Incorporating Structural Steel in Piping Models

COADE User Conference 2009
Incorporating Structural Steel in Piping Models

Nimal Jayaratne
In this class we will discuss the effects of including structural steel in piping stress
analysis models,
models especially on the results of stress analysis of a piping system
system.
Nimal Jayaratne is Hatch's Piping Practice Lead in the West Australian region and has 33
years of professional experience in Oil & Gas (onshore and offshore), Petrochemical,
Power and Mining industries in plant engineering and design. Having worked closely with
operating and consultancy environments Nimal has made a significant contribution to the
development of the Piping Engineering and Stress Analysis practice in Western Australia.
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September, 28th - 30th, 2009
Nimal Jayaratne
I would like to introduce my company to you.
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Nimal Jayaratne
Piping engineering and structural engineering are two disciplines who will have to work
closely in plant design
design. Due to time and cost constrants engineers often have to make
assumptions or use simplified methods to allow for the effects of structural flexibility in the
behaviour of piping under given scenarios.
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Nimal Jayaratne
The class agenda will consist of the items listed on this slide.
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Nimal Jayaratne
A typical flare consists of a few flare lines carried on a tubular structure

In
I this
thi example l th
the fl
flare liline runs ffrom th
the Fl
Flare KO drum
d up to
t the
th flare
fl tip
ti supported
t d
along the bridge structure
The inclination of the structure is 52 degrees to the horizontal in this case, but can vary
typically 45-55 degrees
Flare tip at the top will experience the thrust load of maximum flare discharge. Can range
between 100MMSCFD-3000MMSCFD
In the example we are considering a thrust load of 35kN and is based on an actual
experience.
When the flare is at full flow the radiation heat will warm up the structure and the pipes
Due to the flow in the pipe the temperature inside the pipe will be considerably less than
that of the structure. Consider the Joule-Thompson effect.
If the flare tip is used for venting gases alone (a real case) the pipe could see sub-zero
p
temperatures. In this example
p the minimum design g temperature
p is minus 40degrees
g C.
The pipes will have to be designed for a differential temperature compared with the
structure
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Nimal Jayaratne
The first picture shows the flare piping from the KO drum up to the flare tip only
Second
S d picture
i t shows
h th
the structure
t t which
hi h h
holds
ld th
the pipe
i workk iin place
l
The third picture shows the combined assembly of pipe and the structure
The structure is made of tubulars and is pin ended at the three support points
The structure has to be designed to take the sustained loads, occasional loads due to
seismic, wind and flare discharge loads and differential thermal expansion loads
Attached three views shaw how the stress model has been arranged.
The piping is anchored at the second rung from bottom and held down and guided along
the bridge at three locations
At the top two trunnion supports hold the pipe in place against an inclined surface parallel
to the bridge axis
Let us examine these supports on Caesar II model in a bit more detail
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Nimal Jayaratne
This photo shows an offshore facility at a stage where only the flare bridge and the tower
are in place
Note the float over barge carrying the a platform topsides in background waiting to be
placed on its jacket
The bridge is 280m long and tower is 40m high they are uniform in cross section
There is a S shaped expansion loop in the middle (not clearly visible from this angle)
The pipe and the structure are designed for a temperature differential of 250 Degrees C
This
Thi is
i an examplel ffrom another
th th
thatt I was involved
i l d with.
ith
Flare KO drum is at the right hand end of the bridge
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Nimal Jayaratne
HP Flare pipe is DN 900 and the design temperature is 200 C

Note
N t the
th S loop
l iin th
the middle
iddl and
d th
the U lloop att right
i ht end
d near th
the KO d
drum, b
both
th
providing flexibility to different sections
The structure is represented by carefully sized rigid elements (in green) to match the
stiffness of the structure
Bridge was designed with a pre-camber so that when piping is placed on the structure the
bridge deflects to a position close to horizontal thus avoiding a pocketing situation at mid
p
spans,, a requirement
q of flare lines
Let us now examine a few common practices of allowing for structural flexibility in piping
models.
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Nimal Jayaratne
 The common belief is that Practice 1 will provide a conservative design.
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Nimal Jayaratne
Let us have a look at Practice 1

Can
C anyone iin ththe audience,
di specially
i ll th
the structural
t t l engineers
i ttellll us if h
he or she
h hhas
experienced stiffnesses anywhere near that order?
We need to have a closer look at this!
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Nimal Jayaratne
Elaborate the ‘realistic’ word
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Nimal Jayaratne
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Nimal Jayaratne
Determining the most suitable OD and wt often can be tricky in complex structures. Hence the
results can be questionable at times.
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Nimal Jayaratne
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Nimal Jayaratne
I am assuming that all participants are familiar with typical stress analysis results
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Nimal Jayaratne
To refresh your memory the four different practices are presented here pictorially.
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Nimal Jayaratne
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Nimal Jayaratne
It is obvious that the method is approximate.
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Nimal Jayaratne
Note: P3-2 is considered the most accurate practice and the results of other practices will
be compared with this practice.
practice
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Nimal Jayaratne
Note that Fz’s are negligible in this example.
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Nimal Jayaratne
This restraint is an anchor, a shoe welded to the bridge tubular member
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Nimal Jayaratne
This restraint is an anchor, a shoe welded to the bridge tubular member

The
Th lower
l M
Mz reported
t d iin allll th
three practices
ti iis a bi
big concern!!
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Nimal Jayaratne
These are the local forces and moments generated by Caesar II. Let us investigate further to see
how large they are.
I will use the two recognised methods available to evaluate flange loads namely, Kellogg’s method
and the nuclear code (NC 3658.3) method.
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Nimal Jayaratne
This is an important observation and warrants a discussion.

Recommended the flanges be relocated to a position where bending moments are much smaller
smaller.
Had we not used P3-2 we would never have thought there was a problem in the flange loads.
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Nimal Jayaratne
This is the key location to compare the displacements.
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Nimal Jayaratne
Underdesign of flanges is important in oil & gas engineering where leakages can lead to a
catastrophe.
catastrophe
Structural design may have problems with the predicted lower bending moments. Relate
the experience of previous project.
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Nimal Jayaratne
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Nimal Jayaratne
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Nimal Jayaratne
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Nimal Jayaratne
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Nimal Jayaratne
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Nimal Jayaratne
Another possible workflow improvement is apparent here. In this study the structural model
was built by the piping stress engineer. In practice the structural engineer will be creating a
structural model (using software such as SPACE GASS, STAAD-Pro, GT STRUDL etc.) for
structural analysis. If the structural model can be seamlessly integrated with the piping
model there is significant synergy to be realised.
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Nimal Jayaratne
 Also discuss the integration of CAD with stress analysis models

 Coade
C d can assist i t th
the industry
i d t by b developing
d l i thithis capability…
bilit
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Nimal Jayaratne
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COADE User Conference 2009

I would like to introduce my company to you.

A typical flare consists of a few flare lines carried on a tubular structure

HP Flare pipe is DN 900 and the design temperature is 200 C

 The common belief is that Practice 1 will provide a conservative design.

Let us have a look at Practice 1

Elaborate the ‘realistic’ word

It is obvious that the method is approximate.

Note that Fz’s are negligible in this example.

This restraint is an anchor, a shoe welded to the bridge tubular member

This restraint is an anchor, a shoe welded to the bridge tubular member

This is an important observation and warrants a discussion.

This is the key location to compare the displacements.

 Also discuss the integration of CAD with stress analysis models

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