Whether you want to calculate plastic or steel pipes, AutoPIPE is your solution. AutoPIPE has the most used analysis codes including ISO 14692 and BS7159 for plastic pipes. As always, you can switch from one to the other with three mouse clicks.
Plastic Pipes can be manufactured from an isotropic or an orthotropic material. Isotropic material has the same properties in every direction, like the PVC, HDPE, PP, PE, etc. and are called thermoplastics.
Thermoplastics are usually calculated according to B31.1, B31.3, and EN 13480. To consider the creep efect, most pipe manufacturers request to use Operating stress instead of Range stress and they provide for the allowable.
Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) pipe has orthotropic properties, which means that the elastic modulus and allowable stress are direction dependent. These piping systems are calculated in accordance with ISO 14692 or BS 7159.
Either using your own GRP material or selecting it from the database, AutoPIPE uses these properties to perform a complete calculation using the orthotropic properties. As with any other code, AutoPIPE automatically generates the code combinations to verify stresses and displacements.
AutoPIPE works using pipe specifications that are applied to a complete segment or just to a bend or a tee. Users can define the pipe specifications and if the manufacturer change the data, just update the material specification and all the model is updated. Do you have one elbow or 100 elbows that uses the same spec? Just update the specification and all your elbows are updated!
Take advantage of the selection shortcuts to correctly model the excess thickness of plastic tees, elbows and other accessories, as well as to enter the SIF or pressure penalties specified by your manufacturer.
The dialog at the right is the piping specification dialog. The grid at the bottom is the table with all the specs where the user can do global changes.
The easiest way to create a model is to import it from the 3D model. Then apply piping specifications to the pipes, input only once and applied as many times as needed.
Thanks to AutoPIPE high convergence engine, you can use models as large as you need them to be. Save time and save money by the consequent reduction of number of anchors or the time-comsuming alternative of transferring displacements from various models.
This example is from the ultrafiltration area of one desalination plant.
This example corresponds to the sand filter area of a desalination plant. The color indicates the pipe specification. Some expansion joints has been used to reduce the stress, the loads, and no anchors has been used in the system.
Tip: The properties have been applied to the pipes of a sand filter, and then graphical copy and paste has been used to replicate the arrangement.
