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Piping & Pressure Vessels

We have a wide range of experience in the design and verification of piping and pressure vessels including their mechanical integration and supporting structures. Our ability to combine piping and structural analysis with our 3D modelling capability, enables us to efficiently lay out, develop and detail designs.

Working with our clients, we can develop pipework routing and supporting structure layouts using their P&ID (Piping and Instrumentation Diagram). This can include modelling the piping runs, supports and structures in 3D. This process enables the rapid visualisation and clash detection at an early stage of the project, removing later rework during manufacture. We use either Caesar II or Autopipe to carry out the detailed analysis of the pipework, assessing its mechanical strength against design codes such as ASME B31.3. As well as thermal and pressure loads, we are able to design against more complex loads such as seismic, blast and vessel motion loading.

We can design pressure vessels efficiently using Finglow software to produce calculations to codes such as PD5500 and ASME VIII. For the more unusual pressure vessels, where Finglow is unable to provide the answers, we are able to utilise our extensive experience of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and use Ansys. This has included:

Performing elastoplastic assessments of ratcheting due to thermal transients in a thick-walled, high temperature vessel;
Non-linear buckling analysis of large, thin-walled vertical vessels subject to significant wind and temporary works loading;
Assessment of high integrity valve bodies.

Once the design of the pressure equipment has been developed, the 3D model can be used to produce detail manufacturing drawings of the supporting steelwork as well as isometric drawings of the pipework that can be used for fabrication and installation.

Our capabilities particularly come into their own for the design of offshore skid packages where space is at a premium and timescales are critical. Our efficient design and analysis process enables us to quickly move from concept through to detail manufacturing drawings.