Modelling Piping Systems
Often on the project critical path, the analysis of piping systems needs to be performed quickly but with certainty. CAESAR II provides various features to help analysts develop nodal models quickly and accurately, helping to keep project schedules on-track.
Expansion Loop Wizard
EN1591 Flange Analysis
The addition of an expansion loop is a common solution for addressing high stress or high loads in a piping system. CAESAR II offers tools to determine the most suitable location for the loop and to calculate the necessary size. CAESAR II can use a CAD model to quickly identify a suitable location for the loop, reducing the need for repeated analysis and design. The Loop Wizard can automatically design the expansion loop based on the target value and available space.
The EN-1591 standard is a calculation method for bolted, gasketed, circular flange joints that ensures structural integrity and leak tightness. It is a detailed and modern standard that provides greater accuracy than the Taylor Forge method, allowing for significant reduction in flange thicknesses and bolt sizes by up to 50% or more.
Expansion Joint Wizard
Including an expansion joint in a piping analysis model can be challenging. The user must carefully define not only the joint itself, but also any necessary tie-bars and ensure that everything is connected correctly to allow for the appropriate degrees of freedom. The correct flexibilities of the joint must also be specified from the manufacturer's catalogue. CAESAR II's Expansion Joint Modeller simplifies this process by automatically creating the model with the correct flexibilities and connections, including tie bars.
Hanger Design and Databases
Seismic Wizard
Comprehensive Error Checking
Spring hangers are crucial to supporting a piping system when balancing vertical displacements. CAESAR II allows users to select from thirty-eight hanger manufacturer catalogues to support their piping system and balance vertical displacements. CAESAR II will then select the appropriate hanger based on the load and movement at the hanger location, as specified by the user.
Piping systems in earthquake-prone areas must be designed to withstand seismic loads. Fortunately, allowing users to easily apply mapped accelerations to their models as appropriately adjusted uniform g-loads and using the Static Seismic method, in CAESAR II, This process can be completed with minimal inputs, and in seconds.
CAESAR II includes a comprehensive error checker that has been refined over many years. This checker checks the user's input and provides guidance to assist if anything unexpected or undefined is identified in the input.
Load Case Editor
Report Generation
Stress Isometrics
Specifying all necessary load cases applicable to the design scenario is a critical part of the whole analysis process. CAESAR II saves time by suggesting load cases to use, and provides features that make working with complex load cases simple and easy.
After completing the analysis, it is often necessary to share the results with other stakeholders. CAESAR II allows users to easily export the analysis results to popular formats such as MS Word or Excel.
A stress isometric is a useful addition to any report, but manually annotating it can be time-consuming and prone to error. Using Isogen, an integral part of CAESAR II, accurate isometric drawings can be easily and quickly produced with just a few clicks. Simply specify the desired information and Isogen does the rest, eliminating the potential for mistakes whilst saving time.
Dynamic, Modal Analysis
Integration with CADWorx Plant Professional
The natural frequencies for a piping system should be calculated to reduce the risk of vibration issues, which may cause fatigue failures. A first natural frequency that is too low can mean that the pipe is easily excited and so more susceptible to vibration. Best practises indicate a recommended lowest natural frequency of no less than 4 to 5 Hz. Similarly, a natural frequency of a piping system that is close to the frequency of e.g. reciprocating equipment can also cause issues and may lead to resonance and failure. CAESAR II provides modal analysis to calculate the natural frequencies and associated mode shapes of a piping system. Running the modal analysis and reviewing the natural frequencies and the animations associated with the mode shapes is easily achieved using CAESAR II.
The process of creating a pipe stress analysis model can be time-consuming for analysts, as it often involves manually reconstructing the model from isometrics. CADWorx and CAESAR II can streamline the process by digitally transferring piping data from the design model to create the analysis model. Properties for analysis can also be transferred from CADWorx to CAESAR II, saving time and effort for the analyst. The process can also be streamlined for modifications by referencing the design model in the analysis environment and conveying changes back to the designer by importing the CAESAR II model into CADWorx. This ensures that piping finally issued for construction, matches what was analysed.
Integration with Smart 3D
The most tedious part of conducting pipe stress analysis is often creating the model, which typically involves manually reconstructing it from isometrics. The process can be simplified by digitally transferring data from the design model in Smart 3D to CAESAR II, creating the analysis model directly. This not only saves time and effort for the analyst, but also allows for easy modifications. The analyst can reference the design model in the analysis environment, making informed decisions about changes and reducing back and forth with the designer. After the analysis is complete, the updated pipe route and support locations and loadings can be easily transferred to the designer.
