Local Coordinates

Many analytical models in engineering are based upon being able to define a real physical object
mathematically. This is accomplished by mapping the dimensions of the physical object into a similar
mathematical space. Mathematical space is usually assumed to be either two-dimensional or three-
dimensional. For piping analysis, the three-imensional space is necessary, because almost all piping
systems are three dimensional in nature.

Two typical three-dimensional mathematical systems are shown below in Figure 1. Both of these
systems are "Cartesian Coordinate Systems". Each axis in these systems is perpendicular to all other
axes.

Figure 1 – Typical Cartesian Coordinate Systems

In addition, for these Cartesian coordinate systems the "right hand rule" is used to define positive
rotation about each axis and the relationship, or ordering, between the axes. Before illustrating the "right
hand rule", there are several traits of the systems in Figure 1 that should be noted.

 Each axis can be thought of as a "number line", where the zero point is the point where all of the
axes intersect. While only the positive side of each axis is shown in Figure 1, each axis has a
negative side as well.
 The direction of the arrow heads indicates the positive direction of each axis.
 In Figure 1, the X-axis has one arrowhead, the Y-axis has two arrowheads, and the Z-axis has
three arrowheads. The circular arcs labeled RX, RY, and RZ define the direction of positive
rotation about each axis. (This point will be dis\-cussed later.)
 Any point in space can be mapped to these coordinate systems by using its position along the
 number lines. For example, a point 5 units down the X-axis would have a coordinate of (5.0, 0.0,
0.0). A point 5 units down the X-axis and 6 units down the Y-axis would have a coordinate of
(5.0, 6.0, 0.0).
 Notice that if the system on the right side of Figure 1 is rotated a positive 90-degrees about the
X-axis, the result is the system on the left side of Figure 1.

The coordinate system on the left side of Figure 1 is the default CAESAR II global coordinate system.
In this system, the X and Z axes define the horizontal plane, and the Y-axis is vertical.

CAESAR II Local Coordinate Definitions

In many cases, CAESAR II shows global coordinates in upper case (e.g., global force in X is listed as
FX) and local coordinates in lower case (e.g., local force in x is listed as fx). For the following examples
the local terms a, b, c are used in place of x, y, z. In other words, global coordinates are referenced by
X, Y, Z and local coordinates are referenced by a, b, c.

Straight Pipe

 a-axis: always points from the From Node to the To Node

 b-axis: b = a x Y (This is a cross-product operation, except when a is Y, and then b is defined as
X.)
 c-axis: c = a x b

The straight elements of the model and their local coordinate systems in Figure 7 are reproduced below
in Figure 11. Notice that each straight element has its own local coordinate system, and each element is
aligned differently in this model.
Figure 11 - Local Coordinate Systems for Straight Elements (1)

In Figure 11, the positive direction of the a-axis (i.e., the local X-axis) for each element is defined
according to the From - To Node definition of the element. For example, the a-axis of element 10-20 is
aligned with the positive global X-axis because that is the direction defined in moving from node 10 to
node 20. The a-axis of element 30-40 is aligned with the negative global Z-axis because that is the
direction defined in moving from node 30 to node 40. Review Figure 11 closely, as this figure clearly
shows how the local element coordinate system can be defined based on the definition of the element,
especially with regard to the skewed element 40-50.

Bend Elements

Think of the bend as a centerline arc bounded by a near and a far node. The near node is the tangent
point joining the bend with the straight pipe entering the bend (as defined by the sequence of pipe
elements). The far node is the tangent point joining the bend with the straight pipe exiting the bend.
CAESAR II does not require a near node, but creates one by default. Any additional nodes along the
bend arc reference the orientation of the tangent line at the node. This tangent is a vector pointing
toward the far end of the arc.

 a-axis: defined by the tangent vector, where positive is toward the far end of the bend. This is
considered the torsion term.
 b-axis: b is perpendicular to the plane that contains the bend arc. Its direction is set by b = c x a.
Where defined by the piping code, this is the in-plane bending term.
 c-axis: c points to the center of the bend arc (c = a x b). Where defined by the piping code, this is
the out-plane bending term.

The local coordinate systems for the bend end points in Figure 11 are displayed below in Figure 12.
Figure 12 – Local Coordinate Systems for Bend Elements

Tee Elements

Local coordinates are also significant for the three straight pipes that join at a tee or for any other
straight pipe end where a stress intensification factor (SIF) is defined. See Figure 13.

 a-axis: always points from the From Node to the To Node. This is the torsion term.
 b-axis: b is perpendicular to the plane that contains the three elements that form the tee. Its
direction is set by b = a(branch) x a(run). Where no plane is evident (e.g., a SIF specified at a
node where no run or branch exists), b is defined for straight pipe. In those cases where the two
run elements have opposite a-axes, CAESAR II uses the orientation of the first run pipe entered
to set a(run) in the definition of b. Where defined by the piping code, this is the in-plane bending
term.
 c-axis: c = a x b. Where defined by the piping code, this is the out-plane bending term.

Examples of local coordinates for elements framing a branch connection are depicted below in Figure
14.
Figure 5 - Tees Added

Figure 14 - Local Coordinate Systems for Tee Elements

Using Local Coordinates

When analyzing a piping system, there are a number of items that must be checked and verified. These
items include:

Operating Loads on Restraints & Terminal Maximum Operating

Points Displacements
Hanger design results Code stresses for code cases
Equipment Evaluations Vessel Nozzle Evaluation
Expansion joint evaluation

Restraint loads and displacements are checked in the global coordinate system. This is necessary
because restraint loads and displacements are nodal quantities. Element loads and stresses are most
often evaluated in their local coordinate system. A good example illustrating the use of a local (element)
coordinate system is the free body diagram, of forces and moments. The forces and moments in this free
body diagram remain the same, regardless of the position of the element in the global coordinate
system. Note however, that each element has its own local coordinate system. Furthermore, the local
coordinate system of one element may be different from the local coordinate system of a different
element.

While the global coordinate system is typically referred to using the capital letters X, Y, and Z, local
coordinate systems use a variety of nomenclature. In almost all cases, local coordinate systems use
lower case letters. Typical local coordinate system axes are: xyz, abc, and uvw. CAESAR II uses xyz to
denote the local element coordinate system.

The local coordinate system for an element is related to the global coordinate system through a rule.
There may be a number of such rules, depending on the type of element. In CAESAR II, the following
rules are used to define the local coordinate systems of the piping elements in a model.
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Restraint Report - In Local Element Coordinates

It is possible to generate a restraint report where the loads and moments are aligned with the local
element coordinate system. This is particularly useful when addressing skewed nozzles, where the axial,
longitudinal and circumferential results are needed. As an example, consider the small system shown
below:

This system consists of two small horizontal lines anchored at both ends. The last element of each line
is skewed 45 degrees in the X-Z plane. At the end of this skewed line is an axial restraint, as illustrated
in the following figure:
The typical Global Restraint report for this system displays in the following table. At node 140, this
report shows two equal loads in the (global) X and Z directions. These values (24,463) are the global
component loads acting on the skewed restraint. The actual magnitude of the restraint load, acting in-
line with the pipe can be found by performing the SRSS of these component loads, which yields 34595.
This value is the load on the restraint acting axially with the pipe.

Operating Case Restraint Loads – Global Coordinate System

MX MY
NODE FX lb. FY lb. FZ lb. MZ ft.lb.
ft.lb. ft.lb.
Rigid
100 -24463 -514 66 1340.5 -273.3 -6418.6
ANC
119 0 0 -24528 0.0 0.0 0.0 Rigid Z
140 24463 0 24463 0.0 0.0 0.0 Flex X
Rigid
200 -24463 -514 66 1340.5 -273.3 -6418.6
ANC
219 0 0 -24528 0.0 0.0 0.0 Rigid Z
240 24463 0 24463 0.0 0.0 0.0 Flex X

The process of performing SRSS or sine/cosine operations to obtain restraint loads in the element
coordinate system can be tedious. As an alternative, generate a restraint report where all of the loads are
aligned with the associated element coordinate system. The report for the same small job displays in the
table below.

Operating Case Restraint Loads – Local Element Coordinate System

mx my mz
NODE fx lb. fy lb. fz lb.
ft.lb. ft.lb. ft.lb.
100 -24463 66 514 1340.5 -6418.6 273.3 Rigid ANC
119 0 - 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Rigid Z
 24528
140 34595 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Flex X
200 -24463 66 514 1340.5 -6418.6 273.3 Rigid ANC
-
219 -17344 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Rigid Z
17344
240 34595 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Flex X

In reviewing the relationship between the local versus global restraint loads note the following:

The global FY (vertical) load at node 100 of -514 translates to a local fz load. For details on the global
to local coordinate system relations, see Technical Discussions. (These two values are shown in the
tables in bold.)

At node 140, the skewed axial restraint, the first table showing the global coordinate system loads
reports the two equal component loads. The second table showing the local loads, reports only the
resultant axial load at the restraint. (These values are shown in the tables in bold.)
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The Right Hand Rule

In the Cartesian coordinate system, each axis has a positive and a negative side, as previously
mentioned. Translations, straight-line movement, can be defined as movement along these axes.
Rotation can also occur around these axes, as illustrated by the arcs in Figure 1.

A standard rule must be applied in order to define the direction of positive rotation about these axes.
The right-hand rule is used as the standard. Put the thumb of your right hand along the axis, in the
positive direction of the axis. The direction your fingers curl is positive rotation about that axis. This is
best illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2 – The Right-Hand Rule

The right-hand rule can also be used to describe the relationship between the three axes.
Mathematically, the relationship between the axes can be defined as:

X cross Y = Z (EQ 1)

Y cross Z = X (EQ 2)

Z cross X = Y (EQ 3)

Where cross indicates the vector cross product.

Physically, using your right hand, what do the above equations mean? This question is best answered by
Figure 3.
Figure 3 – The Right-Hand Rule - Continued

The left pane of Figure 3 corresponds to vector equation 3 above. Similarly, the center pane in Figure 3
also corresponds to vector equation 3 above. The right pane in Figure 3 corresponds to vector equation 2
above. All panes of Figure 3 refer to the left-hand image of Figure 1.

Straight-line movement along any axis can be therefore described as positive or negative, depending on
the direction of motion. This straight-line movement accounts for three of the six degrees of freedom
associated with a given node point in a model.

Analysis of a model requires the discretization of the model into a set of nodes and elements.
Depending on the analysis and the element used, the associated nodes have certain degrees of freedom.
For pipe stress analysis, using 3D Beam Elements, each node in the model has six degrees of freedom.

The other three degrees of freedom are the rotations about each of the axes. In accordance with the
right-hand rule, positive rotation about each axis is defined as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

When modeling a system mathematically, there are two coordinate systems to deal with, a global or
model coordinate system and a local (or elemental) coordinate system. The global or model coordinate
system is fixed, and can be considered a constant characteristic of the analysis at hand. The local
coordinate system is defined on an elemental basis. Each element defines its own local coordinate
system. The orientation of these local systems varies with the orientation of the elements.
 An important concept here is the fact that local coordinate systems are defined by, and
therefore associated with, elements. Local coordinate systems are not defined for, or associated with,
nodes.
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Transforming from Global to Local

Converting or transforming values from the CAESAR II Global Coordinate System to a local
coordinate system involves applying a number of rotation matrices to the global values. Matrix
mathematics is not a trivial task, and you must exercise the utmost care to arrive at the correct result. To
complete this task, visit the CAESAR II Downloads page at
http://www.intergraph.com/products/ppm/caesarii/downloads.aspx and click CAESAR II "Global to
Local" to download the GlbtoLocal utility, glbtoLoca. zip. For more information, see the July 2001
issue of our Mechanical Engineering News. For an example on how to use the GlbtoLocal utility using
the nozzle at node 50 see below.

The element 40-50 is defined with the delta coordinates of:

DX = 3 ft. (6.426 in)

DY = -3 ft. (6.426 in)

DZ = 0.0

The global restraint forces at node 50, in global coordinates, for the operating case are:

FX = 323 MX = -953

FY = 4 MY = -9

FZ = -271 MZ = -548

Using this data as input to GlbtoLocal, the utility yields the forces on the restraint in the element’s local
coordinate system. This is shown in Figure 21 below.
Example Global to Local Transformation

Compare the set of values labeled Rotated Displacements / Load Vector with the Local Element
Force / Moment report, as shown above. A change in sign is necessary because the Restraint report
shows loads acting on the restraint, while the Element report shows loads acting on the element.
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