Piping Analysis

[yehlo1972]

Hi

till what extent we can perform piping analysis in ANSYS, i mean can we compare ANSYS piping analysis with that of CEASER II or Auto PIPE, etc.

 

[cbrn]

Hi,
don't know exactly what you mean. Where I work, we use extensively PIPE16 element type for the analysis of penstocks systems. This element has a lot of very interesting possibilities. Of course, it's however a linear "1D" element.

Regards

 

[yehlo1972]

Actually we have to do piping analysis of large piping systems like rigs and power plants etc, and we have ANSYS, but i want to know that is it will fulfill the purpose just like CEASAR II and AutoPipe do these analysis of piping systems.
I want to know should we go for a separate software for piping system simulation or ANSYS will do it also.

 

[buggles]

Hi,

ANSYS has a very good capability for analysing piping systems. Personally, I've had limited use in the area. If you model your pipe using areas and apply shell elements with a thickness, this should help to keep your model size down to a minimum.

 

[cbrn]

Hi,
Buggles, for analyses of very large piped systems, shells are inefficient, though they can provide you with a LOT of data, especially in local areas.
However, in order to study the behaviour of an antire system, I'd stay on PIPE16: it can handle everything you need. The usage of this element saved us, where I work, more than once from situations where a hand-calc would have suffered from unacceptable simplifications in order to be solved. Once you have solved your system with "line-elements" (in 3D, however), you can use the elem / nodal loads in order to input the correct BCs for local analyses with shell or solid elems.
Before looking for other software, I suggest having a thorough reading of the Manual about this element. Only if you find it has unacceptable "weaknesses" for what you must do, then look elsewhere...

Regards

 

[DSB123]

yehlo,
I am not sure about performing piping analysis using ANSYS as opposed to using a "pucka" pipe stress analysis program. You need to ask yourself as to how ANSYS would deal with the Codal requirements e.g. Calculation of the thermal stress range/application of the Codal SIF's/calculation of the various Codal load combinations etc. If it's pipe stress analysis of normal sized piping then I think a specialist software package is the way to go.

 

[cbrn]

Hi,
DSB, what you're saying is nothing Ansys can't do. What it doesn't have is the normated combinations built-in, but using loadcases combinations you can very easily do it yourself (and, using APDL programming, it's extremely easy to "code in" the requirements of a Norm, whatever this is). The PIPExx elems in Ansys do have definable SIFs.
I say that, not for the reason that I must support Ansys, but because the O.P. told he already has Ansys in house.
Regards

 

[yehlo1972]

Hi cbrn

What are normated combinations !

 

[cbrn]

Hi,
I mean, action combinations or load combinations as defined in whatever Norm you need.

Regards

 

[DSB123]

cbrn,
I am not saying ANSYS cannot do the calculations but if there are specific Pipe Stress Programs with in-built Codal checks available then why not use them is all I am saying.
To use a package like ANSYS to perform pipe stress analysis is like using a sledgehammer to crack an egg in my view.

 

[cbrn]

Hi,
probably the O.P. has already taken his decision. However, this is taken from his second post:
"we have ANSYS, [...] I want to know should we go for a separate software for piping system simulation or ANSYS will do it also".
Then, in my opinion, the answer is "YES". Full-Yes. Ansys will do. Whether it would be simpler with other packages or not, is another question. But the O.P. does already have Ansys in house, so why spend another lot of money for something else, after spending a LOT of money for a general-purpose FEA package? If you spend 35000 Euros for a FEA, I presume you want to use it anytime you can!!!

Regards