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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO PIPING SYSTEM

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Piping systems in any industry are similar to the arteries and veins
in the human body. Pipelines are common in almost all industries. They carry
crude oil from oil wells to tank farms for storage or to refineries for
processing (Figure 1.1). The pipe lines are also used for transportation and
distribution of natural gas. The piping systems in thermal power plants
convey high-temperature and high-pressure steam to generate electricity. In a
power plant, the piping system is used to transport low and high-pressure
water, chemicals, low-pressure steam and condensate. In food processing
plants, chemical plants, paper mills and other similar industrial
establishments, the piping systems are utilized to carry vapours, liquids,
chemicals, mixtures, gases and solids from one location to another. The fire
protection piping networks in industrial, residential, commercial and other
buildings carry fire suppression fluids, such as gases, water and chemicals to
provide protection to life and property.

The design, operation, construction and maintenance of various

piping systems involve an understanding of piping fundamentals, generic and
specific design considerations, materials, fabrication, testing and inspection
requirements, installation in addition to the state, local and federal
regulations. Piping for most process industries represents the major item of
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unit investment. Typical total erected piping cost ranges from 25 to 50 percent
of the total cost of a plant.

Figure 1.1 Plant layout arrangements in process plant

(Saipem India Projects Ltd)

In all applications, by virtue of physical conditions pipes may cause

serious damage when exposed to the atmosphere. Failure of these components
will also cause plant shutdowns and maintenance. Hence the integrity of
piping components is of great importance in industrial applications
(Figure 1.2). The structural integrity and cost of piping system are of major
concern in oil and gas, chemical and other industries. Piping systems can be
subjected to severe thermal, seismic, pressure and other mechanical loads and
for this reason, an increasing amount of attention is required to retain the
integrity of piping components.

The structural integrity of piping system relies heavily on the

correctness of design codes and practices, which can only be achieved
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through a thorough understanding of the behaviour of piping components and

systems under different types of load. Consequently, the piping designer often
faces the necessity of making careful and realistic compromises between cost
and design features without sacrificing the safety standards.

Figure 1.2 Piping systems in membrane unit of HRU

(Saipem India Projects Ltd)

1.2 PIPING DESIGN

1.2.1 Piping

Piping includes pipe, gaskets, valves, flanges, bolting, fittings and

pressure containing portions of other piping components (Figure 1.3). It also
includes pipe supports and hangers and other items necessary to prevent
overstressing and pressurization of the pressure-containing components. It is
evident that a pipe is either one element or a part of piping. Therefore, pipe
sections that are connected with valves, fittings and other mechanical
equipment and properly supported by supports and hangers are called piping.
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Figure 1.3 Piping components

Pipe fittings include pipe bends, reducers, tees, branch connections

and integrally reinforced connections.

1.2.2 Ovality

Ovality refers to a deviation of the structure of the pipe from an

ideal round shape to an elliptical shape caused by shape irregularities during
manufacturing (Figure 1.4). It is a measure of the difference between the
maximum and minimum outside diameters of a circular pipe.

Figure 1.4 Pipe bend cross section

The percent ovality is resolute by the deviation of major and minor

diameters divided by the nominal diameter of the pipe bend (Mohinder L
2000).
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1.3 REFORMER

The reformer is used in the production of synthesis gases from the

natural gas. In a reformer, steam is mixed with the natural gas and the
combined stream is further heated and routed through tubes in a reforming
furnace containing nickel oxide catalyst. The reforming reaction occurs in
which methane in the natural gas gets partially converted to carbon dioxide,
hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The reformer is one of the main critical
equipment in methanol and ammonia production plants. The cost of the
reformer is a substantial part of the investment of the complete plant. A study
is required for maintaining high levels of safety, reliability and structure
integrity of the reformer system with concentration on the construction
materials, damage mechanisms and their mitigation for the radiant section
(catalyst tube, inlet and outlet pigtail, inlet and outlet manifold).

1.3.1 Inlet Pigtail Pipe Bends

Inlet pigtail pipe bends are curved bars with an annual cross
section, whose reaction to external loading is complex in reformer
application. The reformer arrangement with inlet pigtail pipe bends is
indicated in Figure 1.5. These are often considered to be the critical
components of the piping system, because of the critical cross section of the
pipe bend. It is used to change the direction of the pipe and also absorbs the
force and moment in the piping system. The rigidity of the pipe bend is lower
than the connected straight pipe and as a result, the bend fails earlier than the
straight pipe and it becomes the weakest part of the piping system. For design
and structural integrity assessment, information on elastic stresses and
evaluation of limit loads are necessary. This, in turn, will help to know about
the maximum load carrying capacity of the inlet pigtail pipe bends for the
specified operating conditions.
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Figure 1.5 Reformer piping arrangement with inlet pigtail pipe bends

Inlet pigtail pipe bends are designed to accommodate the effect of a

wide range of loads resulting from internal, external pressure and bending
including the deformation during installation and operation. At an elevated
temperature during plant operation, the bend section may be a potential source
of failure in the reformer piping arrangement due to ovality and wall thickness
variation.

1.4 MOTIVATION OF THE RESEARCH WORK

Pipe bends provide additional flexibility in the piping network by

absorbing thermal expansion or contraction. Pipe bends employed in a
reformer are subjected to the various degradation mechanisms, resulting in
failure of pipe bend region. Failure of an inlet pigtail pipe bend has a
catastrophic effect at extrados as depicted in Figure 1.6. This failure is
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identified at the site during operation and it requires shutting down the plant.
It is necessary to identify the potential cause of this failure in pipe bend so
that suitable solution, considering minimum design requirement can be
provided.

Figure 1.6 Failure in inlet pigtail pipe bends

During plant operation, the piping system is exposed to thermal and

mechanical loads due to internal pressure, axial tension, global bending
moment, combined internal pressure and bending and these induced loads are
transmitted to the curved region causing high-stress level when compared to a
straight pipe. In the manufacturing process of pipe bends, it is challenging to
avoid thickening on the inner radius and thinning on the outer radius. The
cross section of the bend becomes non-circular and its acceptability is based
on the induced level of shape irregularity. The pipe bends with ovality are
subjected to higher stresses during the operation of a plant. The shape
irregularity in pipe bends and the components to which they are attached
beyond a certain level will damage the piping system. Hence a thorough
knowledge of the stresses induced in pipe bends under various loading
conditions is more essential, to determine the acceptability of a pipe bend
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with ovality. Besides shape irregularities, pipe diameter, wall thickness and
bend radius affects the load carrying capacity of a pipe bend. The study on
ovality effect in inlet pigtail pipe bend under various loading conditions is the
main objective of this research.

1.5 APPROACHES AND METHODOLOGIES

A better understanding and quantification of the effect of geometric

irregularity would enable a piping designer to select the most efficient
manufacturing process consistent with acceptable stress behaviour in the
piping system.

In this research work, various possible reasons for the failure in

extrados of reformer inlet pigtail pipe bends were studied. The literature
related to analytical, numerical and experimental analysis in pipe bend design
was reviewed.

Flexibility analyses were performed using CAESAR II to study the

stress distribution in the piping system network in reformer including inlet
pigtail pipe bend. Based on support arrangements and the thermal expansion
of the piping system, an inlet pigtail pipe bend experiences higher stresses,
identified as potential source of failure in the reformer piping system.

A three-dimensional finite element analysis were carried out using

CATIA and ANSYS-workbench to model and analyze a standalone long
radius inlet pigtail pipe bend with attached straight pipe considering ovality to
study the stress distribution in pipe bend geometry.

The experimental setup was developed to study the behaviour of

pipe bend and the possible internal and external loads acting in pipe bend.
The applied load vs deflection in the pipe bend geometry was reported. The
FEA results were compared with experimental evaluation and proposed limit
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load solutions for the pipe bend considering ovality to avoid failure in bend
geometry.

The non-traditional technique of Artificial Neural Network (ANN)

provides the correlation for allowable internal pressure with respect to pipe
bend geometry.

Based on the generic solution proposed, the geometric details of

inlet pigtail pipe bend used in reformer were considered for analysis and
provide the suitable solution to avoid failure.

1.6 FRAMEWORK OF RESEARCH ACTIVITY

Effect of ovality in inlet pigtail pipe bend used in reformers was

investigated

Design of pipe bend : Code requirements, comparison with literature,

finding the gap analysis, identify the reason for choosing the problem

To get the optimum design solution for the limit load of inlet pigtail
pipe bends with ovality considering internal pressure and in-plane
bending moment loading

Flexibility study performed and identified potential load of failure for

inlet pigtail pipe bend using CAESAR II Software

Carriedout FEA for the identified problem [ ANSYS-workbench]

Using FEA results, correlation developed for internal pressure loading

with other design parameters [Artificial Neural Network]

Experimental evaluation performed for various pipe bends geometry

and compared with numerical results

Implementation in industry
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1.7 ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS

Chapter 2: Presents the literature review on related areas of pipe

bends and the research problem considered

Chapter 3: Represents problem definition

Chapter 4: Describes the flexibility analysis of reformer piping

system and limit loads of pipe bend

Chapter 5: Discusses the finite element modelling and analysis of

the pipe bend

Chapter 6: Presents the experimental evaluation to validate FE

solutions for pipe bend

Chapter 7: Deals with the mathematical approach to develop a

correlation for internal pressure loading

Chapter 8: Review the overall results and discussions on the effect

of ovality in pipe bend

Chapter 9: Discusses the industrial application for the defined

problem in the research work.

Chapter 10: Summarizes the research work, with conclusion, major

contributions and future scope of work