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CADWorx, CAESAR II & PV Elite: Insider Blog

August 03, 2015

Load Cases and How They Are Handled by PV Elite – Part 1

By Ray Delaforce
PV Elite Software Engineer, Intergraph

What is a load case? Well, first we consider the word “load.” A load is any direct force, or bending moment that is
applied to a structure. Where do these loads come from? Consider this tower, for example:

Image 1

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Image 2

The lateral forces in Image 1 cause a bending moment to be experienced in the tower. But note – the pressure is a load
and the weight of the vessel is also a load. In Image 2, there are three resultant internal longitudinal or axial stresses
generated in the tower. These are:
Stresses from the pressure acting inside the tower
Stresses from the total vessel weight acting on section X-X
Stresses from the resultant bending moment as the location X-X
So, in essence, there are only three sources of load:
Weight
Pressure
Moment

Now let us consider the term “cases” used in the phrase “load cases.” Reflect for a moment that we have these cases:

Weight
Operating weight
Hydro test weight
No weight
Empty weight

Pressure
Operating pressure
Hydrotest pressure
No pressure
Vacuum pressure
Moment
Seismic moment operating
Seismic moment at hydrotest
No moment
Wind moment operating
Wind moment at hydrotest

We can have any combination of these loads. In the case cited above, there would be a combination of 80 cases.
However, PV Elite is limited to 20 cases.

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We have three loads and many cases, but how are the stresses derived? In the case of a tower, or vertical pressure
vessel, it is simply treated as a beam subject to these load; a beam that is also subject to pressure loading.
Consider the tower illustrated in Image 1. Let us see the internal stress induced in the tower:

Image 3

As can be seen, the stresses on the right hand side of section X-X are different from the stresses on the left-hand side
because of the stresses from the bending moment.

We consider a particular pressure code, namely the European code EN 13445 Part 3 (Design). That code mandates
certain load cases be considered. As displayed in PV Elite, they are as follows:

Image 4

Although these load cases look complicated, we are still only dealing with:
Pressure
Weight
Moment – from wind or seismic loading
How can we unravel the mystery of load cases and how they are handled by PV Elite? Stay tuned for next month’s
Insider Newsletter for the conclusion of this exciting article! If you are not receiving the Insider Newsletter, sign up
today.

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Posted at 11:25 AM in Corporate - Articles/Papers, Corporate - People, Corporate - Personnel, Discipline - Vessel
Design, Product - PV Elite, Tips & Tricks | Permalink

Comments
Muy interesante.
Posted by: Victor Alcazar | August 04, 2015 at 09:53 AM

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