Load

These are typically steady or sustained types of loads such as internal fluid pressure, external
pressure, gravitational forces acting on the pipe such as weight of pipe and fluid, forces due
to relief or blow down, pressure waves generated due to water/steam hammer effects.

Sustained Loads:

 Internal/External Pressure : A pipe used for transporting fluid would be under internal
pressure load. A pipe such as a jacketed pipe core or tubes in a Shell & Tube ex-
changer etc. may be under net external pressure. Internal or external pressure induces
stresses in the axial as well as circumferential (Hoop Stress) directions. The pressure
also induces stresses in the radial direction, but these are often neglected. The internal
pressure exerts an axial force equal to pressure times the internal cross section of the
pipe. F =P[πd^2/4]. If outer diameter is used for calculating approximate metal cross-
section as Pressure well as pipe cross-section, the axial stress can often be
approximated as follows : S =Pd /(4t)
 Dead Weight : It is the self weight of pipe including fluid, weight of fittings & other
inline components (say valve, insulation etc.). This type of loads act throughout the
life cycle of pipe. In horizontal pipes, these loads cause bending, and the bending
moment is related to normal and shear stresses. Pipe bending is caused mainly due to
two reasons : distributed weight load (e.g. fluid weight) and concentrated weight load
(e.g. valve weight). The weight of risers (vertical sections of pipe) can be supported
by riser clamps.

Occasional Loads:

 Wind Load, Piping which are located outdoors and thus exposed to wind will be
designed to withstand the maximum wind velocity expected during the plant
operating life. Wind force is modeled as a uniform load acting upon the projected
length of the pipe perpendicular to the direction of the wind. Wind pressure for
various elevations will be used to calculate wind force using the following formula.
Fw = Pw x S x A, where Fw = The total wind force, Pw = The equivalent wind
pressure, S = Wind shape factor, A = Pipe exposed area.
 Seismic Load : Seismic load is one of the basic concepts of earthquake engineering
which means application of an earthquake-generated agitation to a structure. It
happens at contact surfaces of a structure either with the ground,[2] or with adjacent
structures,[3] or with gravity waves from tsunami.
 Water Hammer : Water hammer (or more generally, fluid hammer) is a pressure surge
or wave caused when a fluid (usually a liquid but sometimes also a gas) in motion is
forced to stop or change direction suddenly (momentum change). Water hammer
commonly occurs when a valve closes suddenly at an end of a pipeline system, and a
pressure wave propagates in the pipe. It's also called hydraulic shock.
 Steam hammer : Steam hammer, the pressure surge generated by transient flow of
super-heated or saturated steam in a steam-line due to sudden stop valve closures is
considered as an occasional load. Though the flow is transient, for the purpose of
piping stress analysis, only the unbalanced force along the pipe segment tending to
induce piping vibration is calculated and applied on the piping model as static
equivalent force.
  Safety Valve Discharge : Reaction forces from relief valve discharge is considered as
an occasional load. The reaction force due to steady state flow following the opening
of safety relief valve in an open discharge installation can be calculated in accordance
with ASME B31.1 Appendix II and applied on the piping model as static equivalent
force.

Secondary Load

Just as the primary loads have their origin in some force, secondary loads are caused by
displacement of some kind. For example, the pipe connected to a storage tank may be under
load if the tank nozzle to which it is connected moves down due to tank settlement. Similarly,
pipe connected to a vessel is pulled upwards because the vessel nozzle moves up due to
vessel expansion. Also, a pipe may vibrate due to vibrations in the rotating equipment it is
attached to.

Displacement Loads:

 Load due to Thermal Expansion of pipe

 Load due to Thermal movement of Equipment

A pipe may experience expansion or contraction once it is subjected to temperatures higher or

lower respectively as compared to temperature at which it was assembled. The secondary
loads are often cyclic but not always.For example load due to tank settlement is not cyclic.
The load due to vessel nozzle movement during operation is cyclic because the displacement
is withdrawn during shut-down and resurfaces again after fresh start-up. A pipe subjected to a
cycle of hot and cold fluid similarly undergoes cyclic loads and deformation.