DESIGN AND STATIC ANALYSIS OF

FEED WATER PIPING SYSTEM USING

CAESAR-II DESIGN SOFTWARE
Hansel Francis Thangaraj
MSc Mechanical Engineering
Project Supervisor: Dr Anjali De Silva
Project Co-ordinator: Mr Andrew Cowell

Overview
Failure in Pipelines causes major
damage to the Environment and
also to the living thing around
the world.

One of the major disaster

caused due to the Pipeline
failure
in
San
Bruno,
California,2010 makes us to
remember the importance of the
safety in pipelines and also how
to avoid this kind of disasters in
the future.

Pipelines
INDUSTRIAL PIPELINES:
Above Ground
Below Ground
Gathering pipelines
Transportation pipelines
Distribution pipelines
High pressure pipelines are
mostly used to transfer
particles from one place to
other
place.
Will
be
connected to a equipment
DOMESTIC
to PIPELINES:
pressurise the flow.
Supply lines
Suction lines
Normally low pressure pipelines will
be used for transportation.

Feed water System in

pipelines
Used to Increase the pressure of water.
Typically consists of 2-3 feed water
pumps within the system
Feed water Heaters are used to pre heat
the water that is delivered to the boiler.
Used to terminate the Thermal shocks
that are introduced to the boiler.
Reduces the plant running cost.
Feed water heaters are usually modelled
as Modified Rankine Cycle.

Stress Analysis
TYPES OF STRESS IN PIPELINES
Primary Stress
Are not self limiting, E.g. Dead
Weight, internal pressure
Secondary Stress
Are self Limiting, E.g. Displacement,
thermal Expansion
Peak Stress
Caused by secondary stress, Highest
stress that is considered

Static Analysis
Is considered as a mandatory for
comprehensive piping system Analysis
Involves identification of Primary and
Secondary Stress that are induced in
the piping system.
Also investigates about internal static
pressure, Equipment loading and
Sustained Loads.

Flexibility Analysis
Used to analyse the effects of
alternating bending moments,
created by thermal
expansion/contraction and other
imposed displacements.
Used to suggest the method to
replace the materials at the required
areas where the flexibility is not
determined.

Flexibility Analysis

Design and Analysis

Software's
Used to Identify the difficulties in the design
stage and to process it before installation.
Mainly used in Industries to perform Stress
analysis in critical points and also for the whole
system.
Most of the softwares are commercially in use.
Some of the Softwares presently used in
industries are.
PIPSYS
CAE PIPE
NISA
COSMOS
CAESAR-II

CAESAR - II
Computer Aided Evaluation of System Architecture
Considered to be the first pipe stress analysis program
designed exclusively for the computer environment
Includes several piping codes like ASME B31.3, ASME B31.1
Programmed with integrated error checker, which
automatically run following the input details
Solutions are available to review at any time.
Works under the principle of FEA (Finite Element Analysis)
Uses numerical technique of FEM (Finite Element Method)
Consists of Three Phases
Pre Processing Define factors
Analysis Solver Solution of FEM
Post Processing Analysing the Result using visualization
Tool

Piping Design Code

ASME 31.3 Code for Process
Piping
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Basic design code for Process piping installed in
Refineries, Chemical Plants, Process plants and
cryogenic plants.
Applied to all kinds of Fluid and also to special fluids as
mentioned in the code.
Emphasis on a very strict requirement for formal
education and required training or practice Procedure.
The requirements as per ASME 31.3, to conduct a stress
analysis is to have a Bachelor degree in Mechanical
Engineering along with 5 years od Experience in the
field in the direct supervision of the Principle Engineer.

Drawings
The main resource for the design and
analysis stage
The most commonly required Drawing
in the design and analysis stage is P&ID
Drawings that have been use in this
project are:

BFW suction Drum Drawing

BFW Pump Drawing
P&ID
Stress ISO Drawing

Design and Analysis of the

Existing Model
Nodes Distribution for the
Existing model, without flexibility.

Deflections in the operating

condition of the existing model.
This deflections shall be caused
by the loads and the vibrations
from the equipment which the
pipeline is connected to. These
deflection causes the pipe to
fail in a short period.

Design and Analysis of

Modified model
Nodes distribution for the
modified model, with flexibility.

Deflections
in
the
modified
model, in which the routing of the
pipeline has been changed to
achieve
the
objective.
Supports/Restraints were been
placed
accordingly
for
the
elimination of the deflections in
the pipeline. Deflection has been
arrested when compared to the
existing model.

Results of the models

CODE COMPILANCE STRESS REPORT: (EXISTING CASE)
LOAD CASE DEFINITION KEY
CASE 1 (HYD) WW+HP
CASE 2 (OPE) W+D1+T1+P1
CASE 3 (SUS) W+P1
CASE 4 (EXP) L4=L2-L3
Piping Code: Multiple Codes
B31.3
= B31.3 -2006, May 31, 2007
B31.1
= B31.1 -2007, December 7, 2007
*** CODE COMPLIANCE EVALUATION FAILED ***
Highest Stresses: (Kpa)
Code Stress Ratio (%) is 102.4 at Node 220 LOADCASE: 4 (EXP) L4=L2-L3
Code Stress:
253112.6 Allowable: 247134.8
Axial Stress:
34931.6 @Node 230 LOADCASE: 2 (OPE) W+D1+T1+P1
Bending Stress: 293672.7 @Node 220 LOADCASE: 2 (OPE) W+D1+T1+P1
Torsion Stress:
57200.3 @Node 115 LOADCASE: 2 (OPE) W+D1+T1+P1
Hoop Stress:
19068.0 @Node 30 LOADCASE: 3 (SUS) W+P1
3D Max Intensity: 647990.6 @Node 220 LOADCASE: 2 (OPE) W+D1+T1+P1

Contd..
CODE COMPLIANCE STRESS REPORT: (MODIFIED CASE)
LOAD CASE DEFINITION KEY
CASE 1 (HYD) WW+HP
CASE 2 (OPE) W+D1+T1+P1
CASE 3 (SUS) W+P1
CASE 4 (EXP) L4=L2-L3
Piping Code: B31.3
= B31.3 -2006, May 31, 2007
*** CODE COMPLIANCE EVALUATION PASSED ***
Highest Stresses: (KPa.)
Code Stress Ratio (%) is 61.1 at Node 269 LOADCASE: 4 (EXP) L4=L2-L3
Code Stress:
27524.0 Allowable: 45011.7
Axial Stress:
1399.4 @Node
60 LOADCASE: 3 (SUS) W+P1
Bending Stress: 29168.9 @Node 269 LOADCASE: 2 (OPE)
W+D1+T1+P1

Evaluation of Results
Sl.No

Existing Model

Modified Model

1.

Code stress Ratio : 102.4%

Code stress Ratio : 61.1%

2.

Overall stress failure, stress ratio shall

fall within 60-80% in design stage

Overall stress passed, stress ratio falls within

the required range 60-80%.

3.

No upward lifting found (DY)

No upward lifting found (DY)

4.

Restraint supports achieved

Restraint supports achieved

5.

Deflection in operating condition is

high

Deflection in operating condition is arrested

when compared to the existing case

Conclusion
Safe Operation of the plant
Guarantee for the design and the operation of the plant in
Running conditions
Can avoid major accidents causing damages to lives and to the
Environment
Increased life time of the pipeline that is installed.
Improves the reputation of the Industry/company that has been
involved in the construction of pipelines.
Can avoid excess expenditure that is to be invested in the repair
and maintenanceAn of pipelines