RPS Composites Inc.

RPS A-150 and P150

Pipe Stress Analysis Information

Changes to: W, p, Eax, Eh, G, Vh/ax, Sigma allow and CTE for Pipe Propts.

Rev

Description

JLK
Issued By

26 June 2013
Date

RPS A-150 and P-150

Pipe Stress Analysis Information

Prep.
Chk.

J. Kendall
B. Hebb

Date: 26 June 2013

Date: 27 June 2013

Document No.
Page No.

E-433
Page 1 of 10

E-433
Rev. V
26 June 2013

Pipe Stress Analysis Information

Table of Contents
1.0

INTRODUCTION

2.0

PIPE PROPERTIES

3.0

FITTINGS
3.1
Elbows
3.2
Reducers
3.3
Tees & Laterals
3.4
Reducing Branches
3.5
Flanges

4
4
5
5
6
6

4.0

CODE STRESS RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1
General
4.2
Load Cases
4.3
Corrosion Allowance
4.4
Occasional Loads
4.5
Hydrotest Allowable Stress

7
7
7
7
7
7

5.0

RIGIDLY RESTRAINED PIPE

5.1
Column-type Buckling
5.2
Allowable Stress
5.3
Pressure Loads on Anchors

8
8
9
10

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E-433
Rev. V
26 June 2013

Pipe Stress Analysis Information

1.0

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this document is to provide piping data and recommendations to carry out
stress analysis of RPS A-150 and P-150 piping in accordance with ASME B31.1 or
B31.3.

2.0

PIPE PROPERTIES

Notes:
1.
2.
3.

T includes 0.11 erosion/corrosion liner.

Allowable Stresses apply when the axial stress is tensile. If the axial stress is
compressive, refer to Section 5.0.
Allowable stresses are axial stresses. They are based on maintaining a Design Factor of 6
for combined loads, calculated as follows:


    

where: p = Axial pressure stress

up = Pressure axial strength (18500 psi)
b = Non-pressure axial stress
ub = Non-pressure axial strength (9000 psi)
allow = p + b
Note: 1 pipe is hand lay-up construction which has an axial strength (pressure and nonpressure) of 13500 psi.

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Pipe Stress Analysis Information

3.0

FITTINGS

3.1

Elbows:

E-433
Rev. V
26 June 2013

Notes:
1.
T includes 0.11 erosion/corrosion liner.
2.
The thicknesses listed above apply to the elbow extrados and are the correct
values to be used in the stress analysis. Intrados thicknesses range from 140% to
200% of the listed values.
3.
For 45 bends, k should be reduced by 30%.
4.
For flanged elbows, reduce k as recommended in ASME B31.
5.
To account for pressure stiffening, divide SIF and k by (Ref. BS7159:1989, Eqn
7.7):
1 + 2.53 x (P / Eh) x (D / (2 x T))2 x (R / T)1/3
where:
P = Design pressure
Eh = Hoop modulus
R = Bend radius
6.
Allowable stresses are based on a maintaining a Design Factor of 6 under
combined loading. Elbows have been analyzed using FEA to verify the required
design factor.
7.
Flexibility factors (k) based on BS7159:1989 Eqn. 7.5 (with minimum value of
1.0).
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Pipe Stress Analysis Information

3.2

E-433
Rev. V
26 June 2013

Reducers:
The thicknesses of reducers will be no less than those of the pipe. To obtain the thickness
for a specific reducer, average the pipe thicknesses from Section 2.0 for the two sizes of
interest. SIF = 1.3. k = 1.0.

3.3

Tees and Laterals:

Tees and laterals contain significant additional reinforcement to achieve the required
pressure rating, and hence can be several times thicker than pipe in local areas. However,
for the purposes of the stress analysis, it is recommended that the appropriate pipe wall
thicknesses be used. The Flexibility Factor is 1.0 for all sizes and the allowable stresses
are the same as for pipe. The SIFs are as follows:

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Pipe Stress Analysis Information

3.4

E-433
Rev. V
26 June 2013

Reducing Branches
Reducing branches should be modelled using the appropriate tee thicknesses. The
Flexibility Factor is 1.0 for all sizes and the allowable stresses are the same as for pipe.
SIFs are as follows:

3.5

Flanges
Flanges can be analyzed using SIF = 1.0 and k = 1.0. The allowable stresses are the same
as for pipe. It is recommended that loads on flanges be minimized as much as possible as
the actual stresses in the flanges may be higher than calculated due to less-than-ideal
installation conditions.

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Pipe Stress Analysis Information

4.0

CODE STRESS RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1

General

E-433
Rev. V
26 June 2013

FRP does not yield in the same manner as a ductile material such as steel. It is therefore
not recommended that higher allowable stresses be used for FRP piping when analyzing
displacement-type load cases (eg. thermal load cases). Displacement load cases should
be treated in the same manner as sustained loads such as pressure and weight.
4.2

Load Cases
It is recommended that all operating loads be analyzed as either Operating or Sustained
stress cases. It is not appropriate to use Expansion stress cases for FRP piping, as the
same allowable stress should be used for primary and secondary load cases.
Occasional load cases should be analyzed using Occasional stress cases.
It is recommended that torsional stresses be included in the longitudinal stress
calculation.

4.3

Corrosion Allowance
The piping properties for the total wall, i.e. liner plus structural layers, should be used for
calculation of piping loads, but the piping stresses should be calculated based only on the
structural wall. The liner (or corrosion allowance) should be deducted from the total
wall thickness after the loads have been calculated and prior to calculating piping
stresses.

4.4

Occasional Loads
The allowable stresses listed in Sections 2 and 3 are appropriate for long term loadings,
i.e. sustained loads. When occasional loads such as wind or seismic are combined with
the sustained (operating) loads, it has been RPS practice to increase allowable stresses by
20%.

4.5

Hydrotest Allowable Stress

Allowable axial stress for the hydrotest load case can be calculated as follows:
Shydro = Sallow + 0.5 x Sp
where: Shydro = Allowable stress for hydrotest load case.
Sallow = Allowable stress at design pressure (see Sections 2 & 3).
Sp = Axial stress due to design pressure.

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Pipe Stress Analysis Information

5.0

E-433
Rev. V
26 June 2013

RIGIDLY RESTRAINED PIPE

A rigidly restrained pipe system is one that utilizes anchors along straight runs of piping
to prevent thermal expansion. The restrained thermal expansion manifests itself as
compressive stress in the pipe and axial thermal loads on the anchors. This type of
support system is most often used for small diameter piping on pipe racks or other long
straight runs. Its use is generally limited to smaller diameters of pipe as the magnitude of
the thermal loads on the support structures can be excessive with larger diameter pipes.
Pipe stress analysis software can be utilized to analyze this type of pipe system, but there
are several additional requirements that must be borne in mind. This section will address
those requirements.

5.1

Column-type Buckling
The restraint of thermal expansion of the pipe will result in compressive loads in the pipe.
It is therefore necessary to ensure that the spacing between guides is adequate to prevent
column-type buckling.
The thermal load is calculated as follows:
Fth

E A T

where:
E = Axial modulus of the pipe
A = Cross-sectional area of pipe
= Coefficient of thermal expansion
T = Change in temperature from installation temp to max operating temp.

The critical
buckling load is calculated as follows:
2

Fcr

Es Is
2

L
where:

Es = Axial modulus of structural layer (1.4E6 psi)

Is = Moment of inertia of structural layer
L = Spacing between guides

If the critical buckling load is less than the thermal load, the spacing between guides
should be reduced. A good rule of thumb is to ensure Fcr is at least 15% higher than Fth.

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Pipe Stress Analysis Information

5.2

E-433
Rev. V
26 June 2013

Allowable Stress
The allowable stresses listed in Section 3 apply only if the axial stress in the pipe is
tensile. For compressive axial stress, the allowable code stress should be determined as
follows (this will limit the strain to 0.0024):
  |0.44    3333|
where:
allow = allowable code stress due to combined loads of pressure, thermal,
weight, etc (kPa)
 

  
 2     !
2

P = Pressure
TL = liner thickness
TS = structure thickness
Note: The absolute value function in the above formula for the allowable stress is
required if the pipe stress analysis software being used reports the code stress as positive
regardless of whether the axial stress is tensile or compressive.

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Pipe Stress Analysis Information

5.3

E-433
Rev. V
26 June 2013

Pressure Loads on Anchors

Depending on the pipe stress analysis software being used, the pressure elongation (or
Bourdon effect) for FRP piping may result in an understatement of the axial pressure
loads on the anchors. The understatement is typically not large, particularly in
comparison to the typical thermal loads on the anchors, and it can usually be ignored. If
required, the actual pressure load on the anchor can be calculated from:
"#   

$
)
 
 2   !%  &'  ( 
 
4
)

where:
 

  

2     !

P = pressure
ID = inside diameter of pipe
TL = liner thickness
TS = structural thickness
At = cross-sectional area of total pipe wall
ha = Poisson ratio (axial strain due to hoop load)
Ea = Axial Modulus
Eh = Hoop Modulus

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