Bentley PULS XM Edition: Acoustic Mode Shapes

Bentley PULS XM Edition
Tutorial #1
Acoustic Mode Shapes
Tutorial #2
Modeling a Reciprocating Compressor
Version 8.9
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Tutorial 1 – Acoustic Mode Shapes
Acoustic Mode Shapes

The purpose of this tutorial is to introduce the basic operations of the PULS application. The tutorial will
show you how to produce acoustic mode shapes of a simple system. It will walk you through the various
steps in model building. You will define the piping system by specifying system geometry, fluid
properties and boundary conditions. You will learn how to view and print your results.
1. Overview
The model geometry is shown in the following figure. Other pertinent system properties are listed in the table
below. The fluid consists of Air at 100 kPa pressure and 50 degrees Celsius. The speed of sound for air at
this condition is computed in PULS as 360 m/sec.
Fluid Air
Pressure 100 kPa
Temperature 50 degrees Celsius
Pipe size 4 inch/Schedule STD
Pipe roughness 0.046 mm
Frequency range 1 to 20 Hz, step size=0.25 Hz
Flow rate 0
Source type Oscillating piston at node 1
Source strength 0.01 m3/sec, phase = 0
The following figure shows an isometric view of the PULS model with the boundary conditions as
shown.
Oscillating Closed
End
Piston 18 @ 2.0m = 36 m
PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9 1

The actual system has closed ends at both sides. For the purpose of evaluating the resonance conditions, a
noise has to be specified, as you would do in a test. PULS allows you to specify a constant (i.e. frequency
independent) pulsating pressure or fluctuating flow sources. The pulsating pressure is normally applied at an
open end condition while the fluctuating flow (commonly referred as a piston or volume velocity) is normally
applied at a closed end.
At node 1 on the left, an oscillating piston source with a constant amplitude of 0.01 m3/sec over the frequency
range is specified. This would simulate a noise generated from a closed end boundary condition. The source
amplitude is arbitrary in this case. In order to compute acoustic resonances and mode shapes, only one source
is needed. PULS does not output the resonance frequencies but will show you the system response.
For a piston noise, the pulsating pressure at the source shows a set of peaks corresponding to the resonance
frequencies of the system. PULS has a utility program that allows you to scan the peaks and animate the
response at the frequencies corresponding to the peak amplitudes. The animated peak responses represent the
acoustic mode shapes of the system.
This simple system has known resonances at 5.0, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0 Hz and so on as will be explained later.
2 PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9

2. Theoretical Resonance Frequencies
Theoretically, the resonances for a pipe closed at both ends (or open at both ends) are given by:
nc
fn = n = 1,2,3,..
2L
where f n is the n’th acoustic resonance frequency in Hz. c is the speed of sound in m/sec (or
ft/sec). L is the pipe length in m (or ft). The resonance wavelength for different frequencies is given
by:
c
λn =
fn
For the first mode of a closed-closed or open-open pipe, the pipe length is equal to one half the
wavelength ( L = λ 1 / 2 ) and hence these resonances are termed as half-wave resonances.
In the current model c = 360 m / sec and L = 36 m , the resonance frequencies and corresponding
wavelengths are calculated as:
Mode Number (n) Frequency f Wavelength λ

1 5.0 Hz 72 m
2 10.0 Hz 36 m
3 15.0 Hz 24 m
4 20.0 Hz 18 m
For pipes with one end open and another end closed, the resonance frequencies are::
nc
fn = n = 1,3,5,..
4L
The latter equation gives what we call quarter-wave resonances, since the length of the pipe is one quarter of
the first resonance wavelength. The higher resonance frequencies are odd multiples of the first quarter- wave
resonance.

3. Building a New Model
In order to evaluate the system response, a model must be built to represent the system. Our system consists
of a set of 18 pipe elements each 2 meters in length. In this example SI units will be used which are the
default units in the PULS application. We will show how to select units in PULS.
1. After starting PULS select File/New and type TUTOR1 for the file name.
2. Press Save to create the model.

3. Select SI for Input and Output units. The default PULS.UNT is also in SI units. You can also use custom
units by using Tools/Units menu.
4. Switch tab to Guideline and click API 618 Guideline – 4th edition as shown below then Press OK.

5. Switch tab to Description and Enter Title as shown below then Press OK.
6. The gas composition screen appears. Select AIR for Composition Name from the dropdown list.

7. A blank screen will show with a message to insert components as shown.
4. Entering Piping Elements
1. Click on to insert the first pipe element. The following screen will show to enter the global
coordinates for first point. Press OK to accept default node number 1 and zero offsets.

2. Next the Pipe dialog displays. Enter 36000 in the DX field. Notice that the Pipe Identifier and Fluid P/T
are not defined.
3. Click on Pipe Identifier. A new dialog opens up. Select “Ansi Standard”. Library. Notice that you also
have DIN standard and User-defined on the list. Select 4 in for Nominal Diameter and Std for schedule
and Press Ok.

4. The following message will come up, press OK. The Pipe identifier name will be automatically filled as 4
x Std.
5. The Pipe screen is updated as follows:

6. Click on Fluid P/T to enter Fluid pressure and Temperature. Enter 100 kPa for pressure and use tab key
and enter 50 degC for temperature. Notice that units are shown as tooltip as you move cursor into the
input box field. Use tab key again and notice the Fluid identifier is automatically created based on your
input. Click on More to view fluid properties as calculated using AGA-8 equation of state. Notice the
sound speed is 360.046 m/sec.
7. Press OK and the Pipe screen is shown again. The flow rate is defaulted to zero and pipe roughness is
defaulted to 0.046mm. The flow rate and pipe roughness are acceptable and there is no need to modify
them for this problem.

8. Press OK to the Pipe dialog and the first pipe will be shown.
9. Use to display the pipe in solid mode as shown.

5. Entering Boundary Conditions
Now that the geometry is entered, we need to define the boundary conditions. Boundary conditions are
essential for any acoustic analysis. Boundary conditions include: Open End, Closed End, velocity or piston
source, pressure source and reciprocating compressor or pump. In addition, anechoic end is used to represent
an infinitely long pipe (non-reflective end). Centrifugal compressors in PULS are transmission element and
does not generate noise. Centrifugal noise is believed to be a high frequency noise above plane wave theory
used in PULS.
For this problem we need a velocity source (a piston) at node 1 and a closed end at node 2.
1. Click on node 1 and then select Insert/Velocity source.
2. Enter 0.01 m3/sec for velocity(pk). “pk” refers to 0 peak amplitude. Other measures are pk-pk (peak-to-
peak) or RMS (root mean square).
3. Use the Tab key and enter 0 in the phase input box.
Note that the velocity or fluctuating flow rate is arbitrary for this problem. We will be using the constant
velocity function option, i.e. the same amplitude and phase for all frequencies, and this is the default.
Note that the units for velocity is m3/sec and represents fluctuating piston flow.
4. Press OK to accept this velocity source.

5. Click on node 2 and user Insert/Closed End . Use View/All.

6. Subdivide Element For Mode Shape Animation
To get a better view mode shape animation we need more intermediate points. These points can be added
using the command Modify+/Split pipe run. We will subdivide into 2000 mm elements by adding 17 new
points.
1. Make sure to select the element by clicking on the middle of the pipe to highlight it in red.
2. Select Modify+/Split pipe run and enter 17 for number of new nodes.
3. Press tab. Notice the length is updated to 2000.
Note that the menu item and icon will be grayed out unless an element is selected.
4. Press OK. The new nodes will added as shown.

7. Entering Frequency Range
We need to define the range over which the velocity source will operate.
1. Click on Modify+/Spectrum scale.

2. Enter 1 in the initial frequency box.
3. Enter 20 in the final frequency box.
4. Enter 0.25 in the frequency step box and press OK.

8. Setting Flow and Pulsation Directions
Analysis cannot proceed if flow and pulsations are not consistent with the boundary conditions. In most cases
PULS will be able to adjust these for you. For complicated models with loops, custom split ratios at tees can
be used to help adjust these.
1. Use Analyze/Adjust Flow and Pulsation and the following message will show:
2. When you press Yes, the following report will show.
3. Use File/exit or X to close the Notepad message.

9. Checking and Solving the System

1. Select Analyze/Check to detect any inconsistencies.
It is recommended that you do that before solving the model for the first time. PULS will give errors and
warning messages. Errors will cause the program to stop the solution or crash. Warnings are less serious,
but should be observed.
2. Next select Analyze/Run and Process to run the analysis.

If errors or warning messages are found they will be displayed before the output report is shown. The
analysis module will actually do more model checking before solving the system and will create a set of
binary output files. It will also create a text output file TUTOR1.OUT. This file contains input data as
well output results. If you scroll to the end of the file you will notice a SOLUTION SUMMARY. Notice
the peak pressure of 19.5 kPa at 5.0 Hz.
3. Use X icon to exit the Notepad window.

10. Interactive Results
Frequency response
1. Click on node 1 and then select Results/pressure. An x-y plot frequency plot will show on the screen.
Notice it also has API 618 guideline shown in red.
2. You can use the VCR buttons to show results at other nodes.

Mode Shape Animation
Now let us look at the acoustic mode shapes.
1. Click on to animate mode shapes.

You will be given a choice of whether you want to animate a particular frequency (User), or Scan all peak
frequencies on the plot.
2. Use default value of Scan Peaks for Node 1.
The first plot is not a mode and is the Start frequency as shown by peak type and you can
also see a frequency of 1 Hz.
3. Use VCR button to move to next peak at 5 Hz as shown below.
Notice the green vertical line moving as we press next button

If you change to the Y view and pan up, the view can be as shown. You would need to animate again.

Note the peak type is now changed to peak confirming resonance. The wavelength for this mode is equal to
half the pipe full length. Note how the color of each half of pipe is different indicating that one end has a
positive pressure while the other has a negative pressure.
4. Use the button to skip to the next peak. The resonance mode of 10 Hz will be displayed. Note that for
this mode the wavelength is equal to the pipe full length.

5. Repeat using the arrow key and the 15 Hz resonance will be shown.
This concludes the first tutorial.

Tutorial 2 – Modeling a Reciprocating Compressor
Modeling a Reciprocating Compressor

The purpose of this tutorial is to introduce the basic operations of PULS to model a reciprocating
compressor system. This tutorial assumes that you have not completed Tutorial 1, therefore, some of the
information may be repeated.
1. Model Description
The suction side of a simplified natural gas supply system with a reciprocating compressor is shown
in the following figure.
Closed Y
End
11
7.5 ft X
5.5 ft
Bottle 5 4 6 8
2 ft 7 16 ft
Head Crank
1 3 12 ft
End 2 End
2 ft 9 10
Open
End
All piping 10” Std schedule 10 ft
Bottle is 22” XS
Nozzle and passages ID=7.5 inches
Nozzle length = 1 ft (+11” to bottle center=23”)
Two 10” suction lines are connected to the reciprocating compressor assembly. The reciprocating
compressor assembly consists of a 22” suction bottle, 8“ suction nozzle, and gas passages. The pressure at
the suction bottle is 400 psi, which is increased to 650 psi at discharge. For the purpose of simplifying this
example, an open end is provided at the extreme end of the piping. The system consists of one cylinder
compressor.

The cylinder properties are given in the table below.
Cylinder bore 10”

Cylinder rod diameter 3”
Cylinder rod length 30”
Cylinder stroke 12”
Head End Clearance 550 in3
Crank End Clearance 450 in3
Speed range 290-310 rpm
Rated speed 300 rpm
Suction pressure 400 psi
Discharge pressure 650 psi
o
Suction temperature 70 F
o
Discharge temperature 140 F
Gas composition 80% Methane
6% Ethane
4% Propane
10% Nitrogen
The piping geometry of the model is shown in the previous figure. In this Tutorial, a simple suction bottle
is used. For reciprocating machinery, the pulsation in the suction subsystem is uncoupled from the
pulsation in the discharge sub-system. For this reason, the suction system will be modeled separately. The
discharge sub-system can be modeled in a similar manner.

2. Building a New Model
In order to evaluate the system response, a model must be built to represent the system. In this example,
English units with flow rate in MMSCFD will be used (File MMSCFD.UNT). The following procedure
explains how to select units in PULS, then build the new model.
Starting PULS
1. Click on Start/All Programs/Bentley/Puls XM/Puls XM to start the application.
The blank screen shown below will be displayed. If this is the first time PULS is run, you will be
prompted to select the PULS XM option. Use the PDF document Quickstart_PULS.pdf for help about
licensing issues.
2. Select File/New and enter tutor2 as the name for the new model and Press Save.

The first screen for the new model is the Model Options screen.
3. Select MMSCFD as the input and output unit. Leave all other options as per default values.
NOTE: The PULS default unit file is PULS.UNT. The PULS.UNT file provided on the installation
disk is given in SI units but can be changed to other units by copying the contents of the
other files into PULS.UNT file. For example the DOS command can be used:
COPY MMSCFD.UNT PULS.UNT
will change the default to MMSCFD units. If you set the default in this manner, you will
not be required to reset the units every time you build a new model.

4. Click on the Guideline tab and make sure API 618 – 4th edition is selected.
5. Switch to the Description Tab and enter Title as Second Tutorial and sub-Title as
Reciprocating Compressor.
6. Press OK to bring the AGA-8 composition screen. Enter TUTOR2 for the composition name and
fill in the composition as follows:
Nitrogen 10%
Methane 80%
Ethane 6%
Propane 4%

After the gas composition data has been entered, the following screen is shown. You are now
ready to insert piping components.

Entering Piping Elements

This section describes the procedure to enter piping elements.
1. Select Insert/Straight Pipe Run from the menu and the global coordinates screen will show up. This
happens only if no nodes are defined in the model. The default node name is 1 and default offsets
from origin is zero. Accept the data by clicking on OK.
You will define the compressor cylinder passages (nodes 1, 2 and 3). Assume node 1 is the head
end valve, and node 3 is the crank end valve. Node 2 is the point where the compressor nozzle
meets the passages. Element 1-2 has a length of 1 foot and an internal diameter of 7.5 inches. The
Pipe screen comes automatically after Global Coordinates for First Node screen is accepted.
2. Enter 1.00 for length DX field as the distance between nodes 1 and 2. We will not worry about
flow and pulsation direction as these will be adjusted later based on the boundary conditions.

3. Click on Pipe Identifier button to enter pipe cross section data. Enter Nozzle (ID=7.5in) as the
name for the pipe identifier.
4. Select User defined for the Library and click on Actual ID and enter 7.500 for the ID and 0.5 for
Wall thickness.
5. Press OK to accept the data. The pipe screen is updated as shown

6. Click on the Fluid P/T to enter fluid pressure {400} psi and temperature {70} degF. The Fluid
identifier is automatically filled as shown.
7. Click on More to show fluid properties. Notice that the Sound Speed is 1294.623 ft/sec. You can
see PULS units by reading the tooltip as you place the mouse pointer at the input box.
8. Press OK to accept pressure/temperature data. Notice that the guideline is set to 618PL which
applies to piping after the pulsation bottle.
9. To specify the guideline for piping near the compressor, press Guideline and then type 1 as
cylinder number.

10. Add pressure drop associated with this cylinder, check the box Include pressure drop guideline
and enter cylinder 1.
After accepting the guideline, the pipe form is updated as follows:
We will not set the flow rate as this will be done later. The pipe roughness is based on
commercial steel pipe and can be modified by clicking the Roughness field. The pipe data
entry is now complete.

11. Press OK to accept the pipe 1-2.
The pipe will show on the graphics as shown below.

Entering Additional Elements

In this section, you will add more elements to the model. You can zoom out using zoom and pan toolbars.
1. Press on the zoom and drag the mouse down to reduce the size. You can then pan to display as
shown.
Next you will add the crank end connection element 2-3.
2. Select Insert/Straight Pipe Run and accept 1.0 as the length.
3. Now that all data is similar to the previous pipe, press OK to add the pipe.

The screen graphics are updated.
4. Click on node 2 as shown. You may need to click on select tool before clicking on the node.

You will now enter the compressor nozzle (Nodes 2-5).
5. Select Insert/Tee and enter DY value of 23”. (12”+22”/2= distance to center of vessel). Make
sure to use the inch symbol to signify inches since the field unit is in ft.

You will now enter the suction bottle (Nodes 5-4-6). The total length of the bottle is 5.5’ and the section is
22” XS.
6. Click on Insert/Straight Pipe Run and enter -2.75 in the DX field.
You need to change the pipe to 22” XS.
7. Click on the Pipe Identifier and select ANSI library with Nominal diameter of 22 in and
Schedule XS as shown.
8. Press OK to accept keeping the pipe identifier field blank.

9. The following message will show. Press OK and notice that the field is now filled.
10. Press OK to accept the new pipe identifier 22 x XS.
Pressure drop in the vessel in negligible.
11. Click on the Guideline and uncheck the pressure drop option.

The guideline is updated to 618CL1.

12. Press OK. The model will appear as shown. Note that all kinks show as bends until a tee is
added.
13. Now click on node 4 to insert the tee. You can click on the select toolbar to make selection of the
node easier.

14. Enter 2.75 in the DX field for distance between nodes 4 and 6. No further changes are needed.
15. Click OK to accept tee and the model will appear as shown.

16. Use Zoom Out to shrink the view by dragging the mouse down. Use Pan to show the view as
shown.
17. Now that the vessel is entered you will add the rest of the piping nodes. Click on Insert/Straight
Pipe Run and enter 2 ft in the DX field. The Pipe and guideline need to change as well.

18. Click on the Pipe Identifier to enter the 10xSTD pipe as shown.

The message will show if Pipe Identifier is left blank and PULS will fill-in the name for you.
19. Accept the pipe identifier by pressing OK. This will update the Pipe form.
20. Now click on the Guideline and change it to 618PL since this pipe lies after the pulsation bottle
on the piping side.
21. Press OK to accept the guideline.

22. Press OK again to accept the pipe form.
23. Use Pan and zoom to view model as shown below.
Make sure your current point is node 7.

24. Select Insert/Pipe Run to build a 16 ft long pipe to node 8 as shown below.
25. Enter 16 in the length field.
26. Press the Tab key to update the DX/DY/DZ fields based on previous pipe direction.
Since this pipe is similar to the previous pipe, no further changes are necessary.
27. Press OK to accept the form.

The graphic will be updated as shown below.
We will next insert pipe after the bend point at 8.
28. Click on Insert/Bend Run and enter -12 in the DY field. Note that there is no length field here as
we assume a change in direction.

29. Press OK to accept the form and the piping will be updated as shown.
Repeat the steps to insert another Bend Run.
30. Enter Insert/Bend Run and 10 in the DX field and press OK.

The piping plot is updated as shown.
31. Now click on node 7 to insert a branch pipe to the closed valve location.
32. Click on Insert/Tee and enter 7.5 in DY field. Since this is an equal size tee, no need to change
the pipe identifier.

33. Press OK and the graphics will update as shown.

Entering Boundary Conditions
1. Click on node 5 and then use Insert/Closed End
2. Click on node 11 and then use Insert/Closed End.
3. Click on node 10 and then use Insert/Open End.

4. Next zoom on the bottle and cylinder to insert compressor valve boundary conditions.
In PULS we are limited to one head and one crank end for each cylinder. If a cylinder has more than
one head end then set the additional valves as Velocity sources with zero amplitude. The other option
is to split it into two cylinders and calculate an equivalent piston diameter for ½ the area.
5. Change to line mode by using View/Line mode to make easier to select node 1.
6. Click on node 1 and use Insert/Reciprocating compressor. Since the rpm scale is not defined
yet, the spectrum scale form will be displayed. Enter data as shown on the screen below.

7. Enter Cylinder # as 1 and select Loaded, Suction and Head End.
8. Click on Other Side Fluid to enter data for discharge fluid. Enter 650 psi for pressure and 140 F
for temperature.
Notice the units will show as tool-tips as you move the mouse toward the input box. Press the Tab
key and notice that PULS fills in the fluid identifier automatically for you as P=650.00 (psi)
T=140.00 (deg.F).
Click on More > and physical properties will be displayed to the right. Notice the Sound Speed is
1380.675 ft/sec.
9. Press OK to return to the reciprocating Compressor screen.

10. Enter 0 for rated valve loss. This is usually conservative as pressure drop causes damping. This
pressure drop should not exceed pressure drop from an equivalent orifice combining the holes in
the valve.
11. Click on the Polytropic Exponent to calculate the value based on suction and discharge
pressures and temperatures. A value of 1.34 will be shown.

12. Enter crank radius as 6.0 inches or have it calculated by clicking on Crank radius. In that case you
enter the piston Stroke of 12 inches. The crank radius is ½ of the piston stroke.
13. Enter Connecting Rod length as 30 inches.
14. Enter Piston Diameter as 10 inches
The Rod Diameter is typically needed for the crank end as it reduces the effective piston area.
Cylinder clearance is typically used to control the piston loading and flow rate. More clearance is
attained by opening some pockets connected to the cylinder chamber. The larger clearance will
reduce volumetric efficiency and hence the flow rate.
15. Click on Clearance Volume to bring in the form to enter the clearances.
16. Enter 550 in3 for fixed clearance volume and press OK.

17. The clearance volume is calculated by dividing the total clearance by the piston displacement
volume (i.e. piston displacement x piston area).
The phase angle is used to relate the movements of different pistons of the same compressor
together. The head and crank angles are always 180 degrees apart. PULS will check for this
condition.

18. Enter 0 for the phase angle
19. Click on Flow Rate to calculate the flow rate. The flow rate of 4.88 MMSCFD will be shown.

20. Click on Acoustic volume to calculate the average acoustic volume.
This is the average volume between the piston face and the valve. This assumes an open valve.
Since the valve is closed part of the time, this volume can also be set to a user value of zero. The
acoustic volume of 1141.356968 ft/sec is shown.
Note also that PULS computes the effective area as well as the Horsepower for this cylinder end.

21. When you press OK the Head End is saved and the graphics shows 1-RC to indicate a
reciprocating compressor valve at node 1.

We will repeat the same process for the crank end.
22. Click on node 3 and use Insert/reciprocating compressor.
23. In the Reciprocating Compressor dialog enter 1 in the Cylinder # field.
Notice that the program sets the end to Crank and copied most of the data from cylinder 1 valve
at node 1. We just need to update the rod diameter, clearance, phase, flow rate and acoustic
volume.
24. Enter Rod Diameter as 3 inches

25. Click on Clearance Volume and enter 450 for the Fixed Clearance volume.
26. No pockets are specified.
27. Click OK
The volume will be calculated as 52.47%. Notice that the phase angle is automatically set to 180
(Head end angle + 180).

28. Click on the Flow Rate and Acoustic Volume to update the values.
29. Click OK and notice the updated node label 3-RC.

Adjusting Flow and Pulsation direction

1. Select Analyze/Adjust Flow to set flows based on the boundary conditions. The program will
process flow rates and will display the following message.
2. Press Yes to display a check file (.chk) that show messages associated with flow adjustment.
3. Use Analyze/Adjust Pulsation to set pulsation based on the boundary conditions. Pulsation
direction is needed for element connectivity for transfer matrices. Pulse direction is set in such a
way that it always leaves the source. At a tee junction, at least one pulse direction should leave
and at least one should enter the junction. The program will process pulse directions and will
display the following message.

4. Press Yes to display a check file (.chk) that show messages associated with pulse direction
adjustment.

Adding an Expander
After adjusting the flow we can add an expander. In this way the k-factor is calculated correctly.
1. Click at node 6 and user Insert/Reducer to add the expander.
2. Select Center to center to reducer around node 6.
3. Enter Length as 0.5 ft.
4. Click on K-Factor to calculate the k-factor for pressure drop calculations.
5. Enter Length factor of 1.0. The length factor is ratio of cone length to full reducer length. The
following calculations will be shown based on Crane Paper No, 410M.

The reducer form is updated and shows the K factor as 0.597.
6. Press OK. The reducer appears as shown below.

Defining Shaking Forces

1. Use Edit / Shaking Forces to show the shaking force grid. We will define two shaking forces.
2. The first shaking Force is for the vessel. Enter the following:
Start Node 5
End Node 8
Type Vessel
Notice that PULS will create a table at the bottom that shows node numbers and effective areas.
The Force is calculated by summing the product of pressure and effective area at each node. In
most cases the sum of all effective areas is zero and a check is performed to show that at the
bottom of the grid.
3. The second shaking force is for the closed branch. Enter the following:
Start Node 7
End Node 11
Type Pipe

3. Checking and Solving the System

Now that the model is complete we are ready to perform the analysis.
1. Use Analyze/Check to perform a model check.
This check is actually performed as part of Analyze/Run and before analysis is run. It is important
to do this before your first analysis in order to catch any serious problems with the model. The
following message will confirm no errors in the model.
2. Next use Analyze/Run and Process to perform the analysis and process results for grid and
violation plot.
At the end of the analysis, a window will show if any warning or error message were found. If no
warning or errors or after accepting the warning messages, the output report will be displayed as
shown.
Scroll down to the bottom of the file to see a summary of maximum pressure, maximum force and
maximum velocity.

4. Displaying Results
Violation ratio plot

1. Use Result/Violation ratio to show API 618 guideline violation ratios. The Show Violation
window will display. Select the default values as shown.
2. After pressing OK the graphic is updated with a color-coded violation plot. All ratios exceeding
1.0 are shown in red. Notice the maximum ratio of 63.23 is shown at node 11.

You will also notice an XY plot of pulsation pressure as a function of frequency at node 11. You can
use the VCR buttons on the top toolbar to go to next lower pressure point.
Use Result/Violation ratio to clear violation ratio plot. Click on X on the top-right corner of
frequency plot to close it.

Shaking Force Plot

We can interactively show shaking forces by selecting Result/Force from the menu. Notice that shaking
force path is highlighted on the plot in red color. You will also notice a frequency plot of shaking force 1.
You can use the VCR buttons to show the other shaking force.

5. Printing Results
1. Click on File/Print to create reports for this model.
2. Select Pressure plot and Force plot
3. Click on Preview.

The following plot will display.
This concludes the second tutorial.

Bentley PULS XM Edition: Acoustic Mode Shapes

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Bentley PULS XM Edition: Acoustic Mode Shapes

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Bentley PULS XM Edition

AutoCAD is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc.

United States Patent Nos. 5,8.15,415 and 5,784,068 and 6,199,125.

©2000-2007 Bentley Systems, Incorporated.

Copyright © 2007 Bentley Systems Incorporated

Acoustic Mode Shapes

PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9 1

2 PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9

2. Theoretical Resonance Frequencies

Mode Number (n) Frequency f Wavelength λ

PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9 3

3. Building a New Model

2. Press Save to create the model.

4 PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9

PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9 5

6 PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9

7. A blank screen will show with a message to insert components as shown.

4. Entering Piping Elements

PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9 7

8 PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9

5. The Pipe screen is updated as follows:

PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9 9

10 PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9

9. Use to display the pipe in solid mode as shown.

PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9 11

5. Entering Boundary Conditions

1. Click on node 1 and then select Insert/Velocity source.

4. Press OK to accept this velocity source.

12 PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9

5. Click on node 2 and user Insert/Closed End . Use View/All.

PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9 13

6. Subdivide Element For Mode Shape Animation

4. Press OK. The new nodes will added as shown.

14 PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9

7. Entering Frequency Range

1. Click on Modify+/Spectrum scale.

PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9 15

8. Setting Flow and Pulsation Directions

2. When you press Yes, the following report will show.

3. Use File/exit or X to close the Notepad message.

16 PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9

9. Checking and Solving the System

2. Next select Analyze/Run and Process to run the analysis.

3. Use X icon to exit the Notepad window.

PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9 17

10. Interactive Results

18 PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9

Mode Shape Animation

Now let us look at the acoustic mode shapes.

1. Click on to animate mode shapes.

3. Use VCR button to move to next peak at 5 Hz as shown below.

Notice the green vertical line moving as we press next button

PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9 19

20 PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9

PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9 21

This concludes the first tutorial.

22 PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9

Modeling a Reciprocating Compressor

PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9 1

The cylinder properties are given in the table below.

Cylinder bore 10”

2 PULS® XM Edition Version 8.9

2. Building a New Model