2/1/2018 Piping engineering | Tank nozzle loads

The following notes should be considered when using those formulas:

The minimum value of which is 0.1 occurs outside of the discontinuity area where the chocking
effect diminishes and so the whole stress capacity is used for hoop stress.
When the circumferential membrane stresses due to external loads are compressive, hoop stress doesn’t provide
any margin for allowable loads. So should not be considered in equation (53) and equation (53) changes to:

(60)

Piping stress engineers may use the nomograms which are mentioned on figures P-5A and P-5B in appendix P of
API 650.

4-Tank settlement
Settlement of storage tanks are usually considerable comparing to settlement of other equipment. Settlement highly
depends on tank dimensions and soil conditions. Depending on the connected piping flexibility, it may cause some
problems to connecting pipes and nozzles. During settlement a connected pipe tends to be pulled down by the tank.
If the piping system has enough flexibility to accommodate the settlement, it will not lead to a dangerous situation.
Moreover, usually pipes connecting to storage tanks have a heavy isolating valve near nozzles. So stress engineer
should find a solution to deal with not only piping flexibility but sustained stresses.

4-1-Solutions

4-1-1-Reducing of settlement

One of the best solutions is settlement reduction which can be achieved by connecting pipes after hydro test when
the tank is not empty, preferably half-full tank. Therefore only settlement that the pipes incorporate is long term
settlement. Civil engineers are expected to give the long term settlement to stress engineers.
4-1-2-Supporting

Obviously type of supports which are placed at near nozzles affects stresses caused by settlement in following ways:
Common foundation: Pipes which are supported on tank foundation have the same displacement as the tank
settlement has. Consequently it results in a lower stress.
Adjusting support: If settlement profiles versus time are available, some adjustable supports can be used. The
supports should be adjusted in field.
Spring Hangers: Spring hangers make the connected pipes more flexible and consequently it leads to lower
stresses at nozzles. Most of the time it is considered the best way because it sustains the heavy valve weight.

4-1-3-Piping Routes
Stress engineers may resort to this method to make the piping system more flexible. The solution may bring up two
problems: firstly this method requires enough room especially for large bore pipes. Moreover it makes the pipe more
vulnerable to vibration and dynamic loads by reducing natural frequency of the piping system. Secondly this solution
leads to an increase in sustained stress because rout change implies adding some piping components. As said before,
heavy isolating valves deteriorate the situation more.
To sum up, stress engineers should be aware of the solutions and select the best one depending on the situation.

4-2- Category of stresses caused by settlement

It is important to know which stress category should be assigned for stresses caused by settlement. Generally
primary stress is more dangerous and critical than secondary stress because the primary one is not reduced after
going beyond yielding points. So primary stresses should be checked against lower allowable stresses. Regarding the
mentioned explanation, putting settlement stress in primary category makes intensity stress more difficult to satisfy
its stress criteria. The nature of settlement loading is similar to secondary loading because it disappears after

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