, other loads such as wind, seismic and water/fluid hammer,
multiple thermal and pressure cases, etc. and perform detailed
analyses. It is most likely that the layout and support schemes
(finalized during steps 14) meet all other pipe stress requirements
(such as meeting nozzle allowable loads) and hardly require any
further iteration(s).
Example 1 - Using Expansion Loops
DATA: An 8 NB Schedule 80 pipe (see Fig. 1A) connects two
equipment at nodes 10 and
30 with an ofset of 4 (i.e., equal to distance between nodes 20 and
30). The pipe, made of
A53 Grade A carbon steel, is
heated to 300 F.
This problem illustrates the use of expansion loops to
reduce thermal stresses.
Figure 1A
Layout
After modeling this layout in CAEPIPE, upon analysis, you will find
that the pipe between nodes 10 and 20 grows thermally to the right
towards node 20, while pipe between nodes
30 and 20 grows up towards node 20, as
illustrated in Fig. 1B.
Figure 1B - Thermal Deflection
T=470F
Figure 2A
Layout
Since the loop between nodes 10 and 40 is much more flexible (4
pipe) than the loop between nodes 100 and 130 (8 pipe), the
straight pipe between nodes 40 and 100 will thermally grow mostly
towards the 4 loop, as shown in Fig. 2B, straining the pipe between
nodes 10 and 40.
Figure 2B - Thermal
Deformation Plot
This, in turn, produces large thermal stresses (i.e., orange and red
zones) in the 4 loop and at anchor node 10, as observed in Fig. 2C.
In other words, the thermal growth of pipe between nodes 40 and
100 is mostly absorbed by the 4 loop and very little by the 8 loop,
defeating the very purpose of the 8 loop.
Figure 2C - Thermal Stress
Contour Plot
Fig. 4E shows the same layout with variable spring hangers at the
bends at nodes 20 and
115, which carry piping deadweight and provide negligible restraint
to thermal movement
from cold to hot condition and vice versa.
Figure 4E - Layout with Hangers
The thermal and sustained stress contour plots given in Fig. 4F and
Fig. 4G confirm that the piping system with hangers is code-
complaint for both sustained and thermal load cases.
Figure 4F - Thermal Stress Contour Plot for
Layout with Hangers
Figure 4G - Sustained Stress Contour Plot for
Layout with Hangers
EXAMPLE 5 - Making Layout Changes to Reduce Thermal Stresses
This practical example illustrates how to place resting steel supports
to carry the system weight with operating fluid and modify the layout
in order to re-direct thermal growth to comply with code stress
requirements.
Fig. 5A shows the initial layout where condensate from a tank (node
10) is extracted by the pump suction lines. When one pump is
operating, the other one is on standby.
Figure 5A - Layout with Node
Numbers
From Fig. 5B, we see that the pipeline from nodes 10 to 100 grows
thermally in the Z
direction (towards the pumps), whereas the two pump suction lines,
one from nodes 120 to
180 and the other from nodes 110 to 250, grows in the opposite
direction towards the tank
(+Z direction). So, the straight pipe between nodes 100 and 120
(with a welding tee at node
110) experiences two opposing deflection patterns - the pipe portion
between nodes 110 and 120 is being deflected in the +Z direction
like a rigid stick while the portion from nodes 10 to 100 deflects in
the -Z direction.
Figure 5B - Thermal Deformation Plot
This causes the pipe between nodes 100 and 110 to bend at the tee
producing high strains and hence thermal stresses locally at the tee
node 110, as shown in Fig. 5C.
Figure 5C - Thermal Stress Contour Plot
In
The branch pipe between nodes 111 and 300 acts as a rigid stick
resulting in lower thermal stresses in that branch pipe as seen in Fig.
5F.
Figure 5F - Thermal Stress Contour Plot for Revised Layout
In
addition, we see that the two pump suction lines make the bend
node 100 grow thermally in the +Z direction, whereas the pipe from
the tank node 10 to the bend node 90 grows in the Z direction.
These opposing deflections rotate the interconnecting pipe between
nodes 90 and 100 like a (horizontal) see-saw in the horizontal
XZ plane, resulting in lower thermal stresses in this region, as
observed in Fig. 5F.
Although the thermal stress criterion has been met, the weight
stresses exceed the sustained stress allowables, as illustrated by
many red and orange areas in the sustained stress contour plot given
in Fig 5G.
Figure 5G - Sustained Stress Contour Plot for
Revised Layout
This is because there are no vertical supports (excluding the three
nozzles and a variable spring hanger at node 52) to carry the weight
of the system. Vertical resting supports are therefore introduced as
shown in Fig. 5H.
Figure 5H - Revised Layout with
Resting Supports