Technical Review: Example System from WRC-449
Mechanical Engineer New COADE JULY 2003, PAGE 11, 12.
Satisfying Expansion Load Case
Requirements
(by: Richard Ay)
Typical Power and Process piping codes evaluate the stresses of a piping system under in three different states; sustained (or primary), expansion (or secondary), and occasional. The focus of this article is on the proper evaluation of the expansion stresses, and the corresponding load case setup.
The B31.3 code in Paragraph 319.2.3.b states “While stresses
resulting from displacement strains diminish with time due to yielding or creep, the algebraic difference between strains in the extreme displacement condition and the original (as-installed) condition (or any anticipated condition with a greater differential effect) remains substantially constant during any one cycle of
operation. This difference in strains produces a corresponding
stress differential, the displacement stress range, which is used as
the criterion in the design of piping for flexibility.” A previous
article in this newsletter (Expansion Case for Temperatures Below
Ambient, May 1993, p32) discusses this requirement, using an
example situation where the system has two temperatures, one
above ambient and one below ambient. To summarize, in this
situation, CAESAR II would recommend the following load cases: