Piping analysis and interactive design with emphasis on computer graphics

Abstract

The kind of projects managed by Electrowatt Engineering Services Ltd involves integral design of piping systems with supports and the qualification of such for various postulated events. The large number of systems, the growing complexity of the load cases and structural models require human assimilation of large amounts of data. An effort has been made to enlighten evaluation of numerical data and visualise as much of it as possible, thus eliminating a source of error and accelerating analysis/reporting. The product of this effort is PAID, the Piping Analysis and Interactive Design software. While developing PAID, interest has been focused on the acceleration of the work done mainly by PIPESTRESS. This goal is achieved by installing a wide variety of graphic output options. the installed and tested capabilities of PAID are presented in this paper. Examples are given from the graphic output in report form and the conversation necessary to get such is demonstrated. The paper summarises results achieved and experiences gained on the way towards interactive piping structural engineering with full graphic output.