Eng-Tips is the largest engineering community on the Internet

Intelligent Work Forums for Engineering Professionals

  • Congratulations waross on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!

Above Ground Flowlines

Status
Not open for further replies.

Johnrem

Petroleum
Feb 23, 2010
62
0
0
DZ
Dear Specialists:
Is there any body in this forum who has experience with Above Ground pipelines (continuously in contact with soil) modeling using Caesae software?

Thanks
 
Replies continue below

Recommended for you

Thanks Leonard;

I need your advice concerning modeling of above ground pipeline.

What is the best way to model above ground pipelines continuously in contact with soil? Is it by providing supports with short span or by using Buried modeler included in Caesar II.

In case we use Buried Modeler of Caesar II, what will be the Burial depth since the pipe is burried infact?
 
Johnrem,
I thought LSThill would have responded by now as you asked him for more information and he could back up him extensive experience by helping you out.
 
Johnrem,
Thought as much. So the CV posted was not much help then? You never actually get help from the poster - normally just a list of papers to refer to or a plug for FEpipe etc.

What I would do is model the system as a buried line with the lateral stiffness input as being equivalent to the friction between the pipe and the ground.You will have to come up with a figure dependant upon the "soil" the line is sitting on. The vertical stiffnesses - I would use a very stiff value for the downward values and as low as you can get away with for the upward resistance to movement. The axial resistance to movement - I would use the same as the lateral stiffness you come up with. The problem you have got is that if the stiffnesses used generates high compressive loads then the lateral restraint due to just the friction will not be enough to prevent lateral "buckling" of the line to the same extent as normally higher values used in buried lines. And the problem is you do not know where the pipe will move laterally in practice as slight imperfections in the straight routing of the line will become significant.

Sorry I can't help in any more detail but that's the way I would start to consider the problem.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top