Articles

Replacement of an existing piping system

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Modified header layout

Background When process plants have been in service for a long time or approach their end of life the engineering challenges take a different form. It is more complex than laying out a new plant in a greenfield situation. This article discusses some important observations of a project the author had been closely associated with … Read more

Determining SIF of Non-Standard Fitting

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Lateral tee with crotch plate

Background Some instances in piping stress engineering we come across fittings not defined in ASME B 31.3, due to their sheer size and/or the diameter to thickness (D/t) ratio. Without understanding the stress intensification factors (SIFs) of fittings, flexibility analysis becomes impossible. This discussion is about how a challenge for the determination of SIFs of … Read more

Niekie Jooste – Welder Destiny (Part 1)

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In this interview with welding engineer and futurist Niekie Jooste, we get a fascinating glimpse into how work and careers may evolve in the not-too distant future. Niekie shares some of his vast knowledge on welding as it relates to piping engineering, before moving on to artificial intelligence and its potential implications.

To hear more of Niekie’s thoughts on the future and to better prepare yourself for the coming ‘onslaught of the machines’, be sure to check out the Welder Destiny site.

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‘Quick and Dirty’ FFS of Fittings

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Assessing fitness for service of pipe fittings is tricky. Whilst we’d encourage you to assess them carefully, what about when you just want to know if you should expend the effort to do more detailed analysis or FEA ? Here is a simple approach that can sometimes be employed when you need a first pass … Read more

‘Hot’ sustained stress – method comparison

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compressor station piping

In the past few years there has been an increased focus on the so-called ‘hot sustained’ stress in piping system analyses. The ASME B31.3 2006 edition clarified that Sustained stress requirements must be met for all operating conditions of a piping system. There had always been practitioners whose view was that any stress due to change in temperature should … Read more

B31.3 Code Issue – Non-conservative Sustained Stress

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I would like to highlight an issue in ASME B31.3 that’s been sitting there underneath most of our noses for several years. Depending on your interpretation of the Code (or that of your pipe stress software) this can result in significant under-prediction of sustained and occasional bending and torsional stresses at reducing intersections. [Edit March 2017: this … Read more

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