Piping Basic Concepts

Material Properties
Pipe Mechanics
Combined Stresses
 Material Properties
• Various piping codes specify allowable stresses in terms of piping
material properties.
• Properties classified as either:
– time independent (yield stress, Y, or tensile strength, ut)
– time dependent (creep at high temp., fatigue life under cyclic loading)

• Yield stress is elastic limit for 

material, i.e. when stress is ut
removed there is no permanent 0.2
deformation. y
• Elastic limit for ductile materials
difficult to determine and so-called
0.2% proof stress used.
• Tensile strength is stress at which
material fractures. 
0.2%
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 Design Stress

• Design stress, sometimes denoted by f, is yield stress or tensile

strength with suitable factor of safety applied, depending on code
used.

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 Pipe Mechanics
• Basic strength of materials equations used to analyse pipe under:
– pressure
– torsion
– bending
– axial loading (tension or compression)
– thermal expansion.

• These relationships form basis of design rules used in piping codes.

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 Pressure
• Elementary theory for long thin pipe under pressure results in simple
rule for sizing pipe wall.
• Hoop and longitudinal stresses:
pD pD
h  L 
2t 4t

where t = pipe wall thickness

p = internal pressure
D = diameter

• Maximum stress (hoop stress) should be less than design stress, f,

so pipe wall thickness found from:
pD
t
2f

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 Pressure
• Most codes use an equation based on Lamé’s equations for
pressurised thick cylinder.
• Assuming thin to moderate wall thickness this gives:
pD
t
2f  p

• For thick pressurised cylinder Lamé equations are:

B B
r  A  2 h  A  2
r r

where r = radial stress

h = hoop stress
r = radial position
A,B = constants

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 Pressure
• If cylinder is subjected to internal pressure p:
r = –p at r = ri
and r = 0 at r = ro
where ri and ro are internal and external radii of cylinder.

• Substituting boundary conditions into Lamé equations and re-

arranging:
pri2  ro2  pri2  ro2 
r  2 1  2  h  2 1  2 
ro  ri2  r  ro  ri2  r 
 

• Maximum hoop stress is at inner surface and given by:


p ri2  ro2
hi  2

ro  ri2

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 Pressure
• To determine relationship for pipe wall thickness
t = ro – ri
equations are simplified for thin to moderately thick pipes and used
with Tresca yield criterion (maximum shear stress theory):

• From Tresca criterion, design stress, f, is:

f = 1 – 3

• Maximum shear stress occurs at inner surface:

 
p ri2  ro2
f  hi  ri  2 p 
  
p ri2  ro2  p ro2  ri2  2pro2
 2
2pD2
 2
ro  ri2 ro2  ri2 ro  ri2 D  d2

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 Pressure
• Wall thickness t = (D – d)/2 and therefore:
2pD2 p  D  1 
f 2     
D t   1
1
D  d2 2  t 

• For thin to moderately thick walled cylinder or pipe

D/t >>1

so final term is negligible and can be neglected. Hence:

p  D  
f    1
2  t  

pD
• Re-arranged as: t
2f  p

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Tutorial Q1

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 Bending
• Bending equation used to obtain maximum bending stress, max,
induced in straight pipe under action of bending moment:
M  E
 
I y R
M = bending moment y = distance from neutral axis
I = second moment of area E = Young’s modulus
 = bending stress R = radius of curvature

Mymax M
max  
I Z

I
Z = section modulus = y
max

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 Bending

• Bending equation makes two simplifying assumptions in derivation:

– Plane sections remain plane during bending
– Cross-sections of pipe do not deform during bending,

which implies that max is longitudinal (axial) stress.

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 Torsion
• Shear stress in a cross-section of a pipe obtained using torsion
equation:
T  G
 
J r L

T = torque r = radial position

J = polar second moment of area G = Young’s modulus
 = shear stress R = radius of curvature
L = length
Trmax T
max  
J 2Z

• This equation makes two simplifying assumptions in derivation:

– Circular sections remain circular after twisting
– Cross-sections of the pipe remain plane
– Cross-sections rotate as if rigid

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 Axial Load

• If an axial tensile or compressive load is applied to pipe, stress

simply calculated as:
F

A

F = load
A = cross-sectional area

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 Thermal Expansion
• A straight section of pipe expands or contracts when it changes
temperature (both expansion and contraction are thermal
expansion).
• Piping which is too well restrained will not be able to change length
• Large forces will develop at support points, resulting in large
stresses in pipe.
• Ideal restraint for thermal expansion is completely free restraint but
as this not practical some forces due to expansion will develop.
• In simplest form, thermal expansion, , given as:

 = LT
L = length
 = thermal expansion coefficient
T = temperature change

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 Combined Stresses

• Using theory outlined, possible to calculate direct and shear

stresses due to combined action of internal pressure, bending
moments, torsion and axial loads.
• Appropriate failure theory then applied with yield stress replaced by
design stress, f.

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 Failure Theories
• Failure theories relate yield stress Y, obtained from simple tensile
test, to stresses in complex 3D stress field.
• 3D stresses usually expressed in terms of principal stresses, 1, 2
and 3.
• Failure theories most commonly used to describe strength of piping
systems are:
1

• Von Mises theory:

1
2
 2 2

2 2
 Y   1  2   1  3   2  3  


• Maximum principal stress theory: Y = 1

• Maximum shear stress theory (Tresca): Y = 1 - 3

where 1 > 2 > 3

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 Failure Theories

• Maximum principal stress theory easy to apply but does not take into
account 2 and 3 and must be used with suitable factor of safety.

• Tresca criterion more accurate theory for ductile materials and

permits higher allowable stresses.
• However, if all principal stresses are equal shear stresses calculated
are zero and this theory would allow unlimited stresses.
• used in conjunction with limit on principal stresses.

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 Failure Theories

• For convenience, some codes define a stress called stress

intensity, S, or equivalent intensity of combined stresses.

• Stress intensity, S, defined as twice maximum shear stress, and

yielding said to occur when stress intensity reaches yield stress.

S = 2max = 1 - 3

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Tutorial Q2 & Q3

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