Feature Report
Engineering Practice
Stress Analysis for
Piping Systems
Resting on Supports
Liang-Chuan Peng
Peng Engineering
P
iping-flexibility and stress
analysis are required in the
design of most piping systems
before the piping is installed
in a chemical-process or other
plant. It is intended to ensure the
safety of the plant and thus protect
the interests of the owner and the gen-
eral public. Owing to the availability
of powerful computer software pack-
ages, the analysis has become simple
and routine. However, due to miscon-
ceptions of some software approaches,
some analyses performed do not reflect
the actual situation of the piping. The
engineers have unwittingly performed
many erroneous analyses that put the
safety of the plants in jeopardy. One
of the most common misconceptions
adopted by some computer programs
is the method of analyzing the piping
with regards to resting supports.
The most common and economical
approach in dealing with the numerous
lines of piping in a process plant is to
48 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM FEBRUARY 2006
Avoid erroneous analysis
that may result from
using computer programs
rest the piping on pipe racks or other
support structures. The piping is either
supported directly on the pipe wall or
through pipe shoes, which are attach-
ments placed under the pipe to distrib-
ute the pipe weight and other loads to
the support. These types of supports
are generally called resting supports.
These supports are single-acting, be-
cause they only stop the pipe from
moving downward but allow the pipe to
move up freely. Due to the nature of this
non-linearity, exact solutions cannot be
expected for piping that goes through
various temperature cycles. Therefore,
three major schools of thought have
been conceived in the pipe-stress-soft-
ware community with regards to rest-
ing supports and temperature cycles.
Unfortunately, two of these are in ap-
parent violation of the code require-
ments. As a basis for explaining how
these computer methods violate the
code, the requirements of the code are
summarized in the following.
ASME code
ASME B31 code for pressure piping
is an American National Standard.
It also becomes a safety code when
adopted by federal, state, or local
governments. Nowadays, most non-
nuclear piping systems in the U.S. and
in many other countries are designed
according to ASME B31 code. Among
many other things, the code requires
that the piping shall be designed to
meet the limitation of the following
categories of stresses.
a. Internal pressure stress, Shp:
Stresses due to internal pressure shall
be less than the basic code allowable
stress, including longitudinal joint ef-
ficiency, of the pipe at design tempera-
ture, Sh(E).
b. Longitudinal (sustained) stress,
SL: The sum of longitudinal stresses
due to pressure, weight, and other sus-
tained loadings shall not exceed the
allowable stress, excluding longitudi-
nal joint efficiency, at design tempera-
 NOMENCLATURE
E Longitudinal-joint S Stress SE Expansion stress range SL Sustained longitudinal
efficiency of the pipe SA Allowable stress range for SEC Expansion stress at stress
e Strain thermal expansion and cool-down (cold) state Slp Sustained longitudinal
f Stress-range-reduction displacement stresses Sh Basic allowable stress stress due to pressure
factor, f =1.0 Sc Basic allowable stress of the pipe material at Slw Sustained longitudinal
for 7,000 or fewer of the pipe material at operating (hot) stress due to weight
operation cycles ambient (cold) temperature Sy Yield strength of the
temperature pipe material

The stress range due to thermal expan-
sion of pipe, movements of restraints,
earthquake or wind sway, tidal move-
��
ment, and temperature change in con-
nected equipment shall not exceed the
allowable displacement stress range
���������
tures where the yield strength gov-
erns the allowable stress, 1.25.(Sc
+ Sh) is roughly equivalent to 1.56.
Sy for ASME B31.1 code, and 1.67.
Sy for ASME B31.3 code, where Sy is
the yield strength of the pipe mate-

SA defined as follow rial. This shows that the allowable

��
� SA = f.(1.25Sc + 0.25Sh)
� pected during the displacement cycle
���������
� may be added to the above. That is
���
FIGURE 1. Any kind of significant
stress will cause some yielding or relax-
ation in the pipe. Shown here is an ex-
ample of reverse expansion stress due
to yielding (see text)
ture, Sh. The sustained longitudinal
stress normally consists of only the
longitudinal pressure stress, Slp, and
the weight bending stress, Slw. In this
case, the code requires that
Slp + Slw < Sh (1)
To get an idea of the weight stress lim-
itation, Slp can be taken as 0.5.Sh (one
half of the hoop stress). Thus, Equa-
tion (1) becomes
Slw < 0.5.Sh (2)
c. Stress due to occasional loads,
Soc : The effects of pressure, weight,
other sustained loads, and occasional
loads including earthquake and wind,
shall not exceed k.Sh. The k value var-
ies from 1.15 to 1.33 depending on
the duration of loading and the type
of plant. Wind and earthquake forces
need not be considered as acting con-
currently.
d. Displacement stress range, SE:
(3)
where Sc is the basic allowable stress
at minimum metal temperature ex-
under analysis. When Sh is greater
than SL, the difference between them
SA = f.[ 1.25.Sc + 0.25.Sh + (Sh – SL)]
= f.[1.25.(Sc + Sh) – SL ] (4)
Longitudinal joint efficiency need not
be included. Sh is the basic allowable
stress at maximum metal tempera-
ture expected during the displacement
cycle under analysis. Longitudinal
joint efficiency need not be included.
f is a stress range reduction factor,
which is equal to 1.0 for 7,000 or less
cycles.
The displacement stress range is tra-
ditionally called the thermal-expan-
sion stress range. For most applica-
tions, the number of cycles expected
is much less than 7,000. Therefore, for
discussion purposes f can be taken as
unity. That is
SA + SL = 1.25.(Sc + Sh) (5)
Since SE is limited to SA, the code re-
quires that the total stress (SE + SL)
shall satisfy the following
(SE + SL) < 1.25.(Sc + Sh) (6)
The total stress includes mostly cy-
clic stresses such as expansion stress
from ambient to operating tempera-
ture, pressure stress from zero to op-
erating pressure, and weight stress
from empty to full and also from cold
to hot. At low to moderate tempera-
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM FEBRUARY 2006
value for the calculated total stress
is over 1.5.Sy for 7.000 cycles of oper-
ation. Furthermore, since the stress
intensification factor for ASME B31
code is only one half of the theo-
retical value, the actual total local
stress limit is greater than 3.0.Sy for
7,000 cycles of operation. From this
brief deduction, it is clear that with
any kind of significant stress, some
yielding or relaxation in the pipe
will occur.
Figure 1 shows the situation when
the pipe is stressed beyond the yield
point and to Point A. In this situation,
the actual stress remains the same as
the yield stress Sy. However, the cal-
culated stress is the elastic equivalent
stress SE which is used in the code-
requirement evaluation. The pipe
will stay at Point A throughout the
operation or it might relax to a lower
stress point. Assuming the relaxation
does not occur, the pipe will cool down
to Point B at ambient condition. This
produces a reverse-expansion stress
at the cold condition. This stress rever-
sal is very important in the evaluation
of the analysis method.
In order to make the matter less
confusing, only the sustained stress
and displacement stress range will
be discussed in this paper. From the
above summary of ASME B31 code re-
quirements, it can be concluded that
a piping system should be designed
so the following stress conditions are
satisfied:
• The sustained stress due to weight,
pressure, and other sustained loads,
shall be smaller than the yield
strength of the pipe, to avoid gross
49

Engineering Practice
deformation. It should be noted that
the sustained stress is often limited
by the creep strength of the pipe at
higher temperatures
• The sum of the sustained stress and
displacement stress range, among
other things, can reach as high as
1.5 times the yield strength. If the
pipe involves a stress intensification
factor, this sum can go as high as 3.0
times the yield strength
The reason that the allowable displace-
ment stress can go higher than the
yield strength is because the displace-
ment stress is self-limiting in nature.
Although it is allowed to exceed the
yield strength, once the amount of ap-
plied displacement is reached the move-
ment is stopped and the expansion will
go no further. This kind of self-limiting
stress will not cause failure in one ap-
plication. Therefore, the failure mode of
displacement stress is fatigue through
many cycles of repeated operations.
Also, because the displacement
stress normally relaxes due to yield-
ing, creeping, or temperature normal-
ization, the initial stress value will be
greatly reduced after a certain period
of operation. The sign of the stress will
then reverse when the piping is cooled
down to ambient temperature. There-
fore it is important to note that the
initial stress has very little meaning
for the displacement load. The impor-
tant measure is the potential maxi-
mum strain range expected.
An example
A simple example demonstrates the
merits and pitfalls of some analysis
approaches designed to satisfy the
code requirements and philosophy.
Figure 2 shows a typical piping sys-
tem resting on a support structure.
The piping has one end connected
to a process tower and the other end
connected to another piece of process
equipment. The piping is supported
at three locations. As the tempera-
ture of the process fluid increases, the
tower expands upward and the pipe
expands. With the tower connection
gradually moving upwards, the piping
system also goes through the follow-
ing sequence of changes:
• With a small movement, the piping
is held down on all supports by the
weight of the piping including fluid
50 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM FEBRUARY 2006
��������������
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��
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FIGURE 2. Shown here is a typical piping system on resting supports. The picture is a
2D isometric plot of a pipe with a horizontal bend. Care must be taken to account for for
the piping lifting off the supports (see text example)
and attachments. Some thermal ex-
pansion (displacement) stress is gen-
erated, but the weight stress remains
the same as in the cold condition
• As the movement increases some-
what, the piping will lift from the
first support, support 20. A further
increase of the tower movement
will lift the pipe off support 30, thus
making a large portion of the piping
unsupported. This increases greatly
the sustained weight stress
• As the system reaches the maximum
operating temperature, the tower
connection moves up some more, but
the pipe is still being supported at
support 40. The expansion stress in-
creases, corresponding to the larger
movement. The sustained weight
stress remains the same as no addi-
tional piping is lifting off its support
• If the process system is held at this
maximum operating temperature
for a period of time, the thermal ex-
pansion stress (displacement stress)
will be relaxed somewhat. The
amount of relaxation depends on the
stress level and the operating tem-
perature. However, the sustained
weight plus pressure stress remains
unchanged
• When the plant cools down, the pip-
ing moves back on to its supports.
This reduces the weight stress to its
initial cold-condition weight stress.
The system, however, generates
some reverse thermal expansion
stress due to relaxation at operating
temperature.
• If considerable yielding or creep oc-
curs at hot condition, the pipe may
return to the support point while
the temperature is still consider-
ably higher than the ambient tem-
perature. A continued cooling down
to ambient temperature will cause
high thermal stresses and loads due
������������
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to stoppage of the support that pre-
vents the pipe from moving further
down
• In the next operating cycle, the
weight stress goes back to the hot
condition stress sustained, but the
expansion stress will be reduced to
a level corresponding to the relaxed
state
Three main approaches have been ad-
opted by computer software packages
in dealing with systems like the one
shown in Figure 2.
General, straightforward ap-
proach: This is an approach com-
monly adopted by general-purpose,
finite-element programs. In this ap-
proach, the sustained stress and the
expansion stress will be calculated
separately without checking the influ-
ence of the one on the other. The sus-
tained stress is calculated considering
only the weight and pressure loads at
the ambient state. All supports are con-
sidered active, as no temperature and
support displacement is involved. The
expansion stress range is calculated
only with the temperature change. No
weight influence is considered. If the
pipe lifts off from the support due to
temperature, it is considered inactive
for the expansion analysis.
This approach may mishandle both
the sustained and expansion stresses.
First, the sustained stress calculated
is the stress at ambient condition.
The most important sustained stress
at the hot condition is not calculated.
Secondly, the expansion stress may be
under estimated, because the restrain-
ing effects of the supports, over which
the piping is held down by weight, are
ignored.
Algebraic-subtraction approach:
In this approach, the sustained stress
is calculated considering only the
weight and pressure loads at ambi-
ent state. All supports are active, as
no temperature and support displace-
ment is involved. The expansion stress
range is calculated by subtracting
algebraically the temperature-plus-
weight condition (hot operating con-
dition) minus the weight condition at
ambient state (initial cold condition).
Three major issues are at stake in
this approach. First, the sustained
stress calculated is the stress at am-
bient condition; the most important
sustained stress at the hot condi-
tion is not calculated. Secondly, this
approach tries to include the cyclic
weight stress range, changing from
ambient to hot conditions, in the ex-
pansion stress range. This is not
consistent with the code philosophy
of separating sustained stress from
self-limiting expansion stress. Fur-
thermore, the cyclic sustained stress
involves not only the weight stress
change from ambient to hot, but also
the pressure stress change from zero
to operating pressure, and the initial
weight stress change from empty to
full. Thirdly, the stress for the temper-
ature-plus-weight condition depends
greatly on the signs of the moments
of the two loads included. If the mo-
ment of the weight change is in the op-
posite direction of the moment of the
temperature change, the calculated
expansion stress will be smaller than
that calculated by the temperature
change alone. This is not correct, as
relaxation can change the sign of the
expansion stress during the course of
operation. It is important to note that
the stresses involved in Equations (5)
and (6) are to be added absolutely.
Operating-condition approach:
In this approach, all supports are
checked at the operating condition,
which normally involves temperature
plus weight and pressure. If the pipe
lifts off from a support at operating
condition, that particular support is
then treated as inactive for both the
sustained weight plus pressure stress
and the expansion stress calcula-
tions. By the same token, if the pipe is
weighted down on a support at operat-
ing condition, that support is treated
as active for both sustained and ex-
pansion stress calculations. With this
method the sustained stress and the
expansion stress are calculated inde-
pendently once the activity of the sup-
ports is determined.
The sustained weight plus pressure
stress calculated with this approach
is the true sustained stress at hot op-
erating condition, when the stress is
high and the pipe is weak. The one
thing that may appear to be improper
to some inexperienced analysts is the
weight displacement that may show a
downward movement at support loca-
tions. This downward displacement
represents only the movement of pipe
from a thermally lifted condition. At
support locations, the operational
displacements combining weight and
temperature will be either zero or
in the upward direction. The expan-
sion stress calculated is the potential
stress range, recognizing that the
sign and the magnitude may change
throughout the operating cycles. This
expansion stress is combined abso-
lutely with the sustained stress in the
evaluation of the total stress given by
Equation (6).
From the above discussions, it is ob-
vious that the third (operating-condi-
tion) approach is the only method that
meets the code philosophy and require-
ments. The other two approaches all
have flaws in calculating the sustained
stress and the expansion stress range.
Final remarks
Analysis of the piping resting on sup-
ports is nothing new. Engineers have
analyzed this kind of piping routinely
for more than two decades. The er-
roneous concepts of some computer
software packages and the blind ac-
ceptance of computer results by en-
gineers, however, are new. Attracted
by the glamorous nature of thermal-
flexibility analysis, many engineers
have forgotten that sustained stress is
much more important than expansion
stress. Sustained stress is the primary
stress, whereas the expansion stress is
a secondary stress. From a comparison
of Equations (2) and (3), it is clear that
sustained weight stress is much more
critical than the expansion stress. At
low temperatures, when the hot al-
lowable stress has the same value as
the cold allowable stress, the weight
allowable stress limit is only about
one-third of the expansion-stress al-
lowable limit. At higher operating
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM FEBRUARY 2006
temperatures in the creep range, the
weight allowable stress limit can be as
low as only one tenth of the expansion
allowable limit.
Therefore, it is important to note
that the first priority of the analysis is
to accurately determine the sustained
weight stress at hot operating condi-
tion. This is not to say that expansion
stress is unimportant. A good analysis
shall calculate as accurately as possible
both sustained and expansion stresses.
It should be noted that by calculat-
ing weight stress at cold condition, the
analysis result is not expected to indi-
cate where a spring support is needed.
It is only when the weight stress at
hot operating condition is calculated
that the engineer will be able to detect
when a spring support is needed. A
spring support is made from precom-
pressed coil springs; as the pipe moves
up and down, the spring is stretched
or compressed, causing the load to
change. With a properly selected
spring support, the pipe is always well
supported, regardless of any up-or-
down movement. Spring supports are
thus used to reduce the weight stress
at hot operating condition.
The operating-condition approach
may be somewhat conservative for
pipes that only lift up a very small
amount from the support. In this case,
the rule of thumb is to consider the
support double acting to check both
sustained and expansion stresses. If
both stresses are within the code al-
lowable, then the system should be
considered as acceptable. ■
Edited by Gerald Ondrey
Author
Liang-Chuan Peng, P.E., is
the president of Peng Engi-
neering (3010 Manila Lane,
Houston, Tex. 77043; Phone:
713-462-7390; Fax: 713-462-
6930; Email: Lcpeng@aol.
com). Previously, he has been
employed by M.W. Kellogg,
Foster Wheeler, Brown &
Root, Bechtel, Taiwan Power
and others. Peng has over 35
years of experience in pip-
ing-stress analysis and engineering. He is the
original co-author of NUPIPE software, and has
developed the PENGS and SIMFLEX series of
pipe-stress-analysis computer programs. Peng
has performed troubleshooting on piping sys-
tems and taught piping-engineering seminars in
more than a dozen countries. He has published
18 technical papers on piping engineering. He
earned a M.S. in mechanical engineering from
Kansas State University. Peng is a member of
ASME and a registered professional engineer in
Texas and California.
51