Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Pipe Design For Robust Systems
Pipe Design For Robust Systems
A
fter the piping and instru-
mentation diagram (P&ID) of
a process design has been
completed, the next step is
stress analysis of the piping network.
In past years, engineering or operating
companies had staffs of layout and
stress designers. Today, both these
functions might be in the hands of the
individual engineer. Either way, a solid
understanding of pipe stress, and how
to handle it, will lead to better plant de-
sign and more reliable operation.
Engineers may perform pipe stress
analyses on a daily or occasional basis,
or review the pipe stress analysis of
others. Whatever their role, most of
these individuals have only a basic un-
derstanding of the topic. And many FIGURE 2. Thermal expansion affects the modeling of pipe joints such as this bend.
may be unaware of the software tools Actual support points (directly under A; at C) produce spurious results. The modeler
that can automate many of the analyti- can substitute a square bend, or a rigid support at E to complete the modeling work,
cal steps (Box, p. 92). then specify the actual component afterwards
fluids (hazardous chemicals, as defined Most piping codes, and perhaps 90c
When to analyze by ASME B31.3 rules), and the design of all pipe stress analyses, involve three
One of the most difficult decisions plant temperature is > 250°F principal loading types: (1) sustained
personnel face is whether or not to ana- • The pressure exceeds the maximum loads, such as pressure and weight; (2)
lyze an existing or new piping system. pressure for an ANSI Class 2500 B16.5 expansion loads (i.e., from thermal con-
It is often hard to assess the point at fitting ditions); and (3) occasional loads, such
which a piping system should be field- • The system temperature is > 400°F as from wind and earthquakes.
routed or when a full analytical solu- • The system carries gas that has Other types of loads include those
tion is required. Although there are no cooled to a liquid state caused by transient fluids, ice and
• The product of the pipe outside diam- snow, ship or platform pitch and roll,
simple answers to these questions, here eter (in in.) times the pressure (in psi)
are some conditions under which pip- explosion loadings, pressure loads,
is 1,157
ing analysis is advisable: frost heave, fault movement, fluid
• The system pressure is > 3,000 psi
• Piping is attached to load-sensitive sloshing and through-wall thermal ef-
• The system uses Glass Reinforced
equipment or is carrying Category M Epoxy (GRE) pipe fects. These can all be analyzed, but are
• The piping connects to rotating typically reserved for more experienced
Michael Bussler, equipment pipe-stress analysts.
Algor, Inc., • The system uses one or more expan- In general, an analysis involves sat-
and Tony Paulin, sion joints isfying code requirements for stress in
Paulin Research Group the pipe, and manufacturers' require-
1) The majority of catastrophic failures are due primarily to operational failures and
have little to do with pipe stress analysis
2) Most catastrophic failures are due to a sequence of unfortunate events, which, if oc-
loaded supports. Where friction is un- curring individually, would have not caused a major failure
desirable, the designer might use poly- 3) The most common consequences of a poorly executed piping system analysis are:
meric friction plates or metal sliding a) Local overstressed areas in the piping system (usually has no further implications
plates to reduce friction. Some analysts or decrease in system safety)
always use friction in their analyses; b) Supports that will be lifted off, or springs that are outside of their intended oper-
others never use it ating range (also causing little real decrease in system safety)
4. Take the millwright's practices into c) Poorly functioning rotating equipment, resulting in leaking seals, alignment prob-
account when designing springs, lems and other equipment difficulties (this situation tends to be the most common and
stanchions, and other supports near ro- most expensive result of a poorly executed pipe stress analysis)
tating equipment. Some spring designs d) Leaking flanges
produce unbalanced loads on equip- e) Failed pipe (rare)
ment when the system is in a cold con- 4) Most catastrophic failures are due to a leak of dangerous material. Leaks commonly
dition. Millwrights may improperly ad- occur where:
just or locate these springs in the cold a) Process conditions are not properly evaluated and controlled
condition so that the system is perfectly b) Thermal or pressure cycling of the system is not properly evaluated or analyzed (
the system has major load changes more than 7,000 times during its life)
balanced. Typically, the designer did not
c) Welding procedures and material selection are applied improperly, e.g., high-
intend for the balance to occur in the
hardness welds in sour gas service
cold condition
d) Incorrect pre- or post-weld heat treatment that creates brittle or chemically weak
welds
Meeting at the end points e) Corrosion is not adequately controlled
If a piping system does not attach to ro- f) Workmanship on welded or FRP joints is poor
tating equipment, it probably connects to g) Large-diameter flanges are placed at locations in the system where there are high
a pressure vessel, a heat exchanger, or bending moments
another piping system. In these cases, a h) Bolted joints exist where the bolts are 1.5 in. or smaller and might be overtight-
stress increase will occur at the end or ened, or where they are 1.75 in. or larger and might be undertightened
terminal point in the system. There, a j) Erosion occurs at changes in direction
geometric discontinuity exists due to the k) The piping system has an improper design and contains an expansion joint I)
intersection of two cylindrical shapes High-temperature piping loads are not properly supported
meeting to form an opening. m) Fluid loads are not properly evaluated and vibration occurs
While some analytical software takes n) Improperly balanced rotating equipment produces high-frequency vibration at
these terminal points into account; oth- stress-intensified components, such as small temperature or pressure takeoffs or
ers do not, so the designer should exer- blinded valves
cise care. Stresses at terminal points are o) Rapid changes in temperature are not evaluated at discontinuities
often the governing forces in a de-sign.
Some software programs use standards During the design phase, the following situations should be monitored closely,
from the Welding Research Council ( and the following practices maintained:
WRC) Bulletins 107 or 297 to determine 1) D/T (pipe diameter divided by its thickness) greater than 100. Piping systems in this
the terminal point stresses. Analysts D/T range are very thin and may perform more like thin-walled pressure vessels than
whose software doesn't per-form either piping systems. Some piping code rules are not well suited for piping systems in this
of these calculations can use the WRC D/T range and extra caution is warranted
standards to manually compute stress at 2) If the highest design pressure is negative (vacuum), extra caution should be taken
terminal points. so that a buckling situation, not evaluated by most pipe stress programs, is avoided
WRC 107 and 297 methods for stress 3) Solve dynamic problems quickly. A vibrating system can easily undergo millions of
and stiffness at nozzle connections are cycles in hours or days. Failures in overstressed dynamic systems can occur very
based on simplified deformation theo- rapidly
ries, adjusted by tests and experience. 4) Review old design drawings before making modifications to a piping system. Initial
Because of their ready availability in angular offsets at hanger locations, cold spring, or initial restraint-gap settings can be
many computer programs, these meth- overlooked and not properly reinstalled after work has been completed
ods have been used for wide varieties of 5) Look carefully for corroded areas, cracks or poor workmanship during maintenance
geometries, well outside of their origi- opportunities. It may be the leak from a small crack that sets off a chain reaction that
nal intended scope. Users should be results in catastrophic failure, fire or loss of life
cautious using them when the d/D ratio 6) Consult experts when any decision is at all questionable. Developing a good work-
is greater than 0.5, or when the t/T ratio ing relationship with a local pipe-stress expert can be invaluable for finding practical,
is one or less. In general, the WRC cost-effective, safe solutions to most plant piping problems
documents will be conservative for 7) If there is a question about why a result from a pipe stress program looks a certain
stress, although possibly by hundreds of way, make sure to ask the question and get an answer. Piping program vendors can
percent. often yield useful tips and insights O
WRC 297 is the only WRC document
that predicts stiffnesses of nozzles in
cylinders. WRC 297 can be nonconserv- • Ring-type joints at flanges or at connections of pipe to
ative for stiffness. Some computer im- • Flange components made of cast iron thicker components, such as bends and
plementations of WRC 297 may predict • Larger (>12 in.) flanges (which are tees. Many of these failures occur be-
stiffness values hundreds of percent too notoriously susceptible to leakage cause of incorrect support or because of
low. The worst errors occur for out-of- caused by external moments) improper joint makeup. Others occur
plane stiffnesses, and when the para- Flanges should be located in the pip- because engineers do not properly eval-
meter (d/D)v(D/T) is greater than one. ing system at points of small bending uate water-hammer events. Many
The WRC 297 user is encouraged to moments, when possible. ASME B16.5 manufacturers are developing their
verify stiffnesses generated by compar- gives pressure and temperature ratings own solutions to these problems as
ing them to a finite element result, or to for flanges of various materials. It is more and more plastic systems are
predictions given in ASME Sec. III not uncommon to see bending mo- being used.
NB3685.7. ments and axial forces converted to
Piping systems are attached to ves- equivalent pressure and a comparison What fluids can do
sels either by welding or by flanges. to B16.5 made. This comparison pro- Most pipe stress analysts are only con-
Pipe designers use welding throughout vides a safety factor of approximately cerned with a fluid's temperature and
an entire piping system when leaks five to eight. its specific gravity. These analysts usu-
cannot be tolerated under any circum- ally leave issues like flow velocities,
stances. When small leakage can be tol- How plastic pipe differs valve closure rates, pump trips, chemi-
erated, most pipe designers use flange The use of plastic piping systems is in- cal decompositions or resonant acoustic
joints because maintenance is easier. creasing because of declining prices vibrations to the specialist, who is
Most flanged joints are as strong as and improved corrosion resistance. called in only when an extraordinary
the attached pipe. A good software pro- Plastic piping systems differ from other problem is discovered.
gram will enable the user to describe systems when pressure or temperature As new software becomes available,
the properties of these attachments in is a concern. Plastic systems often ex- the pipe stress analyst is becoming
cases where the joints are not as strong pand as much or more due to pressure more involved in transient as well as
as the pipe. Some of these exceptions instead of temperature. Piping analysts steady-state fluid-flow problems.
are systems that have: should not assume that knowledge of Newer fluid programs use the 3D struc-
• Fiberglass-reinforced plastic flanges steel piping systems transfers to a plas- tural mesh of the piping system to con-
• Soft gaskets made with synthetic fiber tic system. struct a 1D mesh of the fluid system.
Plastic piping systems fail most often Before the software's advent, the