ME 341: Project 1 – Piping, PV Design and Analysis

Due Date: October 28th (10:30 am for section 001 and 3:00 pm for section 002 (late work will not
be accepted)
Fall 2021
Project #1 – Piping Design and Analysis
 Teams of two permitted for this project (one team of three is OK if there is an odd-
number of people in the class).
 Permitted resources:
o Course notes
o Course textbook, or any book on statics, solid mechanics, materials science,
manufacturing, etc.
o CAD/FEA software such as Inventor, Fusion 360 or NASTRAN
o Computational software such as Excel or MATLAB
 If the teams wish to submit a draft1 report and have the instructor comment on format and
readability, please do so by October 21st.
 Please note that after October 23rd, the instructor will not answer any technical questions
about the project. Thus, if your team wishes to seek assistance, please do so before
October 23rd.
 Supporting project documents:
o Report template
o Rubric
o Pressure vessel/piping theory (pages scanned from the Hibbeler textbook)
o Figure and table formatting guidance
o ASME BTH standard
o I-beam properties
o Sample laboratory report (take note of the format and how the tables, figures, and
equations are presented)
 This is a group project!
o All team members are expected to contribute equally.
o Please check your text messages, emails, etc. frequently (never leave a teammate
hanging!).
o If there are persistent issues with team dynamics (e.g., team member is not
contributing or not responding to emails, text messages, phone calls in a timely
fashion)  contact the instructor ASAP. A quick meeting can likely be
arranged to sort out issues related to team dynamics (or dysfunction).

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Note that ‘draft’ here means, more or less, a final version of the report. The document has been thoroughly
checked for mistakes and all sections are complete. Please do not send the instructor a draft report full of errors,
typos, or incomplete analysis.

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 pipe assembly

pressure vessel (180 in long)

Figure 1: Pipe assembly connected to the pressure vessel (PV)

Background Information
The pipe assembly Figure 1 is to be connected to the pressure vessel. When the parts are
assembled it is anticipated that loads (Fz and Fx) will be present, see Figure 2. Your supervisor
wants you to design the pipe assembly (inner diameter is not known) while taking into account
the applied loads (Fx, Fz, and the operating pressure).
Part A) Piping Design & Analysis
Design Inputs
 Material  stainless steel (yield stress (YS) = 50 ksi)
 Factor of safety (n)  A FoS of at least 2 with respect to yielding is desired; use the von
Mises (distortion energy) criteria to compute the FoS
 Outer pipe diameter is 8.5 inches
 Forces of Fz =1900 lb (1.9 kip) and Fx = 2750 lb (2.75 kip) - see Figure 2
 Inner pipe diameter, d, is not known (see Figure 3)
 The pipe assembly is also subjected to an internal pressure of 320 lb/in2, or 320 psi
Design objectives
 The goal is to determine the inner diameter d. What is the largest value of d such that the
computed FoS (n) at points F and H is at least 2.0? Select a diameter to the nearest 1/8th
of an inch. Thus, if you wish to use an inner diameter of 6.078 inches, round up to 6.125
inches.

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 Figure 2: Pipe assembly showing forces Fz and Fx.

The material for the piping system has been determined – a stainless steel with a yield strength of
50 ksi. What is not known is the inner pipe diameter, d, see Figure 2, and this dimension is
needed to compute the stresses. Take a guess at the wall thickness2 (e.g., 1 inch) and keep
iterating until you reach the desired factor of safety,

Figure 3: Cross-section of pipe showing points F and H.

Perform/determine the following:

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Pipe wall thickness = (D-d)/2, or wall thickness = outer radius – inner radius

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 A. Guess, or iterate, the inner diameter, d, and compute the stresses at points F and H. For
each guess (iteration) compute the normal and shear stresses acting on outer surface of
the pipe at points F and H (see Figure 2).

B. Once the stresses are obtained, compute the factor of safety using the von Mises
(distortion energy) criterion. Recall that the desired FoS is 2.0.
σY
o n= where σallowable is the von Mises effective stress
σ allowable
C. When you are finished, summarize the information above in part A via stress elements3.
o Show all stress components acting on a stress element for point F
o Show all stress components acting on a stress element for point H
Part B) Lifting Beam Design
Visit any construction site or company that manufactures heavy equipment or machinery and you
will see overhead lifting equipment. These machines are vital when it comes to moving heavy
payloads around a job site in a safe and cost effective manner. Given the large loads and obvious
consequences should this equipment fail, there are governing standards one must follow when
designing overhead lift components.
The simplest way to move a heavy object would be with a crane and hook. The downside of this
approach is that all of the load is normally concentrated in a single location. Another approach is
to use spreader bars or lifting beams. Now the load can be distributed to several locations as
opposed to just one.

Figure 4: Crane hook.

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One will need to draw diagrams showing the stress components acting on the element

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 Figure 4: Example of a spreader bar.

In Figure 4 above we see an example of a spreader bar and slings. The slings are in tension and
the bar itself is in a state of compression. This design is very efficient since the bar is being
compressed and most engineering metals are quite strong in compression. The downside is the
required headroom (or space above the payload) is usually pretty large.
Alternatively, a lifting beam (see an example in Figure 6) can be utilized when headroom is at a
premium. The lifting beam will now be subjected to bending loads as opposed to only
compressive loads compared to the spreader bar.

upper lug

lower lug

Figure 6: Example of a lifting beam

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Design inputs/requirements (part B)
Material: alloy steel, E = 29x106 psi, ν = 0.3, Fy (yield strength) = 36,000 psi, Fu (ultimate tensile
strength) = 58,000 psi
Design weight: 65,000 lb
Design factor (Nd) = 3 (this is essentially a factor of safety)
Minimum beam length: 180 inches

Figure 7: Pressure vessel and lifting lugs (yellow components)

The pressure vessel (Figure 7) needs to be moved (lifted) from the fabrication facility on to a
truck. Your team is tasked with designing a lifting beam for this task. Normally I-beams (or wide
flanged sections, or W shapes) are utilized in these applications. The goal is to pick an I-beam
from a standard list (see the “General Properties of Structural Shapes” document). Other
important design information is found in the ASME BTH standard document.

b E
1. Check that, for your beam,

2.
t
<0.38
√ Fy
Compute the allowable bending stress, Fb using equation 3-6 from the ASME BTH
document.
3. Now compute the required section modulus, Sreq’d.
Mmax
 Sreq ' d= F
b
4. In order to compute Mmax (maximum moment) it is suggested that a free-body diagram
of the lifting beam is produced, and then generate a shear and bending moment (V-M)
diagram.
5. Now examine the “General Properties of Structural Shapes” and pick a beam that meets
the criterion in step 3 (note that Sreq’d is labeled as ‘S’ in the General Properties of
Structural Shapes document).

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 6. Compute the applied bending stress, S, using the flexure formula (S= Mc /I ¿ & ensure
that this stress is below the allowable bending stress, Fb. Note the beam length (or
distance between the lugs is 180 inches – see Figure 7).
Enter the above information into the table below and cut/paste this table into your document.
Table 1: Lifting Beam Information

b/t E E Fb (psi) S (psi) Fb < S? Chosen Beam

0.38
√ Fy √
b/t < 0.38
Fy Designation
(e.g.,
W18x65)
Yes/No Yes/No

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Part C) Pressure Vessel Design
Design inputs
 Material  stainless steel (yield stress (YS) = 50 ksi)
 Pressure vessel outer radius = 24 inches
 Preliminary design wall thickness = 0.25 inches
 Assume a thin wall condition (radius of the cylinder is much greater than the wall
thickness, t (or r/t > 10).
 Operating pressure = 320 psi
 Assume the material follows the von Mises (distortion energy) failure criterion with
respect to yielding & the desired FoS is 3.0.
Pressure vessels (PV) typically fall into two categories:
 Spherical
 Cylindrical (with flat ends, or hemi-spherical ends (‘hemi-heads)
In this case you are analyzing the cylindrical pressure vessel shown in Figure 1. The initial
(preliminary) wall thickness is currently 0.25 inches. You manager wishes to confirm that the
wall thickness is sufficiently large enough to meet the desired FoS. The only loading to consider
in this portion of the report is the internal pressure of 320 psi.
Design objectives
 Confirm or verify the initial wall thickness for this PV. Is the wall thickness correct?
Show that it is, or is not, correct through an analysis.
 Summarize your results in data table.