Comments on Design Methods of

Hou Jian-Guo
e-mail: houjg007@263.net Penstocks
An Xu-Wen This paper selects several representative penstocks codes of hydropower stations in China
and foreign countries including USBR Standards (1970), ASCE Steel Penstocks (1993),
He Ying-Min Japanese Technical Standards for Gates and Penstocks (1993), the former USSR’s code
My 34 747-76 and ⌸ 780-83, and Chinese code DL / T 5141-2001; analyzes and compares
School of Civil Engineering,
their different design methods and corresponding safety levels. In addition, the probabi-
Wuhan University,
listic limit state design method adopted in DL/T 5141-2001 is described emphatically.
Wuhan 430072, P.R. China
What are described can be taken as reference by the engineering technicians who are
engaged in the research, design and construction of steel penstocks for hydropower sta-
tions at home and abroad. 关DOI: 10.1115/1.1763930兴

1 Design Methods of Penstocks Codes at Home and
Abroad
Steel penstocks of hydropower stations are one of the pivotal
structures for water diversion to generate power. So their design
theories, design methods and the corresponding safety levels are
paid wide attention to by the domestic and foreign hydroelectric
engineering circles 关1– 4兴. It can be seen from collected informa-
tion that the current codes for penstocks of the most countries
adopt allowable stress design method 关1–3,7–9兴, except that the
former USSR’s codes 关5– 6兴 takes limit state design method. Ac-
cording to the difference of the failure criterion that be taken,
allowable stress design method can be divided into two kinds, one
is the traditional allowable stress design method, usually known as
‘‘design by rule’’; the other is the allowable stress design method
by analysis, always called ‘‘design by analysis’’, or ‘‘stress clas-
sification method’’.
The traditional allowable stress design method, based on the
elastic failure criterion, thinks the structure become failure as soon
as point of its maximum stress departs from pure elastic state and
enters plastic state. In analysis method, penstocks are designed
with it based on some experiential factors and the simplified equa-
tions of material mechanics and the thin shell theory. The strength
condition generally takes the maximum stress theory or the dis-
tortion energy theory 共also named Hencky-Mises theory兲, and the
stresses are controlled under the allowable stress. Because this
design method does not calculate the stress of important fields in
structures strictly and detailedly, for the sake of ensuring the
safety of structures, the safety factor used is usually larger to
compensate the shortfall of stress analysis. Codes for penstocks
used the traditional allowable stress design method include USBR
Standards 关2兴, the codes for penstocks of France, Germany, Italia
and Canada 关1兴, and Chinese code SD 144-85 关9兴, etc.
The allowable stress design method by analysis uses elastoplas-
tic failure criterion or plastic criterion. It allows local plastic zone
appearing, which can be controlled, in the structure, and limited
lifespan of peak stress position is designed. This design method,
usually based on the strength condition built upon the maximum
shear stress theory or Hencky-Mises theory, classifies the stresses
in shell in accordance with the dangerous level degree causing the
failure of structures and gives different allowable stress limit val-
ues, respectively, according to the characteristics of different
kinds of stresses. Therefore, compared with the traditional allow-
able stress design method, the allowable stress design method by
analysis uses smaller safety factors and larger allowable stress to
Contributed by the Pressure Vessels and Piping Division for publication in the
JOURNAL OF PRESSURE VESSEL TECHNOLOGY. Manuscript received by the PVP
Division May 15, 2003; revision received February 27, 2004. Associate Editor:
G. E. O. Widera.
make design more economical and reasonable 关10兴. Since Ameri-
can Society of Mechanical Engineers foremost adopted the
method of design by analysis in Construction Code of Nuclear
Vessels of ASME 关11兴 in 1965, this advanced design method has
been used in boiler and pressure vessel and penstocks design
codes of some countries in the world such as ASME Boiler and
Pressure Vessel Code VIII-2 关12兴, British Pressure Vessel Code
BS 5500:1997 关13兴, Chinese Pressure Vessel Code JB 4732-95
关14兴, Steel Penstocks of ASCE in 1993 关7兴, and Japanese Techni-
cal Standards for Gates and Penstocks in 1993 关8兴, etc.
However, the former USSR’s penstocks codes of My 34 747-76
关5兴 and P-780-83 关6兴 both use limit state design method, which
definitely specify the limit state of steel penstocks design. The
expressions of design consider overloading factors, material
strength factors, working condition factors, structural reliability
factors and design condition factors, of which the standard values
of partial load and material strength are decided according to the
statistical analysis of the measured data, and the values of material
strength factors also have definite probabilistic meaning, but over-
loading factors and working condition factors are still experiential
ones.
Compared with the traditional allowable stress design method,
the allowable stress design method by analysis and limit state
design method improve in dealing with the problem of structural
reliability. However, they still do not escape from the field of
estimating the structural reliability with experience. So they all
belong to the deterministic method. In fact, every basic variable
that affects the structural reliability is not constant value but ran-
dom variable or process, which is changing with time and space.
Therefore, probabilistic theory shall be used to replace past deter-
ministic design theory; and the statistical mathematic method shall
be used to replace the method subject to experience, then the
reliability of structures is measured with failure probability P f or
corresponding reliability index ␤ to establish the mathematic re-
lations between P f 共or ␤兲 and limit state equations of structures.
This method of designing according to the design expressions of
partial factors is called limit state design method based on prob-
ability theory, named probabilistic limit state design method for
short. Nowadays, this design method is generally recognized as
more advanced than past various deterministic methods; and it is a
significant progress in structure design theory and method. In the
design standards of structural project, actively adopting probabi-
listic limit state design method has become a common develop-
ment tendency in the field of contemporary international structural
project. In order to fit this developmental tendency, the Penstocks
Codes DL/T 5141-2001 关15兴, which is the revision of SD 144-85
关9兴 in China, discards the traditional allowable stress design
method and first and foremost adopts advanced probabilistic limit
state design method in specifications for design of steel penstocks
for hydroelectric stations.

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 Table 1 Safety factors in USBR standards
Normal Intermittent
Condition Condition
Penstock
Type Ky Ku A Ky Ku
Exposed 1.5 3.0 0.5 1.25 2.25
penstocks
Embedded 1.0 1.5 0.67
penstocks
In the following, this paper will take codes for penstocks of
U.S.A, Japan, the former USSR, and China’s DL/T 5141-2001 to
analyze and compare the design methods and their safety levels
adopted in the above-mentioned codes for penstocks.
2 Safety Levels of Penstocks in Codes for Penstocks at
Home and Abroad
2.1 American Penstocks Codes
2.1.1 USBR Standards. The design and construction of steel
penstocks in U.S.A have taken ASME BPVC VIII-1 关16兴 for many
years. As the research of penstock design theory ceaselessly goes
in depth, it has come to be realized that ASME Code are not
completely applicable for the design of penstocks, especially the
values of allowable stresses can’t have been reasonable enough to
penstock design. In 1970, USBR presented a new standards of
penstock design 关2兴 共hereinafter referred to ‘‘USBR Standards’’兲.
According to the stressing feature of steel penstocks, USBR Stan-
dards make great improvement to the allowable stresses and
safety factors. For instance, though the design of penstocks still
adopts the traditional allowable stress design method, the strength
condition takes Hencky-Mises theory and safety factors are prop-
erly lowered according to different design conditions, or in the
other word, the value of allowable stress is properly increased. It
specifies that four design conditions should be taken into account
in the design of penstocks:
Normal condition: maximum hydrostatic pressure and
water hammer pressure
Intermittent condition: filling with water, blowing off
water and earthquake action, etc.
Emergency condition: direct water hammer caused by
failure of the governor or the closedown of partial gates
Exceptional condition: only used as verification and not
as the basis of design
USBR Standards provide relevant limited values of allowable
stresses for every design condition. If K y and K u are safety factors
corresponding with yield point of steel ␴ y and tensile strength of
steel ␴ u , respectively, the safety factors of allowable stress 关␴兴 for
bearing internal water pressure design under different design con-
ditions in USBR Standards are shown in Table 1. For short, the
safety factors in this paper all mean ones corresponding with the
weld joint reduction factor ␸⫽1.0, also known as basic safety
factors. Suppose that A⫽ ␴ y / ␴ u , when ␴ y / ␴ u ⭐A, the value of
关␴兴 will be controlled by ␴ y , otherwise, it will be controlled by
␴ u . So some researchers at home and abroad call A as limited
value of yield ratio.
From the results of Table 1, it can be seen that safety factors of
exposed penstocks is far larger than those of embedded penstocks
in USBR Standards. For exposed penstocks, the safety factors in
different design conditions are K y ⫽1.5⫺1.0, and K u ⫽3.0⫺1.0.
Moreover, the limited value of yield ratio A of different types of
penstocks is distinct in different design conditions, which embod-
ies diverse requirements to safety levels of steel penstocks.
2.1.2 ASCE Manual. Because there are no special design
codes for penstocks of hydropower stations in America, ASCE
specially compiled a manual of steel penstocks 共hereinafter re-
ferred to ‘‘ASCE Manual’’兲 关7兴. This manual covers the design,
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Emergency Exceptional
Condition Condition
A Ky Ku A Ky Ku A
0.56 1.0 1.5 0.67 1.0
manufacture, installation, testing, operation and maintenance of
steel penstocks 共including branches and suberdinate members and
steel lined tunnel兲. The design approach of penstocks in ASCE
Manual is the allowable stress design method by analysis in
ASME BPVC VIII-2 关12兴.
ASCE Manual specifies that six design conditions, thirty load
types and twenty-four load combinations should be considered
when the penstocks are designed. Of the six design conditions, the
former four design conditions are as same as those of USBR Stan-
dards and two newly added design conditions are construction
condition and hydrostatic test condition respectively.
Concerning the strength condition, ASCE Manual advises to
adopt the maximum shear stress theory. In addition, it puts for-
ward that the Hencky-Mises theory based on the two-dimensional
stress state is also acceptable.
ASCE Manual specifies that the basic allowable stress S should
take the smaller value between ␴ u /3 and 2 ␴ y /3. According to the
stresses characteristics and the dangerous level of structural fail-
ure caused by the stresses, the stresses of penstocks are classified
into primary stress, including general primary membrane stress
P m , local primary membrane stress P L and primary bending
stress P b , secondary stress Q and peak stress F in ASCE Manual,
which must meet the following conditions:
冎
P m⭐KS
P L , P b or P L⫹ P b⭐1.5KS (1)
P L⫹ P b⫹Q⭐3S
Where K is the allowable stress increase factor. K is adopted with
1.1, 1.33, 1.5, 2.5, and 1.33 for the normal, intermittent, emer-
gency, exceptional, and construction and hydrostatic test condi-
tions respectively.
In ASCE Manual, the safety factors for bearing internal water
pressure design calculated from Eq. 共1兲 are shown in Table 2.
Compared with USBR Standards, ASCE Manual has following
characteristics: according to the different dangerous levels of
structural failure caused by the stresses, ASCE Manual makes the
classification of penstocks’ stresses and gives different limited al-
lowable stresses, respectively.
Under some design conditions and stress kinds, K y ⭐1.0 is per-
mitted, but K u ⭓1.0, i.e., the stresses of steel penstocks are al-
lowed to equal even exceed the yield point of steel, but not al-
lowed to exceed the tensile strength of steel; In the ASCE manual,
more comprehensive factors during the designs are considered,
such as design condition, load types and their combinations, etc.
The limited value of yield ratio A equals 0.5 under different
operating conditions and kinds of stresses. On the whole,
the safety levels in ASCE Manual and USBR Standards are
approximate.
2.2 Japanese Penstocks Code. Japan Technical Standards
for Gates and Penstocks 共fourth revision in 1993兲 共hereinafter
referred to ‘‘Japanese Code’’兲 关8兴 also adopts the allowable stress
design method by analysis, but the strength condition takes the
Hencky-Mises theory. Japanese Code is applicable to the design
of exposed penstocks, penstocks embedded in rock and penstocks
embedded in earth 共also named backfill penstocks兲.
For common steels that have been listed in the Code, Japanese
Code all gives the corresponding allowable stresses, of which the
Transactions of the ASME
 Table 2 Safety factors in ASCE manual

Construction
and
Normal Intermittent Emergency Exceptional Hydrostatic
condition condition condition condition test condition
Stress
category Ky Ku Ky Ku Ky Ku Ky Ku Ky Ku A⫽K y /K u
Pm 1.5 3.0 1.13 2.26 1.0 2.0 0.6 1.2 1.13 2.26
P L , P b or 1.0 2.0 0.75 1.50 0.67 1.33 0.6 1.2 0.75 1.5 0.5
P L⫹ P b
P L⫹ P b⫹Q 0.5 1.0 0.50 1.00

allowable tensile stresses of steel materials are decided according
to their basic design strength divided by the safety factor 1.8. The
basic design strength of steel materials is the strength that the
yield point is divided by the material factor. The material factors
are ones taking account of differences in the yield ratio ( ␴ y / ␴ u ),
cold machining property and the energy-consuming capacity at
the destruction time of various grades steels, the values of which
are: 1.05 for steel SM570 and SPV450, 1.15 for steel
SHY685NS-F, and 1.0 for other grades of steels. It is valuable to
notice that, because the yield ratios of the above-mentioned three
grades of steels with material factors over 1.0 are all above 0.7,
therefore the values of material factors are greater.
According to the different stress characters, stresses in pen-
stocks are classified into primary, secondary and peak stress in
Japanese Code. However, temperature stress, which is classified
as secondary stress in ASCE Manual, is defined as primary stress
in Japanese Code.
When the penstocks are designed, three design conditions must
be considered: Penstock is full of water; Penstock is filling with
water; Penstock is empty. Loads types include long-term and tem-
porary loads. Loads and their combinations every design condi-
tion shall consider are shown in Japanese Code. According to the
different load types and stress characters, it is permitted that the
allowable stress times the increase factors listed in Table 3 for the
design condition in which the penstock is full of water. When the
penstock is filling with water, the increase factor can adopt 1.5.
Japanese Code specifies that the equivalent stress that is calcu-
lated according to the Hencky-Mises theory and various stresses
of penstocks shall be controlled below the allowable stresses after
considering the increase factors and the weld joint reduction
factors.
According to the above design specifications, the safety factors
for bearing internal water pressure design under the design condi-
tion of that penstock is full of water are shown as Table 4. From
the results of this table, it can be seen that, for the basic safety
factors under primary stress and long-term loads 共equivalent to
normal condition兲 in Japanese Code, K y is larger than that of
USBR Standards and ASCE Manual, and K u is smaller than that
of American codes. And the limited value of yield ratio A of
Japanese Code is greater, which is 0.75. It is beneficial for taking
full advantage of high-strength steel.
2.3 The Former USSR Penstocks Codes
2.3.1 Exposed Penstocks Code My 34 747-76. The former
USSR’s exposed penstock design code, My 34 747-76 关5兴, adopts
the limit state design method and the Hencky-Mises strength
theory. Three design conditions 共such as normal operation condi-
tion, construction and installation and repair condition, testing
condition兲 and two load combinations 共such as basic combination
and exceptional combination兲 should be considered during the de-
sign of penstocks. While designing according to the strength limit
state, the equivalent stress ␴ eq calculated according to the
Hencky-Mises theory should satisfy the following condition:
f sk m
␴ eq ⭐ • (2)
␥s kH
where f sk is standard value of strength of steel plate, f sk ⫽ ␴ y
when ␴ y / ␴ u ⭐0.7; otherwise f sk ⫽0.7␴ u when ␴ y / ␴ u ⬎0.7; and
␥ s is partial factor for strength of steel plate, ␥ s ⫽1.11– 1.25 for
different grades of steels; and m⫽working condition factor, for the
basic combinations, m⫽0.7 and 1.1 corresponding to the general
stresses and local stress respectively; for the exceptional combi-
nations, m⫽0.95 and 1.5 corresponding to the general stress and

Table 3 Allowable stress increase factors in Japanese code

Primary Primary stress⫹Secondary Peak

Load types stress stress stress
Long-term Internal pressure, 1.0 1.35 1.7
Loads Dead weight of
penstocks, weight of
water in pipe,
temperature action,
earth pressure, external
load, snow load
Temporary Earthquake load, Wind 1.5 1.7
loads load

Table 4 Safety factors in Japanese code

Long-term loads Temporary loads

Stress types Ky Ku Ky Ku A⫽K y /K u
Primary stress 1.8 2.4 1.2 1.6
Primary stress⫹Secondary stress 1.33 1.78 1.06 1.41 0.75
Peak stress 1.06 1.41

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 Table 5 Safety factors for bearing internal water pressure design of exposed penstocks of
class 1 in M 34 747-76
Basic combination
Kinds of Stress Ky Ku
General stress 1.87–2.11 2.67–3.01
Local stress 1.18 –1.33 1.69–1.90
local stress, respectively; and k H is reliability factor of the struc-
tures, k H ⫽1.2, 1.15, and 1.0 for the hydraulic structures of classes
I, II, and III, respectively.
When calculating stress of penstocks, overloading factor n is
shown in My 34 747-76. The overloading factor n for loading
hydrostatic and water hammer pressures, n⫽1.0 shall be adopted.
Therefore, for the design of bearing internal water pressure, the
safety factors for exposed penstocks of the class I in My 34
747-76 derived from Eq. 共2兲 are shown in Table 5.
From the data in this table, it can be seen that the safety levels
of exposed penstocks set in both the former USSR’s code and
Japanese Code are approximate each other.
2.3.2 Design Aids for SLRCP in P-780-83. A steel lined re-
inforced concrete penstock 共SLRCP兲 is a combined bearing struc-
ture which consists of steel liner and encased reinforced concrete,
it has widely been applied to penstocks for hydropower stations in
the former USSR and China. In 1983, the Hydrotechnical Struc-
tures Survey and Design Research Institute of the former USSR
especially compiled a design reference for SLRCP P-780-83 关6兴,
which also adopted the limit state design method. Limit states
include two kinds: one is the strength limit state, all structural
members should be designed according to the strength limit state;
another is the serviceability limit state, the widths of cracks of the
encased reinforced concrete structures of SLRCP should be
checked if necessary. SLRCP should be designed in accordance
with the combined bearing criterion of steel liner and encased
reinforced concrete. During designing SLRCP, three design con-
ditions 共such as normal operation condition, construction and re-
pair condition, and exceptional condition兲 and two combinations
共such as basic and exceptional combination兲 should be considered.
The design expression for the strength limit state is as follows:
k H ␺ N⭐m a 共 f y A s ⫹ f s A p 兲 (3)
where k H is reliability factor of the structures, k H ⫽1.25, 1.2, 1.15,
and 1.1 for the hydraulic structures of classes I, II, III, and IV,
respectively; and ␺ is design condition factor, ␺⫽1.0, 0.95 and 0.9
for basic combinations during normal operation condition and
construction-repair condition, and for exceptional combinations
during exceptional condition respectively; and N is design value
of tensile force, overloading factor n should be considered during
calculating N, and n⫽1.0 for both loadings of hydrostatic and
water hammer pressure and m a is working condition factor, m a
⫽0.92 and 0.88 for the hydraulic structures of classes I and II, III,
and IV, respectively; and f y ⫽design value of strength of the rein-
forcement; f y ⫽ f yk / ␥ y , f yk is standard value of strength of cir-
cumferential reinforcement, ␥ y is partial factor for strength of the
reinforcement, ␥ y ⫽1.05 and 1.07 for the reinforcements of steel
grades A-II and A-III respectively; and A s is area of circumferen-
tial reinforcement at unit length; and f s is design value of strength
Table 6 Safety factors for design of SLRCP for bearing internal water pressure in P-780-83
Basic combination for Basic combination for
normal operation construction and repair
Ky Ku Ky Ku
1.43 1.85⬃1.43 1.36 1.76⬃1.36
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Exceptional combination
Ky Ku A⫽K y /K u
1.40–1.58 2.00–2.26 0.7
0.89–1.00 1.27–1.43
of steel plates, f s ⫽ f sk / ␥ s , f sk is standard value of strength of
steel plates, usually f sk ⫽ ␴ y . However, f sk ⫽ ␴ u when the tensile
forces bearing by steel liners are not above 50 percent of the total
tensile forces, but in that case the reliability factor 1.3 shall be
considered; ␥ s is partial factor for strength of steel plates, ␥ s
⫽1.05 when ␴ y ⭐380 N/mm2 , otherwise ␥ s ⫽1.1, and A p ⫽area
of the cross-section of steel liner at unit length.
If let the standard value of resisting ability of circumferential
reinforcement R 1 is f yk A s , and the standard value of resisting
ability of steel liners R 2 ⫽ f sk A p and supposed that ␳ R ⫽R 1 /R 2 ,
according to Eq. 共3兲, the formula calculating safety factors for the
冎
design of bearing internal water pressure in P-780-83 is
k H ␺ ␥ y ␥ s 共 1⫹ ␳ R 兲
K y⫽ •
ma ␥ s␳ R⫹ ␥ y
(4)
k H ␺ 1.3␥ y ␥ s 共 1⫹ ␳ R 兲
K u⫽ •
ma 1.3␥ s ␳ R ⫹ ␥ y
Provided that ␥ y ⫽ ␥ s ⫽1.05 and ␳ R ⫽0 to ⬁, for the SLRCP of
structure class I, the safety factors for the design of bearing inter-
nal water pressure calculated from Eq. 共4兲 are shown in Table 6.
2.4 China Penstocks Code DLÕT 5141-2001
2.4.1 Partial Factors Design Expression in DL/T 5141-2001.
Before 1985, there was no special design code for steel penstocks
of hydropower stations in China and design usually executed the
penstocks code of the former USSR. In Oct. 1985, China formally
published the first design code for penstocks of hydropower sta-
tions SD 144-85 关9兴, which is applicable to the design of the
exposed penstocks, penstocks embedded in rock and penstocks
embedded in dam. The strength condition of SD 144-85 adopts the
Hencky-Mises strength theory, the design is carried out with the
traditional allowable stress design method.
DL/T 5141-2001, the revision of SD 144-85, discards the al-
lowable stress design method used in SD 144-85 and adopts the
limit state design method based on probability theory, which uses
reliability index to measure the reliability of penstocks; and the
design is carried out with partial factors design expression 共that is
LRFD model兲.
DL/T 5141-2001 specifies that penstocks should be designed
according to the bearing capacity limit state and serviceability
limit state respectively. The main structural members of penstocks
shall be designed in accordance with the bearing capacity limit
state. For the encased reinforced concrete structures of SLRCP,
the width of cracks should be checked according to the service-
ability limit state.
For the bearing capacity limit state, DL/T 5141-2001 specifies
that the three design conditions, such as permanent, transient and
occasional conditions and two combinations of action effects,
Exceptional combination
Ky Ku A⫽K y /K u
1.28 1.67⬃1.28 0.77
Transactions of the ASME
 Table 7 Structural partial factors ␥ d in DLÕT 5141-2001

Penstocks types Stress category Symbol ␥ d 共␸⫽1.0兲

Exposed General primary membrane stress Pm 1.5
penstocks Local primary membrane stress P L or P L⫹ P b 1.2
Local primary membrane stress P L⫹ P b⫹Q 1.05
⫹Primary bending stress
Embedded General primary membrane stress Pm 1.2
penstocks in rock
Embedded General primary membrane stress Pm 1.2
penstocks in dam
SLRCP Axial tension N 1.5

such as basic combination under permanent or transient condition,
and occasional combination under occasional condition, should be
considered.
For the bearing capacity limit state, DL/T 5141-2001 adopts the
design expression with five partial factors, i.e., structural impor-
tance factor ␥ 0 , design condition factor ␺, partial factors of action
␥ G and ␥ Q , partial factor of material strength ␥ s and structural
partial factor ␥ d . The equivalent stress ␴ eq is calculated accord-
ing to the Hencky-Mises theory and the design expression is writ-
ten as
␴ eq ⭐ ␴ R (5)
For basic combination:
␴ eq ⫽S 共 ␥ G •G k , ␥ Q•Q k ,a k 兲 (6a)
For occasional combination:
␴ eq ⫽S 共 ␥ G •G k , ␥ Q •Q k ,A k ,a k 兲 (6b)
␴ R is calculated with the follow formula:
1 termine ␥ d of different types of penstocks through optimizing
␴ R⫽ f (7)
␥ 0 ␺␥ d s
where ␴ R is limited value of the resistance of penstocks; and S
(•) is effect function of actions; and G k and Q k is standard values
of permanent action and variable action respectively: A k is repre-
sentative value of occasional action; ␥ G and ␥ Q are partial factors
for permanent action and variable action respectively, ␥ G ⫽1.05 is
adopted; ␥ Q ⫽1.0 and 1.1 are adopted for that the variable actions
are hydrostatic and water hammer pressure; a k is standard value
of geometrical parameters of the structural members; ␥ 0 is struc-
tural importance factor, ␥ 0 ⫽1.1 and 1.0 for penstocks of safety
classes I and II; ␺ is design condition factor, ␺⫽1.0, 0.9 and 0.8
for the permanent, transient and occasional conditions respec-
tively; f s is design value of strength of steel plate, f s ⫽ f sk / ␥ s ,
when ␴ y / ␴ u ⭐0.75, f sk ⫽ ␴ y and ␥ s ⫽1.087; otherwise f sk
⫽0.75␴ u , ␥ s ⫽1.111; and ␥ d ⫽structural partial factor.
2.4.2 Principles and Methods of Deciding Partial Factors.
The partial factors in DL/T 5141-2001 are set up in order to reach
the objective reliability index ␤ t that the bearing capacity limit
state specifies when adopting the probabilistic limit state design
method. ␥ 0 and ␺ are relative to consider the influence of different
structural safety classes and different design conditions; ␥ G and
␥ Q are relative to the disadvantageous variation of actions to the
standard value; ␥ s is to represent the disadvantageous variation of
material strength to the standard value; ␥ d is for the following
uncertain elements: the uncertainty of the action effect calculation
model, the uncertainty of the resistance calculative model of the
structural members and the other various variations that do not be
reflected by the partial factors of ␥ 0 , ␺, ␥ s and ␥ G , ␥ Q . The
value of the safety level 共i.e., the objective reliability index ␤ t ) in
DL/T 5141-2001 is mainly determined according to the results of
reliability calibration analysis of SD 144-85 关19兴. The value of ␤ t
for various types of penstocks of the structural safety class are:
␤ t ⫽4.2 for exposed penstocks and SLRCP; ␤ t ⫽3.7 for penstocks
embedded in rock and penstocks embedded in dam.
The principles and methods of determining partial factors in
DL/T 5141-2001 are summarized as follows: according to the
determined objective reliability index ␤ t , the determined statisti-
cal characteristics of the various basic variables, and beforehand
selected the appropriate partial factors 共including ␥ G , ␥ Q , ␥ s ,
␥ 0 , and ␺兲, the structural partial factor ␥ d , which is final partial
factor in the design expression, is determined with the method of
combining the reliability analysis method with the calibration
method according to engineering experience.
The key points of determining structural partial factors with
reliability analysis methods are:
According to the objective reliability index ␤ t and the statistical
characteristics of all basic variables, which have been determined,
and the relevant partial factors 共e.g., ␥ s , ␥ G , ␥ Q , ␥ 0 and ␺兲
selected in advance, optimally approach ␤ t under different mate-
rial combinations and different combinations for action effects as
well as different action effect ratios for each type of penstock with
first-order-second-moments method 共or named JC method兲 to de-
calculation by means of the principle of the least square method.
The objective of optimizing calculation is to make the error be-
tween the reliability index ␤ of structural members of penstocks
designed according to the structural factor ␥ d selected and other
partial factors and the objective reliability index ␤ t is the least in
general.
The key points of determining structural partial factor ␥ d with
calibration method according to engineering experience are: tak-
ing the safety factors of the allowable stress design method in SD
144-85 as the criterion, determine the structural partial factor of
different types of penstocks according to the principle of that the
integrated safety factors consisting of various partial factors se-
lected in advance and the structural partial factors to determine are
equal to safety factors in SD 144-85.
On the basis of comprehensively analyzing the values of struc-
tural partial factors being determined with above-mentioned two
methods, according to the principles of no large fluctuations of the
safety levels and material consumption before and after the code
revised as well as practice and convenience, finally determine the
appropriate structural partial factors through the proper incorpora-
tions and adjustments. According to the research results of this
paper, the values of structural partial factors adopted in DL/T
5141-2001 are shown in Table 7.
It is necessary to particularly point out that, though the ad-
vanced probabilistic limit state design method has been adopted in
DL/T 5141-2001, it also thinks that it is advisable to accept the
design principle of the conception about the classification of
stresses in the design codes of pressure vessel and steel penstocks
关7– 8,12–14兴 that adopt allowable stress design method by analy-
sis, and to adopt different strength control criteria respectively
according to the dangerous level that cause structures to failure.
Therefore, it refers to the conception and design principles about
the classification of stresses and the design principle in the design

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 Table 8 Safety factors in DLÕT 5141-2001

Persistent Transient Occasional

condition condition condition
Basic Basic Occasional
combination combination combination
Penstocks
types Stress category Ky Ku Ky Ku Ky Ku A⫽K y /K u
Pm 1.83⬃ 2.45⬃ 1.65⬃ 2.20⬃ 1.47⬃ 1.96⬃
1.88 2.50 1.69 2.25 1.50 2.00
Exposed P L or P L⫹ P b 1.47⬃ 1.96⬃ 1.32⬃ 1.76⬃ 1.17⬃ 1.57⬃
penstocks 1.50 2.00 1.35 1.80 1.20 1.60
P L⫹ P b⫹Q 1.28⬃ 1.71⬃ 1.16⬃ 1.54⬃ 1.03⬃ 1.37⬃
1.31 1.75 1.19 1.57 1.05 1.40
Embedded Pm 1.47⬃ 1.96⬃ 1.17⬃ 1.57⬃ 0.75
penstocks 1.50 2.00 1.20 1.60
in rock
Embedded Pm 1.47⬃ 1.96⬃ 1.17⬃ 1.57⬃
penstocks 1.50 2.00 1.20 1.60
in dam
SLRCP Axial tension 1.86 2.48⬃ 1.67 2.23⬃ 1.49 1.98⬃
1.86 1.67 1.49

codes of pressure vessel and penstocks while determining the
safety levels of various types of penstocks and the structural par-
tial factors of different stress categories.
When only considering the simple combination of hydrostatic
pressure W c and water hammer pressure W h , and the average
value of ␳ h (⫽W h /W c ) adopts 0.3, according to the values of
above-mentioned various partial factors, the integrated safety fac-
tors for the design of bearing internal water pressure in DL/T
5141-2001 can be determined through design expression 共5兲 to
共7兲, which are shown in Table 8.
3 Comparisons of Safety Levels of Penstocks Codes
In order to be convenient for comparison, the safety factors of
different country’s penstocks codes under the basic combination
of normal operation condition when the weld joint factor ␸ is 1.0
共the safety factors are also called the basic safety factors兲 are
shown in Table 9. The basic safety factors of the domestic and
foreign pressure vessel codes under general primary membrane
stress are also shown in this table to refer and compare.
It can be seen from Table 9 that:
1. For the exposed penstocks, the basic safety factors K y and
K u of partial factor valuing scheme in DL/T 5141-2001 very ap-
proach to those in the former USSR’s and Japanese Codes, K y is
about 1.8 and K u is nearly 2.5. But K y in DL/T 5141-2001 is
higher than those in penstocks codes of U.S.A and pressure vessel
codes of other countries 共they equal 1.5兲, while K u in DL/T 5141-
2001 is lower than that in penstocks and pressure vessel codes of
U.S.A 共they equal 3.0兲, but very approaches to that in penstocks
and pressure vessel codes of other countries. Considering once
exposed penstocks fails will the consequent be extremely bad, and
referring to the reliability calibration results and engineering ex-
perience of exposed penstocks 关19兴, it is thought that it is basically
applicable to make K y for exposed penstocks take about 1.8. For
K u , ASCE Manual and ASME BPVC VIII-2 that adopt allowable
stress design method by analysis to explain the values of K u from
the prospect of invariability analysis 关20兴. So their K u is higher
and the corresponding limited value of yield ratio A(⫽ ␴ y / ␴ u ) is
the least. But it is meanwhile paying attention to that, though the
codes of pressure vessel of other domestic and foreign countries
共such as BS 5500:1997 of England, Japanese JIS B 8270-93 and
Chinese JB 4732-95, etc.兲 and Japanese penstocks code, like
American ASME BPVC VIII-2 and ASCE Manual, adopt allow-
able stress design method by analysis, K u of these codes are be-
tween 2.35–2.6 and smaller than that of 3.0 in ASME BPVC
VIII-2 and ASCE Manual 关7兴, which shows that the values of K u
in DL/T 5141-2001 are still basically suitable.
2. For the penstocks embedded in rock and penstocks embed-
ded in dam, K y in DL/T 5141-2001 is about 1.5, which is larger
than that in USBR Standards and lower than that in Japanese
penstock code, but equal to that in ASCE Manual and the codes of
pressure vessel in domestic and foreign countries. K u in DL/T
5141-2001 is about 2.0, which is lower than that in the foreign
codes. Considering the penstocks embedded in rock and penstocks
embedded in dam have surrounding rock and encased reinforced
concrete respectively to help bearing internal water pressure, their
safety reserves are fairly larger 关22兴. In addition, considering that
the penstocks embedded in rock and penstocks embedded in dam
generally do not use high strength steel, the factual yield ratio
( ␴ y / ␴ u ) of steel is generally about 0.5 to 0.6 and isn’t higher than
0.7. Therefore, the real values K u for the penstocks of embedded
in rock and penstocks embedded in dam must be over 2.0 derived
from A⫽ ␴ y / ␴ u ⫽0.75 关19兴. Thus, it can be thought that it is
basically satisfactory for K u corresponding with the penstocks of
embedded in rock and penstocks embedded in dam in DL/T 5141-
2001, and that its safety reliability can be guaranteed.
3. For SLRCP, the basic safety factors in DL/T 5141-2001 ap-
proach to the design values in engineering practice in China 共K is
about 1.9 to 2.0兲, but they are obviously larger than that in P-780-
83; and it is shown that the SLRCP has great potential in the
aspect of safety.
Sum up, compared with the codes for penstocks and pressure
vessel in China and foreign countries, the safety levels of the
partial factor valuing scheme in DL/T 5141-2001 are basically
suitable.
4 Conclusions
1. In the current penstocks codes of the domestic and foreign
countries, except that the limit state design method is adopted in
the former USSR’s codes for penstocks and the probability limit
state design method is adopted in DL/T 5141-2001 of China, the
allowable stress design method is generally adopted, of which the
allowable stress design method by analysis is adopted in Japanese
penstocks code and ASCE Manual, and the traditional allowable
stress design method is generally adopted in the others. Although
the limit state design method and allowable stress design method
by analysis are more progressive than the traditional allowable
stress method in solving the problem of structural reliability, the
estimations of structural reliability through experiences are still
their essences. The probability limit state design method is firstly
accepted into DL/T 5141-2001, which creates a pretty beneficial
condition for realizing the optimum design and selecting the best
balance between safety and economy, and is consistent with the

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 Table 9 Comparisons of the basic safety factors in different country’s penstocks and pressure
vessel codes

Code Stress A⫽K y/

Country sort Code name category Ky Ku Ku Remarks
China A DL/T Pm 1.83⬃1.88 2.45⬃2.50 0.75 Exposed
5141-2001 关15兴 P L or 1.47⬃1.50 1.96⬃2.00 penstocks
P L⫹ P b
P L⫹ P b⫹Q 1.28⬃1.31 1.71⬃1.75
Pm 1.47⬃1.50 1.96⬃2.00 0.75 Embedded
penstocks
Axial 1.86 2.48⬃1.86 0.75 SLRCP
tension
B GB 150-1998 Pm 1.6 3.0 0.53
关20兴
B* JB 4732-95 Pm 1.5 2.6 0.58
关14兴 P L or 1.0 1.73
P L⫹ P b
P L⫹ P b⫹Q 0.5 0.87
Japan A* Technical P.S. 1.8 2.4 0.75 Exposed
Standards for and
Gates and P.S.⫹S.S. 1.33 1.78 embedded
Penstocks 关8兴 penstocks
B* JIS B 8270-93 Pm 1.5 2.4,3.0 0.63,0.5 K u⫽2.4 is
关21兴 applicable
to the high
strength
steel
The A My 34 G.S. 1.87⬃2.11 2.67⬃3.01 0.7 Exposed
former 747-76 关5兴 L.S. 1.18⬃1.33 1.69⬃1.90 penstocks
USSR A P-780-83 关6兴 Axial 1.43 1.85⬃1.43 0.77 SLRCP
tension
U.S.A. A USBR Pm 1.5 3.0 0.5 Exposed
Standards 关2兴 penstocks
Pm 1.0 1.5 0.67 Embedded
penstocks
A* ASCE Manual Pm 1.5 3.0 0.5 Exposed
关7兴 P L or 1.0 2.0 and
P L⫹ P b embedded
P L⫹ P b⫹Q 0.5 1.0 penstocks
B ASME Pm 1.5 4.0 0.38
VIII-1-1995 关16兴
B* ASME Pm 1.5 3.0 0.5
VIII-2-1995 关12兴
England B* BS 5500: 1997 Pm 1.5 2.35 0.64
关13兴
France B CODAP-1987 Pm 1.5 2.4 0.63
关21兴

a
The specification sort of A is the design codes of penstocks, and B is the design codes of pressure vessel. The alphabets with
symbol* are the codes that adopt the allowable stress design method by analysis.
b
P.S. is primary stress; S.S. is secondary stress; G.S. is general stress; L.S. is local stress.

development trends of actively promoting the probability limit
state design method of the structural engineering design codes in
the international engineering structure circle.
2. The safety factors in DL/T 5141-2001 very approach to
those in the penstocks codes of Japan and the former USSR. Com-
pared with ASCE Manual and USBR Standards, K y of the ex-
posed penstocks in DL/T 5141-2001 is a little higher, which
shows that K y in DL/T 5141-2001 may be still appropriately low-
ered, and K u is somewhat lower, but K u is as approximate as that
in the other codes of penstocks and pressure vessel of domestic
and foreign countries. Therefore, the partial factor valuing scheme
of various types of penstocks in DL/T 5141-2001 and correspond-
ing safety levels are basically suitable, except that the safety fac-
tors corresponding with the yield strength of the exposed pen-
stocks and SLRCP have some room to improve.
3. The limited value of yield ratio A in DL/T 5141-2001 is
equal to 0.75, which approaches to the values in the former
USSR’s and Japanese penstocks codes and is beneficial to make
full use of the function and advantages of the high strength steel.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the academician of Chinese
Academy of Engineering, Prof. G. F. Zhao with Dalian University
of Technology, Prof. J. Z. Fu, C. Gan, Sr. Engr. S. H. Jiang with
West-North Investigation Design Institute, P.R. China, PhD. C. Q.
Wu, M. Sc. X. B. Yang, Prof. Y. N. Wang with Wuhan University,
for their invaluable support. Additionally, special thanks to the
reviewers and editors, who contributed much to the publication of
this paper.
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