Need to verify loading on pipe shoe, do I worry about the pipe?

[Corduroy]

Hello all, Just joined and need some help from the experts on here!

I'm new to Solidworks Simulation and I want to verify the loading (X, Y and Z) on a Pipe Shoe (pipe suport).

The pipe is being supplied by another company so I dont need to verify the pipe can withstand the loading. Also I only know the size, 855mm O.D.

My questions are:

1. Do I need to add the pipe to the Pipe Shoe - 3D Solidworks model inorder to do the Simulation? or can I leave the pipe out and just apply the loads to the pipe shoe?

2. If I have to add the pipe, can I add the pipe as a solid piece of pipe without any wall thickness? I dont know what the wall thickness is.

Thanks.

 

[SteveMartin]

Hard to say for sure without understanding the geometry and stresses of your particular application.

In general, if you can fully and accurately model the load on your part(s) of interest (the shoe) you do not need to include the parts that are not of interest to you (the pipe). The trick can be making sure you can simulate the loads accurately without the 'extra' parts.

It sounds like in this case you do not have enough information to do the analysis regardless of whether the pipe is modeled or not. Mass of a pipe this size is surely going to have some effect on loading a support, and if you know nothing other than OD I can't see how you can determine mass. Maybe you already have some other data that incorporates this - I can't tell from your post.

I certainly wouldn't make a solid pipe in place of a hollow one. I imagine for a pipe of this size the mass difference would be substantial (I'm guessing wall thickness is << OD).

 

[Corduroy]

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Corduroy]

What if I use a solid pipe? I'm guessing this would 'over load' the support and tell me the plate sizes of the pipe shoe would have to be increased?

 

[SteveMartin]

Solid pipe would certainly be more massive than hollow (assuming pipe material is denser than whatever it's conveying). Depending on that difference it could be a substantial differnce in load magnitude.