Pipe Design to pump sea water from the ocean to a boiler via intermediate tanks

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the design of a pumping and piping system intended to transport seawater from the ocean to a boiler, with intermediate cooling tanks. Participants explore technical aspects of pipe selection, wall thickness calculations, and safety factors, referencing ANSI/ASME codes.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes their project involving a 4" nominal Schedule 40 316 stainless steel pipe for pumping seawater, detailing their calculations for design pressure and wall thickness.
  • The same participant expresses uncertainty about the minimal radius and wall thickness derived from their calculations, questioning if the values seem appropriate.
  • Another participant suggests that the first poster may have misused a table or miscalculated the minimum wall thickness, providing a rough range for the ratio of thickness to outer diameter based on design pressure and safety factor.
  • A later reply indicates that the equation used by the first poster is a transformation from the referenced source, implying a connection to established formulas.
  • One participant notes that they have encountered very high safety factors (8 to 12) in stainless steel pipe design, questioning whether a safety factor of 1.5 is adequate.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the adequacy of the safety factor and the calculations related to wall thickness. There is no consensus on the correctness of the calculations or the appropriate safety factor.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference specific ANSI/ASME codes and tables, but there are indications of potential misinterpretations or miscalculations that remain unresolved. The discussion does not clarify the assumptions behind the safety factor or the implications of using different materials.

AverageEngineer
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TL;DR
Trouble using formulas or overthinking...
I am in the process of designing a pumping/piping system for fun, have no experience in this field, but I enjoy learning. I have been using ANSI/ASME codes in the project quite a bit.

For the system I am using 4" nom. Schedule 40 316 SS pipe. The reason I selected the pipe is because the objective for this project is to pump sea water from the ocean to a boiler, water will transfer to a tank to cool then be pumped up a hill to another tank. The tank is suppose to provide water to the made up town of 25,000 civilians. I am only factoring in drinking water, not other uses to keep it simple.

The first leg of pipe will see a 90 degree bend. I looked in ASME B31.1-2001, (only ANSI/ASME text I could find online for free), on page 16 "104.1 Straight Pipe" it gives me two formulas for minimal wall thickness. I chose to use formula (3)' to determine min. wall thickness.

Here is the link to the ANSI/ASME https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML0314/ML031470592.pdf

The variables are the following in the formula:
P = Design Pressure
D_o = Outer Diameter in my case 4.5" (I am using the info for the pipe here: https://titanium-stainless-steel.continentalsteel.com/item/stainless-steel-pipes/stainless-steel-pipe--type-316-schedule-40s/316-4000-4500-40s#Typical Mechanical Properties

S = Allowable stress in pipe material (PSI)
F = Joint Factor, E = 1.0 for seamless, E = 0.85 for ERW pipe
Y or y = Wall thickness coefficient in ASME B31.3 Table 304.1.1 for ferritic steel, y = 0.4
W = Weld joint strength reduction factor
A = Corrosion allowance typically 0.5

It took me awhile to figure out how to determine design pressure. I used the formula
P_design = 2 * S * t / D_outer * SF

where,
S = Material Strength (PSI)
SF = Safety Factor

My pressure at yield was 4,740 PSI and desired was 3160 PSI using SF = 1.5

On Table 102.4.5 it gives me 1.14 * t_m which gave me a radius of r = 0.745 inches with a 0.653 in wall thickness. This radius would be minimal, correct? Too me it seems like such a small radius, of course the wall thickness is quite large. What do you think?
 
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AverageEngineer said:
Summary:: Trouble using formulas or overthinking...

I am in the process of designing a pumping/piping system for fun, have no experience in this field, but I enjoy learning. I have been using ANSI/ASME codes in the project quite a bit.

For the system I am using 4" nom. Schedule 40 316 SS pipe. The reason I selected the pipe is because the objective for this project is to pump sea water from the ocean to a boiler, water will transfer to a tank to cool then be pumped up a hill to another tank. The tank is suppose to provide water to the made up town of 25,000 civilians. I am only factoring in drinking water, not other uses to keep it simple.

The first leg of pipe will see a 90 degree bend. I looked in ASME B31.1-2001, (only ANSI/ASME text I could find online for free), on page 16 "104.1 Straight Pipe" it gives me two formulas for minimal wall thickness. I chose to use formula (3)' to determine min. wall thickness.

Here is the link to the ANSI/ASME https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML0314/ML031470592.pdf

The variables are the following in the formula:
P = Design Pressure
D_o = Outer Diameter in my case 4.5" (I am using the info for the pipe here: https://titanium-stainless-steel.continentalsteel.com/item/stainless-steel-pipes/stainless-steel-pipe--type-316-schedule-40s/316-4000-4500-40s#Typical Mechanical Properties

S = Allowable stress in pipe material (PSI)
F = Joint Factor, E = 1.0 for seamless, E = 0.85 for ERW pipe
Y or y = Wall thickness coefficient in ASME B31.3 Table 304.1.1 for ferritic steel, y = 0.4
W = Weld joint strength reduction factor
A = Corrosion allowance typically 0.5

It took me awhile to figure out how to determine design pressure. I used the formula
P_design = 2 * S * t / D_outer * SF

where,
S = Material Strength (PSI)
SF = Safety Factor

My pressure at yield was 4,740 PSI and desired was 3160 PSI using SF = 1.5

On Table 102.4.5 it gives me 1.14 * t_m which gave me a radius of r = 0.745 inches with a 0.653 in wall thickness. This radius would be minimal, correct? Too me it seems like such a small radius, of course the wall thickness is quite large. What do you think?
You either misused table 102.4.5 or miscalculated t_m.
1.14 is additional thickness multiplier to t_m.

For your case, t_m/Douter=Pdesign*SF/(2*S)~(0.04-0.06)
 
Okay... Where does the equation come from?
 
AverageEngineer said:
Okay... Where does the equation come from?
It is transformed equation from your source.
 
Not an expert on piping design, but I've seen very high safety factors for stainless steel pipe. Safety factors in the order of 8 to 12. Not sure why so high though, but if i compare that against 1.5 then i have to wonder if that's maybe too low.
 

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