Predicting Stresses for Cylindrical Vessels In Extended Ranges for Nozzles/ Attachments using Finite Element analysis

By Charles Grey

Masters Engineering Project Proposal Feb 12,2012 Advisor: Ernesto Gutierrez-Miravete

Abstract:
This report will put forth an analysis that will show the faults in WRC 107/297 for predicting maximum stress values from applying forces to a nozzle or attachment, since 1965 the welding research councils bulletin has been the go to document for finding the maximum stresses from applying load to an external nozzle or attachment on an unperforated shell. This work was based off Professor Bijlaards theoretical and some experimental work on the topic. The issue with his work comes from that it will accurately calculate the maximum stresses in the four major axis locations. However this will not take into account issues off the axis. In some cases of multiple loading these stress values can be unconservative. To find a more accurate to life prediction of stress values, a finite element analysis will be taken of the loaded attachment. By minimizing assumptions the real maximum stress values will present themselves in the results. The goal of this project is to find how loading from multiple directions will affect the analysis of the piping system and how that will differ from the predictions from WRC 107/297, so as to know when WRC is being unconservative.

Introduction:
Supporting piping systems is a large part of designing the piping systems. If a piping system cannot take the point load at the support location then the system must be reevaluated with new locations and new loads. Pipes that are to be hung in the vertical direction have shear lugs that attach to their side and will transfer loads into the piping system from these supports. Another large type of support would be that of guide lugs or nozzles that would put moments or pressure back into the shell of the pipe. Each of these supports does not always take load in only one direction. WRC 107/297 has been widely used by the petrochemical and boiler industry to engineer attachments for their vessels. Many issues from using WRC 107/ 297 are that engineers do not look at the assumptions that the bulletin takes. Any program written for using the bulletins does not warn engineers when they are violating those assumptions. So the engineer goes through using the procedure without checking their boundary conditions. These violations usually are compensated by the program by extending the curves present in the WRC bulletins. These extensions of the curves may not however be accurate to the actual stresses that would be present in the vessel shell. Engineers follow these curves assuming they are accurate however outside these curves the experimental data has not been presented to back them up.

Problem:
The main issue for using Welding research council bulletin 107 or 297 is that they are valid and confirmed in certain ratios of pipe size to pipe attachment, or thickness ratios. Many times in supporting and restraining the piping system the ratios present in the curves in the bulletin are not valid and must be extended to include the ratios that are not covered. However in these extended ranges for the bulletin graphs there is no experimental data that will confirm the stresses present in the shell. The second issue is

that most supports take on multiple loads in different directions. WRC 107 makes the assumption that the maximum stress values will be located on the four axes of the nozzle. Each of these axes being 90 degrees separated. However with these collective loads the maximum stress values cannot be assumed to be on these four axes. The stress concentrations must be evaluated around the entire attachment to find the point of maximum stress and loading. This can be completed by use of the finite element method of analysis. This method will give stress values around the entire attachment and not just the interior and exterior of the shell at each 90 degree plane.

Methodology:
The procedure that I will take to complete these comparisons will be two different ways. One will be an analysis inside the domain of the curves to show the analysis procedure works correctly for comparing a hand calculation to a finite element method. After this has been completed an analysis will be completed outside of the bounds of the curves for moments and forces put onto the nozzle. Loading will be that of a shear lug and that of a guide lug on the system. Both of these will impart a moment on the lug to impart stresses on the shell. There has been other analysis completed by others to show the issues with a external pressure load on the attachment, therefore this effort will not be duplicated in this project. The goal will be to determine when there is significant change in results from the extrapolated curves to the real life finite element results that would warrant warnings to be taken when designing attachments. These guidelines will be do not exceed values for the curves as to where the attachments should be looked at by a finite element method.

Resources Required:
Computer with solid works able to model the geometry that will be used for analysis Computer available with Marc FEA software used to complete the finite element analysis Access to research databases such as those provided by the Cole Library Access to WRC Bulletins 107/297 Finite element assistance to corroborate boundary conditions to mimic instance for WRC hand calculation

There are no issues presently with the amount of research and materials needed to complete all forms of these analyses. However in my research I have come across the possibly updated bulletin WRC 537 that could limit some of the issues present in WRC 107/297. This work as it has just been published in the last year has very limited availability. So obtaining a copy of the bulletin has proved very difficult.

References:
Welding Research Council Bulletin 107 Welding Research Council Bulletin 297 Modeling and Stress analysis of Nozzle connections in ellipsoidal heads of pressure vessels under external loading, Int. J. of applied Mechanics and Engineering, 2006, vol.11, No.4, pp.965-979 A Thin Shell Theoretical Solution for two intersecting Cylindrical Shells Due to External Branch Pipe Moments, Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology, Nov,2005, Vol. 127, pp.357-368 Stress analysis of Piping systems, Chapter B4, Piping Handbook 2004, B107-B214