SPECIALREPORT FLUID FLOW AND ROTATING EQUIPMENT Hazardous situations created by improper piping analyses Some computer programs do not handle hot condition calculations correctly L. €. PENG, Peng Engineering, Houston, Texas ing Resse anc ress analysis required in design of mest p piping sens before the piping is installed in am industrial plant iris intended ro ensure plane safety and, thus, protec dhe interests ofthe owner and the general pubic: Duero availability of powerful software packayes, dhe analysis is become single wn ros Tins, However, improper piping analysis may acrally veave 3 haz sadous scuation rather chan eostae plant safety Improper piping asalyses stem From many areas. Misunder- standing ofthe software approach, inpucerrorsand weong bounclary «conditions from CAD data are some comaon ons. Thess: coma -mon instakes are easy to detect and chock if proper isometrics and input dats echoes are provided. However, some areas of improper analysis ere not as obvious and may even be misconstrucd. ‘One area of improper analysis, which is openly mishandled by some safease packages, waseants special anencion. This improper analysis iwolves the soxalled piping resting or single-ating say- pon. The raring supporraliows the pipe i move up without esc sion, but will sppore the pipe preventing it from moving down ‘ward. leis obvious Uhat when the pipe moves up and off che eannace point, itis no longer heing supported, This-very fundarenssl face somehow is mot rcagnined by some popular software packagesond users, They tea the pipeas being supported in che hot eondi- son simply because i is supported during the cold condition. “To eosuresrueturel inzegtty ofthe pipe, at east wo stress cate- goss normally have w be ealuated. One's sustained sess chat is controlled by the pressure and weight. The other is expansion or dlisplaceinene stress that is determited by thertal expansion of the pipe and movernent of the connecting eqtripment, The sustained stress maintains the sme magnitude through plant operating life, Tsallowable is derermined by the pipe’ yield, rapture and creep strength ac operscing vempersiure (Gn the other han, che displacement sess tenes once he rare~ rial yields or the temperature reaches certain point. Tis allowable {is deterred bythe strain range that iscaneniendly measared by the streagth a eld condition, adjusced ightly bythe strength atoper- ang tomperacare Treating 2 pipe tha lifts off ts support as being supported can aeacly undecestimats the surzined sacs. Irmay not ereate noticeable problema in the beginning, buc dhe seemingly sat Isfitory piping osiewn may actaaly have e sale opecating ifeof only a small facrion of what is intended. This situation can better be explained by a pica example, Piping systera example. A typical siping sytem iscommonly pleced decom the sopporestruerure as shown in Fig. 1. This sche 4 | auGuse2uns roRocagnen Mo othe . < Z A 2 Hot gas piping oy Ege SOR Fa 200 = ty Moversate at point 5 poi Dxa025in, By @O5In: Mevements at paint 70 z= -03in ge ‘most economical and direccapproach of insaling a piping system, Depending on operating censperature and pipe sie, modifcaions are offen required ro ensue piping safety and operating lf. tis par ticular example, beesuse of the #2, sine and LOOT eemperacire, aa experienced engineer wil jnsall one or more spring supporss to ceautre tbat the sustained seress due eo weight and pressure is nox excessive at operating temperature However, the simation may appear so be different 0 acompurer- oriented engincer because the spsemn as iis aid one will meer pp: ing code tequizements when rin through some popnlat compures programs. According ro these compater programs, na ¥pting sop post is zoquired, This, on paper, saves substantial woney for the ‘owner, But in veaity, it pats the plant in great danger. To undes- stand dhs simation, Ginn our bow a computer progam kandles reste ing supports is necessary ‘Conpuser prog:ains have become an essential part of piping sieeis analysis. As the technology progresses these computer pro- sggams lo get move powerfal and sophisticated. The capaityofhar dling resting supports and orlersingle-ating restraints bas been awvallable for over two decades Yo analyze the resting suppost. 3 goodFLUID FLOW AND ROTATING EQUIPMENT IPECFALREPORT 360 00 (pons _ fs, fs & Ss | 3 oor 1.800 2,000 2% Tene stent data (0.41) (© 200 br rapture sent cata 4030 fy repute strength data 2 ti 2 2 26 2B 30 32 34 36 38 40 A} 44 a6 G8 50 Te04fog 2) % 105 ‘computer program will frst check che normal operating condition to sce ifthe pipe wil lif off a support when operating. I the pipe will off fom a support, then hat particular support wil be unable to support weight during operating conditions. That support will be ignored in cacolating sustained stres. Therefore, with the Fig. exams the program wal show that support at points 15 and 20 ae vocaesive. Whont ches supperts, the piping is greatly ovetressed tonder weigh and pressure, This in turn signals the enginccr to add sorae spring supports. “This kind of simple iogic, however, is nor adapted by all come puter progeanrs. Some popular conzpucer programs inotzad use a Simpler, bot wick, approach by calculading the sustained stress at ‘cald condivion asuuming al supportsare active, They then calc ‘the thermal expansion stress by allowsing she pipe to move up on all rerdng sepports, This erraneoss appronch completely ignores the _ostainad sresat eperting condiions, when the plnt life cnumted. The piping may be all ighe by their accoune, bue ths simplified appmiath of calculacng sustained sires bas alzeady greatly shore- ‘ened the piping life, To estimate piping it ct high te-mpeasure, Larson Miller grephs ‘can be sed, ig, 2 shows the Larson-Millr graph for 1% Cx Mo reel. The graph shows thatat |,O00°R foran 11,700 psi stress (point A), dhe rupaure time's 100.000 hr. However, for sires of 28,500 ps ‘poine 8), ruptore time is only 1,000 hr, According c ASME piping code allowable sustained stress is caken as 67% ofthe average cree par stressat 190,000 hr. In other wards, ifthe piping designed swichin che allowable stress, it should lase 100,000 hia fll temper- anure with a safety fieor of 1.5 applied to che sess value. As given above, for 1K Cr, % Mo steel at LO00"E average mpcure stress at 100,000 fs 11,700 psi. Theseore, the allowable is 14.700 X 0.67 -= 7.800 psi This allowable seress vale is tevsed pesiadically based on the latest available data "Phe curcent allowable is 6,300 psi ‘With the piping ystcm in Fig, 1 the comer masimeim mostzed strése, coasicerng she nnctive supports removed, i 18,000 psi. This greatly exceeds the code alowahle. However, maximum sustained sires calelated assuming all supports see active, as perforrned by scume popular computer programs, is unl 5,800 ps, whi iewihin the piping code allowable. The difference between these cao results at. The piping may have been checked to be in com: pliance with the ende by sonse compuser progrenas, when in velity itishighly overstressed, ‘With an 18,000 psi actual sustained ses, the pipe will ropasse is abou 20,006 he (Fig, 2, point C) withourany safer ctr applied. Ia safety factor of 1.5 is applied 0 the ste, den piping safe ope. azing life is ony abous 10 thousand hu. This is much fess than che 100,000 intended by the eode, Iris sppatent hevethae the pigig analyzed by assuming all che resting suppocts ae active, asin che cold condition. can coeae a real usar roche plant. Evaluating supports corcectly. When piping is of fran the suppore during operacon, is sustained weight sues shoul be cal- culated considering the suppaet ar inactive. This coramon senses ot recognized by rnany engineers. It is even more puzzling cat shi sk- ution sor handled covey by some popular cerputer prograns, Same enginsers have argued that the pipe wil eventaally sel t© the supper ether by yielding or by creeping, This may or may not be tre, deperiding on she amount of uplf and che piping config- unttion, ‘Even if che pipe eventually settes co che support, it stil rales three major issues: The piping is sil not in compliance with the piping code, which requires thar the sustained stress be within che allowable all the dime, not use some of the time; before che pipe is ‘eventually supported, It ay alveady have been suffciestly dimm- aged and wher the pipe stds tothe support at operating temper- ature, usually huge siestes and toads willbe generaced dig the cool down, This is because the cuppost will prevens the pipe om -moving downvraed as requized by the shrinkage duc ro coo! down. ‘The most common and economical approach ia dealing with the conntless piping in a process plant is ro res the piping on pipe racks and other support structures Using this appeonch, combined ‘with some commonsense engineering, many sale plants have been constructed. Howeve since the ase of powerful software packages, these resting supports have heen misinterpreted m have some magic: fumetions chac do not exist. Validated by the computer, enginests have kcen improperly deigeing many piping systems wish resting supports. They may havealteady ceased numerous haaaxdous situ arons waiting ro compromise dhe plan salety. Cheefore,Scisieaper- ative that owness and opetaros of these pans evalnate these support situations choroughly to ensure chat the investmenc and safery of the geneial public are protected. Liang.chuan Peng is he predent of Yee ergincains, oust, Teras He wate previo Sor MLM. Keto, #ost0 Whatley soem & Rect, Een, lainan Powe’ arc ome Mi. Pang nas 29 yeas of ne sce in inrey Stress ens an enc nein, ME the isinl autor el the sregrn RUPE aed hes Bevel 2ne the PENS art FX ‘Seo pe sess eyo Me Peg his evar ed wouesheger 9 and bascauhe piping encinee eg couresin mary counties Heveconed ib cagree inectnnat erainetiog (Kaas Se Univer aa eget plese! aioe Teas and Caer,