Colorado Boxed Beef Corporation

Auburndale, Florida

Wednesday, October 17, 2000

THE FIRST FOOLS OF FOOD IRRADIATION

Tell Colorado Boxed Beef that they should stay
out of the irradiated meat business

Fire sprinkler water distribution system, installed by Brown Automatic

Sprinklers, failed on 8/6/98, about a year after installation

failure site
corresponds
to:
maximum
bending
moment for
coupled pipe
first exposed
thread root

Photograph
of fractured
end
showing a
helical rust
pattern on
inside pipe
wall which
coincides
with thread
root on pipe
exterior

rust
pattern

Photograph
showing
crosssection of
fractured
1.5 pipe.

Photograph showing
fracture surface of
pipe section which
separated from
coupling. Note that
fracture follows path
of a single
continuous thread
root.
note wall thickness
beneath thread root

Vertical
perspective of
1.5 pipe
section
showing
features used
in ANSI
standard pipe
thread
analysis.

OD

h
DE2

Pipe supplied by Allied Tube and Conduit

Harvey, Illinois
http://www.alliedtube.com/html/fire.htm

pipe schedule
5S
"Dyna-Flow"
ISO B
ISO C
10, 10S
40, 40S
STD

outside
diameter
1.900 in
1.900 in
1.900 in
1.900 in
1.900 in
1.900 in
1.900 in

inside
diameter
1.770 in
1.728 in
1.716 in
1.692 in
1.682 in
1.610 in
1.610 in

wall
thickness
0.0650 in
0.0810 in
0.0920 in
0.1040 in
0.1090 in
0.1450 in
0.1450 in

per Wiley Engineers Desk Reference

12 foot on center standard hanger spacing [per NFPA]

W[H2O filled] = 2.71 #/ft
Mmax = 2.71*(122)*12/12 = 390 in-lbs

http://www.alliedtube.com/html/fire.htm
From
specifications
for Dyna-Flow
pipe, NPS
1.5, wall
thickness =
[OD-ID]/2 =
0.0810

and now, the moment of truth

for tubular cross section, I moment of inertia= (ro4-ri4)/4,
I/ym = section modulus = (ro4-ri4)/4ro
for thin wall tubing,
ro ~ ri = r, (ro4-ri4) = (ro-ri)(ro+ri)(ro2-ri2) = t(2r)(2r2) = 4r3t
I/ym ~ r2t = (0.950)2(0.081) = 0.230 in3 for our Dyna-Flow pipe
a tensile stress of 390/0.230 = 1700 lbs/in2 is introduced into the
top surfaces of the pipe at the support points

Why Dyna-Flow???

Designation: A795-90

Standard Specification for Black and Hot-Dipped

Zinc-Coated (Galvanized) Welded and Seamless
Steel Pipe for Fire Protection Use

According to ASTM A795-90.

Composition similar to that for A36 steel t = 58,000 lbs/in2

Appears to be about a safety factor of about 34 [36000/1700],
when comparing applied tensile stress to material strength

another factor to consider:

With a 15 foot suspended length,
Mmax goes to ~619 in-lbs and the
safety factor drops to about 21.5.
Dyna-Flow, properly installed,
should not have failed.

Standard Specification for Black and Hot-Dipped

Zinc-Coated (Galvanized) Welded and Seamless
Steel Pipe for Fire Protection Use

consequences of threading the pipe sections for joining

ANSI/ASME B.1.20.1 Pipe Threads,

General Purpose

E2 = pitch diameter [distance between pitch lines] at full

engagement [wrench tight] of coupling

ANSI/ASME B.1.20.1 Pipe Threads,

General Purpose

height of thread, h, = vertical distance from root to crest of thread

for 1.5 NPS, h = 0.06957

ANSI/ASME B.1.20.1 Pipe Threads,

General Purpose

for 1.5 NPS, distance across pitch diameter [E2] = 1.84130

diameter at first exposed thread root [DE2] = E2 h
DE2 = 1.84130 0.06957 = 1.77173

a few more calculations..

Taking manufacturers ID specification, ID = 1.728
Wall thickness, t*, at first exposed thread = [DE2 ID]/2
t* = 0.022 in
I/ym = d2t/4 = (1.77173)2(0.022)/4 = 0.054 in3
= 390/0.054 = 7200 lbs/in2
Safety Factor, S, = t/appl = 58000/7200 = 8.0
Safety Factor down [from 21.5], but pipe should not have failed

One more thing the water pressure inside the pipe

For an internal water pressure of p = 100 lbs/in2:
L = pr/2t* = [100*(1.728/2)]/[2*0.022]
L = 1960 lbs/in2
our Safety Factor has taken yet another hit
appl = 7200+1960 = 9160 lbs/in2
Safety Factor = 35,000/9160 = 3.9
pipe should not have failed [and it didnt, not
immediately, that is..

Stress Concentration Factor, K

Effect of cut pipe threads:
d = h = 0.06957, r ~ 0.05
b = DE2 = 1.77
a K of 2-3 would not be unusual
Would only contribute to failure
under rapid load conditions
Safety Factor would probably still
cover it, but were getting
close.

Steel Sprinkler Pipe, Subject 852

and then there is ULs CRR [Corrosion Resistance Ratio]
Compares thicknesses of any scheduled pipe to the thickness
of a schedule 40 pipe. well, thickness3, that is
CRR = tsch-x3/t403
CRR of plain Dyna-Flow = 0.0813/0.1453 = 0.174
CRR of threaded Dyna-Flow = 0.0223/0.1453 = 0.0035
a decrease of 98%!!!
You might want to consider whether CRR is a proper basis for
comparison between CPRs for materials having different wall
thicknesses. We do have a quiz coming up..

Standard Specification for Black and Hot-Dipped

Zinc-Coated (Galvanized) Welded and Seamless
Steel Pipe for Fire Protection Use
Then theres the question of why Dyna-Flow should never have
been threaded
taking the worst
possible case,
ODmax = ODnom
+ 1/64
tmin = 0.875*tnom

Recalculating the wall thickness at the first exposed

thread using worst case scenario..
ODmax = 1.900 + 1/64 = 1.915625
tmin = 0.875*0.081 = 0.070875
IDmax = ODmax 2*tmin = 1.773875
DE2 = 1.77173
t* = [DE2-ID]/2 = [1.77173-1.773875]/2 = -0.0011!!!

Published on July 10, 2001, Bradenton Herald, The (FL)

BLAKE HOSPITAL SUES OVER DAMAGE
The parent company of Blake Medical Center is suing to recover nearly
$4 million allegedly lost as a result of a construction-related incident in
1998 that left parts of the Bradenton hospital soaking wet. Crews with
R.W. Construction Co. and Riverview-based Brown Automatic
Sprinklers Inc. were at the hospital Dec. 28 to remodel an existing
waiting room into a cardiac treatment room.

In the course of their work, workers failed to check a water pressure

gauge on a fire sprinkler line before

and so this story

ends.