Underground or buried piping are all piping which runs below grade.

In every process industry there will be few lines (Sewer or drainage system, Sanitary and Storm Water lines, Fire water or drinking water lines etc , part of which normally runs underground. !owever the term buried piping or underground piping, in true sense, appears for pipeline industry as miles of long pipe run carrying fluids will be there. "naly#ing an underground pipe line is $uite different from analy#ing plant piping. Special problems are involved because of the uni$ue characteristics of a pipeline, code re$uirements and techni$ues re$uired in analysis. %lements of analysis include pipe movements, anchorage force, soil friction, lateral soil force and soil pipe interaction. &o appreciate pipe code re$uirements and visuali#e problems involved in pipe line stress analysis, it is necessary to first distinguish a pipe line from plant piping. Uni$ue characteristics of a pipe line include'

High allowable stress: A pipe line has a rather simple shape. It is circular and very often runs several miles before making a turn. Therefore, the stresses calculated are all based on simple static equilibrium formulas which are very reliable. ince stresses produced are predictable, allowable stress used is considerable higher than that used in plant piping.

High yield strength pipe: To raise the allowable, the first obstacle is yield strength. Although a pipe line operating beyond yield strength may not create structural integrity problems, it may cause undesirable e!cessive deformation and possibility of strain follow up. Therefore, high test line with a very high yield to ultimate strength ratio is normally used in pipe line construction. "ield strength in some pipe can be as high as #$ percent of ultimate strength. All allowable stresses are based only on yield strength.

High pressure elongation: %ovement of pipe line is normally due to e!pansion of a very long line at low temperature difference. &ressure elongation, negligible in plant piping, contributes much of the total movement and must be included in the analysis.

oil' pipe interaction: The main portion of a pipe line is buried underground. Any pipe movement has to overcome soil force, which can be divided into two categories: (riction force created from sliding and pressure force resulting from pushing. The ma)or task of pipe line analysis is to investigate soil' pipe interaction which has never been a sub)ect in plant piping analysis.

(ormally these lines does not have high design temperatures (of the order of )* to +* degree centigrade and only thermal stress checking is sufficient for underground part. ,ommon materials used for underground piping are ,arbon Steel, -uctile iron, cast Iron, Stainless Steel and F./01./.

In this article I will try to e2plain the steps followed while analysing such systems using ,aesar II. !owever this article does not cover the basic theory for analysis. Inputs Required for Analysis: 3efore proceeding for analysis of buried piping using ,aesar II collect the following information from related department 4. Isometric drawings or 1" drawings of the pipeline from /iping layout -epartment. 5. 6ine parameters (&emperature, /ressure, 7aterial, Fluid -ensity, etc from process -epartment. 8. Soil /roperties from ,ivil -epartment. Caesar II for Underground Piping Analysis: &he ,"%S". II underground pipe modeler is designed to simplify user input of buried pipe data. &o achieve this ob9ective the :7odeler; performs the following functions for analyst'

Allows the direct input of soil properties. The *%odeler+ contains the equations for buried pipe stiffnesses that are outlined later in this report. These equations are used to calculate first the stiffnesses on a per length of pipe basis, and then generate the restraints that simulate the discrete buried pipe restraint.

,reaks down straight and curved lengths of pipe to locate soil restraints. -A. A/ II uses a 0one concept to break down straight and curved sections. 1here transverse bearing is a concern 2near bends, tees, and entry3e!it points4, soil restraints are located in close pro!imity and where a!ial load dominates, soil restraints are spaced far apart.

Allows the direct input of user'defined soil stiffnesses on a per length of pipe basis. Input parameters include a!ial, transverse, upward, and downward stiffnesses, as well as ultimate loads. 5sers can specify user'defined stiffnesses separately, or in con)unction with -A. A/ II6s automatically generated soil stiffnesses.

Modeling steps followed in Caesar II: &he modeling of buried piping is very easy if you have all the data at your hand. &he following steps are followed for modeling'

(rom the isometric model the line in the same way as you follow in case of above ground pipe model i.e, enter line properties in -aesar preadsheet, enter lengths by breaking the line into several nodes or select an e!isting )ob for converting it into an underground model.

Analyst can start the ,uried &ipe %odeler by selecting an e!isting )ob and then choosing Input'5nderground from the -A. A/ II %ain %enu. The %odeler is designed to read a standard -A. A/ II input data file that describes the basic layout of the piping system as if it was not buried. (rom this basic input -A. A/ II creates a second input data file that contains the buried

pipe model. This second input file typically contains a much larger number of elements and restraints than the first )ob. The first )ob that serves as the *pattern+ is termed the original )ob. The second file that contains the element mesh refinement and the buried pipe restraints is termed the buried )ob. -A. A/ II names the buried )ob by appending a *,+ to the name of the original )ob.

1hen the ,uried &ipe %odeler is initially started up, the following screen appears:

(ig. 7: ample -aesar II preadsheet for ,uried &iping

&his spreadsheet is used to enter the buried element descriptions for the 9ob. &he buried element description spreadsheet serves several functions'

Allows analyst to define which part of the piping system is buried. Allows analyst to define mesh spacing at specific element ends. Allows the input of user'defined soil stiffnesses.

From/ To node:"ny element of pipe in ,"%S". II can be define by two elements first is start point and second is end point. In buried pipe model, before conversion the From0 &o nodes remains same as unburied model. oil model no! :&his column is used to define which of the elements in the model are buried. " non#ero entry in this column implies that the associated element is buried. " 4 in this column implies that

the analyst wishes to enter user defined stiffnesses, on a per length of pipe basis, at this point in the model. &hese stiffnesses must follow in column numbers ) through 48. "ny number greater than 4 in the soil model no. column points to a ,"%S". II soil restraint model generated using the e$uations outlined later under Soil 7odels from analyst entered soil data. From/ To mes" type:" critical part of the modeling of an underground piping system is the proper definition of <one 4 bearing regions. &hese regions primarily occur' = >n either side of a change in direction = For all pipes framing into an intersection = "t points where the pipe enters or leaves the soil ,"%S". II automatically puts a <one 4 mesh gradient at each side of the pipe framing into an elbow. (ote it is the analyst?s responsibility to tell ,"%S". II where the other <one 4 areas are located in the piping system. User defined stiffness # ultimate load :&here are 48 columns in the spreadsheet. ,olumn ) to 48 carry the user defined soil stiffnesses and ultimate loads if analyst defines soil model 4. "nalyst has to enter lateral, a2ial, upward, downward stiffnesses @ loads. Pro$edure :7. elect the original )ob and enter the buried pipe modeler. The original )ob must already e!ist, and will serve as the basis for the new buried pipe model. The original model should only contain the basic geometry of the piping system to be buried. The modeler will remove any e!isting restraints 2in the buried portion4. Add any underground restraints to the buried model. /ename the buried )ob if -A. A/ II default name is not appropriate. 8. 9. ;. <. .nter the soil data using oil %odels. :escribe the sections of the piping system that are buried, and define any required fine mesh areas using the buried element data spreadsheet. -onvert the original model into the buried model by the activation of option -onvert Input. This step produces a detailed description of the conversion. .!it the ,uried &ipe %odeler and return to the -A. A/ II %ain %enu. (rom here the analyst may perform the analysis of the buried pipe )ob. &he steps to create soil model and few other important considerations will be published in future posts on underground piping analysis.