Applies To Product(s): PlantFLOW Version(s): All Environment: N/A Area: General   Subarea: Original Author: Bentley Technical Support Group Item #1:  In regards to PlantFLOW and PlantFLOW Plus, what's the max Mach number that the flow can go in the pipe (for air and other gases)? Answer: Mach number should not exceed 1 for both STD and Plus versions.  Item #2: Also if the pipe network is given fixed values such as pressure, flow, pipe length, can the program determine which pump would be the most effective in the system, (and report pump characteristics such as horse power, head loses etc Answer:   From the output results one can see the effects of the pump curved used in the analysis has on the system.  After some iterative changes and analysis results, a pump can be sized to produce the design requirements. Item #3: Does the program come with a pump database? i.e., can I look up a pump from Armstrong, or Goulds, to use in my pi ping system?  Answer:   At this point, because of the numerous amounts of companies that develop pumps with different configurations, flow curves, operating speeds, etc., PlantFLOW does not have a manufacture pump database. The application requires the user to enter specific pump data. However, PlantFLOW does contain a comprehensive and extensible library of piping & components. Pump curves are stored as a *.PMP file.  You can create your own folder of pump curve and save time by reusing them in different projects. Item #4: I would also like to know, if the software calculates basic functions like NPSHa for pumps? Answer:   Bentley apologizes for this inconvenience, however, the current version (06.02.00.05) does not calculate Net Positive Suction Head Item #5: How to you ignore tee losses? Answer:   Analyze run and check the option the ignore tee losses. Item #6: How does the program deal with using fixed pressure drops at the risers? Answer:   Fixed pressure drop is prone to converge problems and it I do not think it matters if the pipe is horizontal or vertical. Item #7: The following was displayed when starting the program: Forrtl: severe (47): write to readonly file, unit 72, file C:\Bentley\AutoPIPE\AutoPIPE.clr How to fix and avoid? Answer:   Increase the user's computer rights to have read / write access to the folder located on C drive "C:\Bentley\PlantFLOW V8i". Then it will work. Item #8: Model Does not converge: I have modeled in 3 pumps. The system is a closed loop so fluid is constantly pumped around. Over this closed loop we need to calculate the total pressure drop (including running pumps). PlantFLOW requires 2 control points (inlet and outlet). I have located the 2 control point at the beginning of the pump discharge header and at the end of the pump suction header (see attached pdf file "control"). But when I doe the command "Analyze Run" with the flow status of the pumps set "On" I get the Error "Solution not converging". Do you have any idea why this error appears? Answer:   Updated the model to disable some segments where two of the pumps are present. Now it converges. The original model is not a realistic one as the inlet and outlet should be part of the loop as in EX1.FDA (example model installed with the application). You would need to set pressures at inlet and outlet to KNOWN with same value, otherwise the cut is not valid. In addition, using this particular model with settings to run three pumps together. The application did not converge. Update the model to provide more realistic flow scenario for it to converge. Item #9: The following were displayed when running the model: E72-1: Unstable system E72-30: Overspecified ctrl conditions How to fix and avoid: Answer:   In this particular model, notice several valves with status set to off. This is one source of instability. So the first thing, select all the model or just the status off points and then turn them on.  Use Select points by flow status and then follow by Modify Flow status. In working with heat transfer, I recommend the following. 1. Solve by turning off heat transfer during the analysis. That means you may need to specify the control points differently. After getting a convergence with that then you can turn on heat effects and add additional temperature control points (try not to remove the existing flow and pressure control points if possible). 2. I noticed that you have 35 combining tees as per the model input listing (control point data). Many of the tees where the status off valves are placed are dead end tees. The flow direction although does not matter, it actually matters a lot for heat transfer. So try to set the flow direction at these dead end tees so that they are NOT combining junctions (i.e. two flows in and one out). This will reduce the number of conditions you need to provide and will help keep the system stable. Item #10: The following were displayed when running the model: E72-2: Error in model connectivity How to fix and avoid: Answer:   This happens often when setting flow status to off as it could lead to discontinuity. In a particular model, instead of setting the status to off for tees, suggest reversing the flow direction so that it would not be a combining tee and hence no need for an extra boundary condition.  Item #11: Using Plantflow 6.1. i model a section of a system, the system is showing negative flow in a section where it is impossible for negative flow to occur as it is showing flow from a lower pressure to a higher pressure. see the attached file that represents the model. any help with this issue will be greatly appreciated ASAP.  I have looked at the model and highlighted the negative flow pipe: I was looking at the the worksheet and did not see any double back pipe. What else should I look for to help resolve this model Answer:  In this particular case: It appears flow is impossible if flow rate is below 1.5 at the input.  Suggest to disable the bypass loop if the flow is low and always give negative flow. Yes it appears the pressure drop setting at 2 psi at K05 is not working. Recommend setting a large k-factor instead, e.g. 50. It may be 2 psi is a large pressure drop causing reverse flow, but this element pressure drop is not reversed when flow is reversed, for this reason a K-factor is more appropriate in this case. Item #12: Also, the project I'm working on has a pipe dumping ammonia vapor into a pipeline with coke oven gas.  Is there a way for PlantFlow to handle more than one fluid?   Answer: Bentley apologize for this inconvenience, however with PlantFLOW v. 06.02.00.05 this is a current limitation of the application. Item #13: In a model of Pumps and heat exchangers in basement, control point in the suction side of the points, then up to the system with a return. the following is being displayed when analyzing the model: * * * W A R N I N G - MODEL * * *      W726-35: Inconsistent flow dirs at point K287 How to fix and avoid ? Answer: In this particular case: The model had segments that start and stop at reducers, or have extra points at reducers ( i.e. L180 & L181). This confuse the direction of flow. Suggested  that start / stop segments at run points instead of reducers and examine all reducers to have only 2 node points that continue in the same direction. Also, review the model to be sure that all bends are correctly shown (i.e. no 90 deg sharp corners) . Suggest that each sharp corner is confirmed as an OK bend. Model analysis was able to converge if T-losses were ignored and with increased iterations to 100. Item #13: why isn't the Colebrook-White Equation used to calculate Darcy Friction Factor? Answer The online help shows the equation used.  Darcy friction is an iterative equation. This equation is used to speed calculations and have the same accuracy as Colebrook-White equation. We have no complaints about this equation as it gives very good values compared to moody diagram (which is based on Colebook-White). In PlantFLOW we do not have transition flow. It is laminar Re 2000, otherwise turbulent. The reference for friction factor equation is :  Miller, D.S., Internal Flow Systems . 2nd Edition, Gulf, 1990. Item #14: Gas Library. Their gas (COG) in this system includes the following composition. We’ve defined those in our Gas library, but not sure if it’s properly defined, especially we don’t know how to define CnHn 2.5%  Answer: We do not know what CnHn stands for. Since this is a low percentage of 2.5%, suggest that is replaced with any gas that better matches its density. the development team suspects that n-pentane or n-Hexane would be a reasonable match. If you like to add this gas to the gas library you may do so in tools library if you have the critical properties and conductivity values. Item #14: How can I build the air property with the attachment.(The yellow column in attachment) Answer: Unfortunately we do not have all the components of the mixture. For example the first two components are not part of AGA-8 or NIST.  There are two ways to do this. Method #1: User Pseudo gas as the fluid type and enter the MW, density and viscosity shown at the bottom. Some of the data is not shown and can be estimated by using AG8-8 (air) and checking model input listing as shown below. Add 0.1MPa to get absolute pressure (0.131 MPa).            FLUID PROPERTIES LISTING     Fluid type      : AGA-8 Gas    Composition name: AIR           Initial pressure   :    0.1310  MPa a       System temperature :     41.00  deg C           Gas Composition      ---------------   Number of constituents:  3        Component Name   I.D. #     Mole %      --------------   ------    --------            Nitrogen        1     78.3000      Carbon-Dioxide        2      0.7000              Oxygen       18     21.0000      --------------   ------    --------               Total             100.0000     Molecular Weight :   28.9623  kg/kg-mol   Specific gravity :    1.0001     Gas Properties  (@ above pressure and temperature)      Density            :    1.4529  kg/m3       Specific volume    :    0.6883  m3/kg       Absolute viscosity :    0.0191  E-3 Pa-s    Compress.factor, Z :    0.9998    Cp/Cv              :    1.3986    Specific heat, Cp  :    1.0130   kJ/kg-K     Specific heat, Cv   :    0.7243  kJ/kg-K     Isentropic exp., K :    1.3983    Speed of sound     :  355.0753  m/s         Thermal cond.      :    0.0268  W/m-K   Method #2: Add the missing fluids to the Usergas library. Consult the online help on how to add more components. You would need the critical pressure and temperature and also the thermal conductivity (conductivity is not as important if you are not doing heat transfer and may be able to set value as for some other component). Note that Pseudo gas cannot be used for heat transfer and so method 2 is needed I that case Item #15: Standard pressure and temperature, what is the right values for both in their case? Right now they just use our default which is 1 atm in pressure and 15 deg C in temperature.  Answer: These values are not changed usually. They are slightly different in English units. They are the units used to enter flow rates or consumption. When using mass flow in General Model Options, these may not be used. Item #16: What does PlantFLOW calculate for straight pipe sections that do a 90 degree turn (no bend modelled)? It appears that there is no pressure loss apart from the loss due to the pipe length. Answer:  Yes, the loss would be due to pipe loss only if the bend is not added. Item #17: Can AutoPIPE/PlantFLOW create 0 length pipe sections ? This would be very useful for accommodating actions like copying from bend to bend sections, inserting user loss sections after tees etc Answer: At this time, both AutoPIPE and PlantFLOW has the following error message appear when you try to copy any range with the starting and/or end point is an as any point on and Elbow, (ie. Near, Mid, or Far), “E521-25 Cannot copy range if either endpoint is a bend”. One possible workaround is temporarily converter from a bend to a run point. Copy the selections set and the convert the elbow, turned run, back into an elbow. I will send your suggestion to the CAE development group, where it will be logged for enhancement consideration. A 0 length run can be created at any elbow, but it is not advisable.  The program sometimes has difficulty calculating equations based on a 0 length node run. However if you must, place the cursor at the elbow tangent point, Insert run Length = bend radius. Using the keyboard arrows, you could cycle from the bend tangent point to the near/far point. The next point should be the new run point you had just created. This point occupies the same space as the elbow point, thus creating a zero-length run. Item #18: I enclose a simple model. In all my trial I do not seem to be able to properly fix a bend with a radius (standard short/long versions are not a problem). Could you possibly take a look at the *.FDA and let me know what I am doing wrong ? Answer : Select the one of the elbows and then Modify Bend, the following dialog box appears.: The radius of the elbow can be changed by selecting short or long from the drop down box. Or, you could enter the actual elbow radius in the field, as shown above in red. You can enter a bend radius value up the distance from the bend point to the nearest node point, which occurs from either direction. To illustrate this point, open your model, delete run point A01, A03, A04. Now, Select Bend A02 Modify Bend Enter 326 mm in the Bend radius field , press OK Notice the elbow is drawn, but A02f is very close to A07. Select the bend again, change the Bend radius from 326 mm to 327 mm, now notice what occurs. An error screen appears and the elbow is not drawn correctly. Thus, the largest bend radius is 326 mm. Item #19: In a model when I check the results report, I see some sections that I do not understand with a small length (0.63/0.64mm). I am only guessing that this is connected to the previous question. Answer: The values you saw were found on the General Report. Another source to view model / node data is from Tools Model input Listing Component Data Listing. The distance from the elbow tangent point to the next node point is modelled as 200 mm. However, remember that a bend node point are created with 3-4 points,( i.e. Near, Tangent, Far and sometimes mid points). The Far point of A02F was close to A03 and the near point A07N was very close to A04.Therefore you see the small values, as shown below:                            G E N E R A L   R E P O R T                                                                                                           From   Press  Temp  * To     Press  Temp  * Comp  Flow   Length   I.D.    Vel   Point  (kPa ) (C)   * Point  (kPa ) (C)   * Type (kg/s  ) (mm)    (mm)   (m/s )  ------ ------ ----- * ------ ------ ----- * ---- ------- ------- ------- ------    *** Segment A  begin ***  A00    2000.0 100.0 * A01    1995.5 100.0 * RUN     1.00  400.00   23.37 2.434  A01    1995.5 100.0 * A02 N  1995.5 100.0 * RUN     1.00    0.64   23.37 2.434  A02 N  1995.5 100.0 * A02 F  1992.8 100.0 * BEND    1.00           23.37 2.434  A02 F  1992.8 100.0 * A03    1992.8 100.0 * RUN     1.00    0.00   23.37 2.434  A03    1992.8 100.0 * A04    1992.5 100.0 * RUN     1.00  126.00   23.37 2.434  A04    1992.5 100.0 * A07 N  1992.5 100.0 * RUN     1.00    0.63   23.37 2.434  A07 N  1992.5 100.0 * A07 F  1993.6 100.0 * BEND    1.00           23.37 2.434  A07 F  1993.6 100.0 * A08    1993.6 100.0 * RUN     1.00    0.63   23.37 2.434  A08    1993.6 100.0 * A09    1993.7 100.0 * RUN     1.00   20.00   23.37 2.434 *** Segment A  end   ***                   C O M P O N E N T   D A T A   L I S T I N G                                                                                                    POINT ------COORDINATE(mm   )------  DATA                                       NAME      X         Y         Z      TYPE  DESCRIPTION                          ----- --------- --------- --------- ------ ------------------------------------  *** SEGMENT A                                                                   A00        0.00      0.00      0.00 CTRL   Inlet                                                                           P = 2000.0 kPa a                                                                C = 1.00 kg/s                        A01        0.00      0.00    400.00                                             A02 N      0.00      0.00    400.64                                             A02        0.00      0.00    600.00 TI                                          A02 F    200.00      0.00    600.00                                              A03      200.00      0.00    600.00                                             A04      326.00      0.00    600.00                                             A07 N    326.64      0.00    600.00                                              A07      526.00      0.00    600.00 TI                                          A07 F    526.00      0.00    400.63                                             A08      526.00      0.00    400.00                                              A09      526.00      0.00    380.00 CTRL   Outlet                                                                          P = ?                                                                           C = ? Item #20: In a model I can see positive changes to the pressure (positive DP). Is this correct ? (solve it to see) Answer : No, please analyse the model and review the output report, as shown below:.          T O T A L   P R E S S / T E M P    P R O F I L E   S U M M A R Y                                                                                         From   Press  Temp  To     Press  Temp  Del P  Del T  Flow   Length I.D.   Vel  Point  (kPa ) (C)   Point  (kPa ) (C)   (kPa)  (C)   (kg/s  ) (mm)  (mm) (m/s )  ------ ------ ----- ------ ------ ----- ------ ----- ------- ------ ----- -----    *** Segment A  begin ***  A00    2002.8 100.0 A01    1998.3 100.0   -4.5   0.0    1.00 400.00 23.37 2.434  A01    1998.3 100.0 A02 N  1998.3 100.0    0.0   0.0    1.00   0.64 23.37 2.434  A02 N  1998.3 100.0 A02 F  1995.6 100.0   -2.7   0.0    1.00        23.37 2.434  A02 F  1995.6 100.0 A03    1995.6 100.0    0.0   0.0    1.00   0.00 23.37 2.434  A03    1995.6 100.0 A04    1995.4 100.0   -0.2   0.0    1.00 126.00 23.37 2.434  A04    1995.4 100.0 A07 N  1995.4 100.0    0.0   0.0    1.00   0.63 23.37 2.434  A07 N  1995.4 100.0 A07 F  1996.4 100.0    1.0   0.0    1.00        23.37 2.434  A07 F  1996.4 100.0 A08    1996.4 100.0    0.0   0.0    1.00   0.63 23.37 2.434  A08    1996.4 100.0 A09    1996.6 100.0    0.2   0.0    1.00  20.00 23.37 2.434  *** Segment A  end   *** Another key feature to use when looking at the results would be “Delta Mode”.. It is used to display the difference in the point results between any two points. It is active when the results are shown and would display a small window at the bottom of the screen with the following options: Based on the displayed type, a message would appear at the top left corner of the screen. If the display is pressure, the message is: "CHANGE IN PRESSURE-psi. Item #21: When I use volume for flow type, consumption is in sm3/sec. What does the s stand for? Answer: Flow type allows you to select between volume or mass flow rate units. When the flow unit type is changed on an existing system, PlantFLOW model data is not automatically converted and therefore will need to be converted to the appropriate flow units. The unit sm3/sec stands for standard cubic meters per second. Item #22: I had run a simulation on a steam piping model to analysis the temperature drop across the pipe. However, the results seem questionable. Thus, I did some manual calculations based on the heat transfer formula extracted from the software tutorial file and found that both results did not tally Why? Answer: Heat transfer is also a function of the pressure drop. For smaller pipes there is more pressure drop and hence more discrepancy. For example for 6” pipe when pipe roughness is decreased to 0.01mm Temperature  is changed from 7.8 to 4.6 and pressure drop from 700 to 331. Unfortunately there is no way to set pressure drop to zero in this case. See P2 and P1 in the equation below. Note: The term e refers to internal energy.   See Also Bentley AutoPIPE External Links Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase Bentley LEARN Server Comments or Corrections? Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please submit any comments you have on this Wiki article to the "Comments" area below. THANK YOU!

Applies To Product(s): PlantFLOW Version(s): ALL Environment: N/A Area: ALL Subarea: Original Author: Bentley Technical Support Group Overview: PlantFLOW is a special purpose program developed to simplify the process of piping network flow analysis. PlantFLOW calculates: pressure drops and flow velocities in both open and closed networks to assist engineers in pipe sizing, meter station design, and compressor, pump, and heat exchanger pressure loss evaluations. steady-state, single-phase pressures, flow velocities, temperature and fluid properties in gas or liquid piping networks. PlantFLOW offers many unique features including the ability to handle gas mixtures using equation of state models, customizable fluid libraries and heat transfer. PlantFLOW contains many unique features including the ability to handle gas mixtures using equation of state models, customizable fluid libraries, heat transfer, and 3D interfaces with the Bentley PlantFLOW piping stress software, AutoPLANT plant design CAD system, and Intergraph PDS (utilizing the Bentley STRAIT translator) for transfer of geometry and physical properties data. The ability to transfer data between plant design CAD, piping stress, and fluid flow analysis using 3D coordinates can be a tremendous advantage over traditional fluid flow analysis methods which are limited to 2D geometry. PlantFLOW offers an easy to learn mouse driven graphical user interface which displays the piping system in 3D and enables the engineer to review analysis results graphically or through reports. Table of Contents for Bentley PlantFLOW: Official Bentley PlantFLOW webpage           Brochure (PDF)           Features and Benefits           Technical Requirements Import and Export - PlantFLOW Installation & Release Notes   Modeling with Bentley PlantFLOW V8i Output Report Licensing - PlantFLOW    See Also Bentley AutoPIPE External Links Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase Bentley LEARN Server Comments or Corrections? Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please submit any comments you have on this Wiki article to the "Comments" area below. THANK YOU!

Applies To Product(s): PlantFLOW Version(s): All Environment: N/a Area: Licensing Subarea: Original Author: Bentley Technical Support Group PlantFLOW 06.01.xx.xx and lower: Troubleshooting licensing for PlantFLOW 06.01.xx.xx and lower:   PlantFLOW 06.02.xx.xx and higher:   See Also Bentley AutoPIPE External Links Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase Bentley LEARN Server Comments or Corrections? Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please submit any comments you have on this Wiki article to the "Comments" area below. THANK YOU!

Applies To Product(s): PlnatFLOW Version(s): All Environment: N/A Area: Licensing Subarea: Original Author: Bentley Technical Support Group Download PlantFLOW Open internet explorer web site http://selectservices.bentley.com/en-US/ Select “ Software Downloads” Log into web site In the “Search By:” area, Select radio button next to “Product”, and select “Bentley PlantFLOW” from drop down list In the "Filter By:" section, change "Files Posted within last" from “6 months” to "ALL" Press the “Search” button at the bottom of the web site Note : Far right column notifies you of the OS for which the application is certified on. Installing the application on any other OS will be at your own risk and will not be supported Select the correct version of PlantFLOW to download. Current version is PlantFLOW 06.01.00.05, released 1/1/2002. Place a check in the box next to the name and confirm that any dependencies have also been selected. Press “ Continue ” button located in the bottom right corner Select Delivery method, Default Download, you can chose Down load or Burn CD (an official CD will be mailed). Press “ Continue ” button Download Procedure Read the Legal Terms of Use statement. If you agree, press the “ Accept ” button. Then press the “ Advanced Download Manager ” button. Provide pathname to download the file to and finally press the “ Start Download ” button Install PlantFLOW PlantFLOW is not authorized to run on Windows VISTA; doing so will be at your own risk. Since the application has not been tested on VISTA, Bentley cannot guarantee the program functionality and/or output results. No technical support will be provided for this installation. Please install on Windows XP SP2 or later, or Windows 2000 SP4 or later and continue with following instructions. Uninstall previous version of PlantFLOW Back up your existing project files From the Control Panel select Add or Remove Programs Select PlantFLOW Press the “Change/Remove” button. Complete the process to remove/delete the application. Select “Start”, “Run”, “Browse” Locate the PlantFLOW file downloaded. Accept all default settings. Do not start the application at the time Download Updated program files If there were any updates you could find them by: Open internet explorer web site http://selectservices.bentley.com/en-US/ Select “ Software Downloads” Log into web site In the “Search By:” area, Select radio button next to “Product”, and select “Bentley PlantFLOW” from drop down list. Change Download Category to “Enhancements and Updates”. In the "Filter By:" section, change "Files Posted within last" from “6 months” to "ALL" Check periodically for update patches. Download Plant Security Download Plant Security Manager v08.06.00.01 by clicking on the following link: ftp://ftp.bentley.com/pub/tools/fixes/autopipe/psm08060001en.exe Save the application file to your hard drive. (Note: Do not run this application from the web site) Install Plant Security From Control Panel Add/Remove Programs, uninstall Plant Security.  If it is in the list, uninstall Rebis Security. From Windows Explorer, delete “C:\Program Files\Bentley\program\licensing\Plant Security” and “C:\Program Files\Rebis\Rebis Security” if present. Run RegEdit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Bentley\Security: Remove PathName key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths Remove rebscm.exe Locate the Plant Security file downloaded. Select “Start”, “Run”, “Browse” Open the folder and run “psm08060001en.exe” Accept all the default options Restart the computer Create a Gateway pointer file For those using PreXM applications: Create a Gateway pointer file. . The pointer file points the application to the location of the Gateway, which translates the signal for the Select Server to understand.  These files go on the user’s computer. Log onto the computer where the Select Server Gateway is to be installed. Navigate to the following location: (Assuming XP OS) Start Setting Control Panel System Computer Name Tab Copy the full computer name, EXACTLY, to the first dot (computer domain name extensions are not required). The Pointer file contains the following one line of information: SERVER=“gateway_location” Open a text editor, such as notepad, copy the above information into the program. Modify the gateway_location with the computer name from the Gateway computer. The name is case sensitive and the “ “ are required. After completing the modification, select File Save As save this file to the C:\Program Files\Bentley\program\licensing using each of the file names listed below the program being licensed: Make sure the file is saved as a .lic file and not a .txt file PlantFLOW Pointer Files Names: plantflow.lic plantflowpl.lic Note: the number one failure of gateway licensing is correct spelling and syntax of the pointer files. All the files contain the same information just different file names. Be vigilant when creating these files. Start the PlantFLOW application Step 1: Select the PlantFLOW program icon from: Start Program PlantFLOW PlantFLOW 3.0 for Windows Step 2: The Welcome to PlantFLOW screen will appear. Step 3: Select the version button listed on your contract:  PlantFLOW Standard or PlantFLOW Plus Step 4: If licensing was correctly installed, the application is now checking thru the gateway for an available license to check out from the License Management Tool. If a valid license has been located, the “Welcome to PlantFLOW 6.1” screen disappears and the application is ready for use. Verify by inspecting the top of the application bar. The specified licensed version name should appear in the applications bar at the top of the application window. Otherwise a failed license would result in the following     Trouble shooting if the program reverts to DEMO mode, confirm licensing settings (especially pointer file names and location) Confirm the location of the pointer files Select Start Run regedit. After the program opens navigate to the following location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Bentley Security On the right pane/window find PathName = ????? Document this PathName. Move all the LIC (license) files into this directory. Confirm the Gateway service Contact the Select Server Admin, request that they check the Select Server Gateway services are started. On the Gateway computer, Select Control Panel Administration Tools Services Bentley Select Server Gateway Status Started. If you are having troubles with the Select Server Gateway on the server, install the Select Server Gateway on the client’s computer and reconfigure the Gateway Pointer files with the correct computer name. Again verify that the Gateway Service are started. Update Select Server Software There are known issue that occurred with earlier versions of Select Server XM. Suggest updating to current version. Also, confirm there is no check out restrictions for the application or user, and the application is available for checkout.   See Also Bentley AutoPIPE External Links Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase Bentley LEARN Server Comments or Corrections? Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please submit any comments you have on this Wiki article to the "Comments" area below. THANK YOU!

Applies To Product(s): Plantflow Version(s): 06.02.xx.xx and higher Environment: N/A Area: Download, Install, License Subarea: Original Author: Bentley Technical Support Group Note : Bentley PlantFLOW is compatible Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Vista x64, Windows XP x64, Windows 7, Windows 7 x64. 1. Download PlantFLOW Open internet explorer web site http://selectservices.bentley.com/en-US/ Select “ Download New software online” Log into web site In the “Search By:” area, Select radio button next to “Product”, and select “Bentley PlantFLOW” from drop down list In the "Filter By:" section, change "Files Posted within last" from “6 months” to "ALL" Press the “Search” button at the bottom of the web site Note : Far right column notifies you of the OS for which the application is certified on. Installing the application on any other OS will be at your own risk and will not be supported Select the correct version of PlantFLOW to download. Current version is PlantFLOW 06.02.00.05, released 8/30/2011. Place a check in the box next to the name and confirm that any dependencies have also been selected. Press “ Continue ” button located in the bottom right corner Select Delivery method, Default = Download, you can chose Down load or Burn CD (an official CD will be mailed). Press “ Continue ” button Download Procedure Read the Legal Terms of Use statement. If you agree, press the “ Accept ” button. Then press the “ Advanced Download Manager ” button. Provide pathname to download the file to and finally press the “ Start Download ” button 2. Install PlantFLOW This new version of PlantFLOW is able to run on 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Windows XP, VISTA, & 7 Uninstall previous version of PlantFLOW Back up your existing project files From the Control Panel select Add or Remove Programs Select PlantFLOW Press the “Change/Remove” button. Complete the process to remove/delete the application. Delete Plant flow folder from computer hard drive. Locate the PlantFLOW file downloaded, unzip to a folder. Select “Start”, “Run”, “Browse”, browse for “ Setup.exe ” inside the extracted folder. Accept all default settings. Do not start the application at the time 3. Download Updated program files If there were any updates you could find them by: Open internet explorer web site http://selectservices.bentley.com/en-US/ Select “ Download New software online” Log into web site In the “Search By:” area, Select radio button next to “Product”, and select “Bentley PlantFLOW” from drop down list. Change Download Category to “Enhancements and Updates”. In the "Filter By:" section, change "Files Posted within last" from “6 months” to "ALL" Check periodically for update patches. 4. Download Bentley IEG Download Bentley IEG Using the procedure above, would have downloaded this application. Regardless, please see the following procedure to down load IEG separately.  Use the instructions above, log into the Bentley web site and navigate to the Support Download web page. In the “Search By:” area, Select radio button next to “Product”, and select “ IEG Product ” from drop down list In the "Filter By:" section, change "Files Posted within last" from “6 months” to "ALL" Press the “Search” button at the bottom of the web site Select the correct version of Bentley IEG License Service to download. Current version is Bentley IEG License Service 02.00.16.00, released 6/19/2009. Place a check in the box next to the name and confirm that any dependencies have also been selected. Note: Far right column notifies you of the OS for which the application is certified on. Installing the application on any other OS will be at your own risk and will not be supported Press “Continue” button located in the bottom right corner Select Delivery method, Default Download, you can chose Down load or  Burn CD (an official CD will be mailed). Press “Continue” button Download Procedure Read the Legal Terms of Use statement. If you agree, press the “Accept” button. Then press the “Advanced Download Manager” button. Provide pathname to download the file to and finally press the “Start Download” button. Burn CD Procedure Select the “Continue” button, provide shipping information, and press the “Complete” button. 5. Install Bentley IEG (This is a separate install and is required). IEG must be installed by user with Admin privileges and cannot be pushed over a network connection. Please confirm you are logged on as an admin user, do not assume. Un-install any previously installed version of Bentley IEG License Service from Control Panels 'Add or Remove Programs' Select “Start” , “Run”, “Browse”; open the folder where you downloaded the application too or insert the CD and run “iegls02001803en.msi” to start the installation process. Verify that the application installed, Control Panel Add/Remove Programs Bentley IEG should be listed. If was not installed, means that the application was only unzipped to the computer system; to complete the installation goto C:\BentleyDownloads\iegls02001803en and run the iegls02001803en.msi application. After installation, the computer should be rebooted. 6. Set- up License Open License Management Tool by using one of the following methods: Start PlantFLOW, select PlantFLOW Demo button, Select Tools Settings License Management Tool. Open windows run utility, Start Run type “ licensetool ” and press OK button. Search your entire hard drive for “ Licensetool.exe”, should be located under one of the following Verify PlantFLOW licenses  are listed on the License Checkout screen and at least 1 license is available for check out. If not, verify the Server Name and Site Activation Key, Tools Options press the test connection button. Should see the following. If not, Contact Bentley Licensing group. 7. Start PlantFLOW software  Select the PlantFLOW program icon from: Start Program Bentley Engineering PlantFLOW V8i PlantFLOW V8i The Welcome to PlantFLOW screen will appear. Select the version button listed on your contract:  PlantFLOW Standard or PlantFLOW Plus If licensing was correctly installed, the application is now checking for an available license to check out from the License Management Tool. If a valid license has been located, the “Welcome to PlantFLOW 6.2” screen disappears and the application is ready for use. Verify application is not in DEMO mode by inspecting the top of the application bar. The specified licensed version name should appear in the applications bar at the top of the application window.            Application indicates Plus license in use                                     Application is in DEMO mode                 See Also Bentley AutoPIPE External Links Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase Bentley LEARN Server Comments or Corrections? Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please submit any comments you have on this Wiki article to the "Comments" area below. THANK YOU!  

Applies To Product(s): PlantFLOW Version(s): All Environment: N/A Area: Licensing Subarea: Original Author: Bentley Technical Support Group Problem: What is the difference of PlantFLOW vs. PlantFLOW Plus Answer: From the online help: The following table shows the differences between PlantFLOW and PlantFLOW plus Feature PlantFLOW Standard PlantFLOW PLUS Liquids Yes Yes Ideal Gas Yes Yes Non-Ideal Gas No Yes Heat transfer No Yes Nist Hydrocarbon Liquid Gas Mixture No Yes ASME Steam No Yes Geometry point or Solver (max node limit)  1000 10,000 Fluid Types- PlantFLOW Standard Version AGA-8 Gas                       AGA-8 Equation of state for natural gas mixtures. It includes 20 different components. PlantFLOW standard sets the gas compressibility factor (Z) to one (Ideal Gas). Liquid Library Uses user defined temperature dependent properties in PLANTLIQ.PFL. Predefined properties include water, mercury, R-12 and ammonia. Gas Library Uses user defined gas components in PLANTGAS.PFL. Peng-Robinson equation of state is used to compute gas mixture properties. PlantFLOW standard sets the gas compressibility factor (Z) to one (Ideal Gas). Pseudo Gas User defined gas properties. Heat transfer not possible with this fluid type. Liquid User defined liquid properties. Heat transfer not possible with this fluid type. Extra Fluids Available in PlantFLOW Plus ASME Steam Superheated steam based ASME steam tables, sixth edition (1997), based on IFC 1967 NIST Gas Hydrocarbon gas mixtures based on National Institute of Standards and Technology, database 4 (SUPERTRAPP) NIST Liquid               Hydrocarbon liquid mixtures based on National Institute of Standards and Technology, database 4 (SUPERTRAPP)   See Also Bentley AutoPIPE External Links Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase Bentley LEARN Server Comments or Corrections? Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please submit any comments you have on this Wiki article to the "Comments" area below. THANK YOU!

Applies To Product(s): PlantFLOW Version(s): 06.01.xx.xx and Lower Environment: N/A Area: licensing Subarea: Original Author: Bentley Technical Support Group Problem: What typical licensing trouble shooting steps can I use for PlantFLOW 06.01.0xx.xx and lower? Answer:  Is this a new installation that has never worked before? Or an existing installation, where the application just stopped working? Applications that should be installed: (if not please update) User's computer: " PlantFLOW v.06.01.00.05 " Plant Security v.08.06.00.01 " LIC pointer file, point to the computer where the Select Server Gateway is installed, case sensitive. Company Server: Confirm the following are updated and status set to started (control panel/admin tools/services/) " Select Server XM, 08.11.01.64, services started " Select Server Gateway, 08.11.01.64, services started Step #1. On the user's computer, assuming OS is XP: 1. Log off, and have someone with Local Administrative rights log on. 2. Select Start Programs Bentley Plant Security License Check In/out. 3. After the program started, press Browse button, and browse to the LIC files at:  C:\Program Files\Bentley\program\licensing. 4. Select the PlantFLOW.lic or  PlantFLOWpl.lic file and press Open button. If the gateway is working and license is available on the Select Server XM, you should see a list of all your applications and number of days left in the license term. If the term is past due, please contact the Bentley license group to update your contract If you do not see this list, verify: LIC file content is correct, computer connection to the server, gateway services are started, and the Select Server XM is on. You cannot continue to the next step until you see this list. 5. Highlight / Select PlantFLOW from the available listed products and press Check Out button. 6. The select product license should also appear in the lower section of the dialog screen.  7. Please try to start PlantFLOW on this user computer. 8. Now, close PlantFLOW, check the license back in using Plant Security, highlight the PlantFLOW license in the lower section and press Check-in button. 9. After the license has been checked back in, try to Start PlantFLOW again on the same computer. 10. On a separate user's computer try to start PlantFLOW. Everything should be working now (if the 2 nd computer fails to open PlantFLOW correctly, repeat steps 1-10 on the 2 nd computer)  Step #2.  On the machine that SELECT Server XM is installed on (***Please note: If this is Select Server 08.11.00.00 or newer please copy the YACLAP.dll from C:\Program Files\Bentley\SELECTserver\Bin to C:\Program Files\Bentley\SELECTserver then run the following from a command line.***) A. Click Start - Run B. Type cmd in the Open text box and click OK C. Type CD C:\Program Files\Bentley\SELECTServer and press ENTER D. Type changeloglevels /level:TRACE and press ENTER E. Type IISRESET and press ENTER F. Restart the Gateway Service 1. Type NET STOP "Bentley SELECT Server Gateway" and press ENTER 2. Type NET START "Bentley SELECT Server Gateway" and press ENTER G. Restart the SELECT Server XM service 1. Type NET STOP "Bentley SELECT Server" and press ENTER 2. Type NET START "Bentley SELECT Server" and press ENTER H. Repeat Steps #1 above Step #3 Pre-XM versions of PlantFLOW are known to have issues with the SELECT Server Gateway. However, the following workaround may resolve the problem. Go to the computer running SELECT Server Gateway, and select from the Windows Start menu: All Programs - Bentley - SelectServer - Bentley License Management Tool. Select the version of PlantFLOW you are using from the top list, and click the CheckOut button. In the dialog box that appears, enter an email address and enter for the version number (ex. 06.01.00.05). Finally, click the OK button. A license for PlantFLOW will now appear in the bottom list, indicating that it is checked out on the Gateway. Close the License Management Tool. This process checks out a license for PlantFLOW on the Gateway computer that will be used to satisfy license requests for pre-XM versions of the product on client workstations. The Gateway license workaround makes the Plant Security Check-in-out workaround in Step #1 unnecessary. A license does not need to be checked out on the client machine prior to opening PlantFLOW. PlantFLOW should automatically retrieve a license when opened now that a license is checked out on the Gateway. As for the cause, PlantFLOW licenses work differently than most other Bentley product licenses. This different behavior does not work well with the SELECT Server Gateway. PlantFLOW XM should be released early next year. After 30 days, the license would be automatically checked back in to Select Server; you will have to repeat this process again. Step #4 PlantFLOW still reverts to DEMO mode If PlantFLOW fails to start after following the above suggestions, please follow the trouble shooting section at the bottom of the document I sent you (Download - Install - Update PlantFLOW.pdf). If you require more assistance, please log a service request and include the following 8 items:   User’s computer. Start the “System Information” Application located on the Start Programs Accessories System Tools program menu or 1.     Click Start and Select Run, Type “ msinfo32 ” and press enter . After opening, select File Save USER_NAME .nfo, save the file and send for review. (Item #1) Select Server Computer 1. First you will need to enable the following system variables a. Create a new folder, C;\log b. Right click on My Computer Properties . c. Select the Advanced tab. d. Select the “ Environment Variables ” button. e. In the lower section, System variables, press New button Variable name: MS_LMDEBUGLOGLEVEL Variable Value: ALL f. In the lower section, System variables, press  New  button agai Variable name: MS_LMDEBUGLOGFILE Variable Value: C:\LOG\XMLICDEBUG.LOG  (Make sure you can read /write to this folder location) g. On the user’s computer, try to Start PlantFLOW. After it starts in DEMO mode, close the application. h. Back on the server, navigate to the License Management Tool and press F9.  i. Find and send the C:\LOG\USERLICDEBUG.LOG (Item #2). j. Important: DELETE these system variables after you had sent the log files. 2. Open C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Bentley\Licensing\ a.      License.log (Item #3) b.      Transmit.log (Item #4) c.       Licdebug.log (Item #5) 3. Open C:\Program Files\Bentley\SELECTserver\Logs\ a.      SS-Bentley.SelectServer.Gateway.exe.log (Item #6)  4.  Start the “System Information” Application located on the Start Programs Accessories System Tools program menu or Click Start and Select Run, Type “ msinfo32 ” and press enter. After opening, select File Save SERVER_NAME .nfo, save the file and send for review. (Item #7) 5. Search your hard drive for the following file ”Revision_History_IEGLCS.TXT” (Item #8) See Also Bentley AutoPIPE External Links Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase Bentley LEARN Server Comments or Corrections? Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please submit any comments you have on this Wiki article to the "Comments" area below. THANK YOU!

Applies To Product(s): AutoPIPE, Version(s): 2004, XM, & V8i Environment: N/A Area: Modeling Subarea: Original Author: Bentley Technical Support Group Problem: what procedure and information is available for non-linear Wind load analysis? Answer:  Let us consider this simple example: Let us assume you have vertical pipe with a horizontal support that has gaps of 1” on each direction.   Let us also assume that under operating conditions (T1) the pipe moves 0.8” in the +X direction. That means the pipe can only move 0.2 inches for wind in +X and 1.8 inches for wind in –X direction. That is assuming the wind load acts under operating load. If however, the wind is acting under shutdown or ambient temperature, the displacements due to wind can be a full 1” in each direction. Let us assume W1 is in the +X direction. If you were to analyze using the nonlinear option: Initial case for Occ. loads: GR You will notice that depending on the wind case W1 amplitude, pipe displacements up to 1.8 inches could be obtained in +X direction when adding up load cases GW1 and T1 since GW1 is limited by 1 inch gap. So 1+0.8 for T1 will give 1.8 inches which is not true in the +X direction. To correctly analyze the nonlinear effect of wind and other occasional loads in AutoPIPE we recommend the following. (1) Analyze the system by applying occasional load under NON-OPERATING condition This can be done easily using the nonlinear analysis option: Initial case for Occ. loads: GR This is the default in most cases in AutoPIPE. AutoPIPE will automatically create code combination Sus+W1 for stresses. It also creates a consistent non-code combination GW1 for support forces and displacements. In this case displacements GW1 are limited to +1 inches for our wind example. If you manually create a user case GW1+T1 then this is not consistent with the selected initial state and would have displacements up to 1.8 inches. So DO NOT manually create GW1+T1. Instead do the following: (2) Rerun the analysis with occasional load under OPERATING condition: Initial case for Occ. loads: OP1 AutoPIPE will automatically create code combination Sus+W1 for stresses. This W1 is different from the one obtained under the previous sequence or initial state since it is evaluated using GT1W1-GT1. The previous one was evaluated from GW1-GR. AutoPIPE also creates a consistent non-code combination GT1W1 for support forces and displacements. GT1W1 will correctly be limited to 0.2 inches in this case. In this case the displacements would not exceed specified gap limits for supports. NOTE: AutoPIPE will by default create for you non-code combinations that are consistent with the load sequence (i.e initial state) selected. In general if you manually create a user non-code case, it is very likely that it will have inconsistent forces or displacements. Please refer to the PDF files posted on April 17 2007 (understanding load sequencing) for more information. In order to capture nonlinear effects for wind under operating conditions in all directions we recommend the following: Define 4 wind load cases as follows: W1 for Wind in +X W2 for Wind in –X W3 for Wind in +Z W4 for Wind in -Z Analyze using the option Initial case for Occ. loads: OP1 This will automatically create 4 occasional code cases (for stresses): Sus+W1 Sus+W2 Sus+W3 Sus+W4 And 4 consistent non-code combinations (for support forces and displacements): GT1W1 GT1W2 GT1W3 GT1W4 These load cases will be consistent with support gaps and friction limits. If you also want wind loads under non-operating conditions, you would need to do a separate run with initial state option changed to: Initial case for Occ. loads: GR The nice thing is that AutoPIPE does create for you the non-code combinations that are consistent with the initial state selected. It is just a simple switch. See Also Bentley AutoPIPE External Links Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase Bentley LEARN Server Comments or Corrections? Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please submit any comments you have on this Wiki article to the "Comments" area below. THANK YOU!

Applies To Product(s): AutoPIPE, Version(s): 2004, XM, & V8i Environment: N/A Area: Load Case Subarea: Original Author: Bentley Technical Support Group Comments Questions and Answers about Wind loads Item #1, Comment:   The Load Wind command enables the user to define static wind load cases (W1 - W10) by generating wind pressure vs. (system) height profiles, or according to ASCE 7, or Uniform Building Code (UBC) requirements. The wind force is applied as uniform loads in the local coordinate system of the straight pipe or bend element. The equivalent wind force is assumed to act through the centroid of the element. Iten #2, Comment: Beam members are not subjected to wind loads, enhancement has been logged, CAE-CR-8199. Item #3, Commment: In order to exclude piping inside a building from wind loads, the piping inside should be entered as a separate segment(s) from the piping outside the building.  With the model Input grid opened select the Segment Tab,  see column labled "Apply Wind", Applies wind load cases to the segment corresponding with the selected row. Enable (check ON) / Disable (check OFF) check boxes a required for segments listed in the model. Itme #4, Comment: When specifying elevations wind load profile remember to check that ground is correctly defined on the main Wind screen. This applies also to wind loadings per ASCE-7 and UBC. Opening older models a warning message "negative elevations found" may indicate an incorrect wind loading across this model. If the Ground elevation for wind is entered with a value greater than the vertical coordinates of the model (i.e. the whole model is below ground) it will result in zero forces. Item #5, Queston:  The "negative value" used for wind ground elevation is confusing. Is there a simple explanation? Answer : AutoPIPE allows the user to create a piping system anywhere within the coordinate system constraints, how does the program know where the Ground level is unless you tell it!   Ground level could be anywhere on the vertical axis:  -4000 mm, -125 ft, 0 ft, +30 ft, +86645mm, anywhere, etc…. Just identify where it is and anything below that vertical level is considered underground. Item #6 Question: I would like to know if the wind profile can be input with Wind Velocity and Height data. It seems that, in the user interface in autopipe, Height and pressure has to be input in the wind profile. Answer : AutoPIPE does not accept velocity profile input at this time. AutopIPE does show the pressure profile and how it is calculated in load summary of the input listing. ASCE 7 defines wind speed as the nominal design 3-second gust wind speed at 33 ft (10 m) above ground for Exposure C category. Note that Kz value is 1.0 at 33 ft. So Kz gives the velocity profile per ASCE-7. You may use a similar procedure, entering your own velocity profile, to compute the pressure profile in Excel and then input in AutoPIPE. Refer to ASCE-7 for actual tables or equations. Item #7 Question: Do we need to specify the vector as -1 to specify the wind direction in -X direction. I understand that I need to make two cases for wind loading in east and west direction. similarly for earthquake cases we need to make a separate case? Answer : A. Please see the following AutoPIPE help section: Help Contents Contents Tab Bentley AutoPIPE FAQ FAQ #24. In order to account for a negative wind direction: add an additional wind load case specifying the Inclined direction to be opposite of the initial wind direction. For instance: +X axis only : Wind direction = Global X -X axis only : Wind direction = inclined, Dx = -1, Dy = 0, DZ = 0 Item #8, Question: I am assuming the wind direction of "Inclined" in combination with the DX, DY, and DZ should take care of any user required eccentric, torsional, or pitched loadings. Do you agree?  Answer : Inclined wind will typically not give a eccentric loading since wind method (force or projected area) methods are applied uniformly at center of pipe An offset weight loading will give eccentric type loading  or some offset force or moment loading. Item #9,  Question: When setting up wind loading in Autopipe, should the Wind Shape Factor Multiplier be 1 or 0.7 when using the ASCE wind specification type.  If you choose the ASCE wind specification type, this type has a force coefficient factor.  I think this force coefficient factor may take the place of the wind shape factor multiplier when the ASCE wind specification type is used. Are we "double dipping" by using 0.7 for the Wind Shape Factor Multiplier and 0.7 for the Force Coefficient when using the ASCE wind specification type? Answer : The intent of Wind shape factor multiplier on the 1st screen of the Wind load case dialogs is to provide a uniform factor that is applied to ALL wind load cases. However, AutoPIPE provides another more flexible method of applying this factor to the individual wind load cases; ASCE refers to this shape factor as "Force Coefficient Cf" and the UBC refers to it as "Pressure Coefficient Cq". Using these coefficient values on the individual load case dialogs enables the user to create a more accurate wind load based on the objects shape by providing different values for different wind directions (i.e. W1: Cf or Cq.= .7 for global X wind direction but W2: Cf or Cq = .9 for global Z wind direction). Using both Factor and coefficient values would reduce the wind load by the product of both values, which is incorrect. Therefore, either the Wind shape factor is modified and the coefficients are set to 1 or the Wind shape factor is set to 1 and the coefficients are modified.  Item #10, Question: How to aply the same wind speed over the entire model? Answer : Specify a wind value using wind Profile command, and enter pressure which is calculated in the ASME 7. (example: 150mph = 41.706 psf) Item #11,  Qu estion: In a model point A04 have a guide with 0.2" gap. I found that x-direction movement of GRTW1(GR+T1+W1, operating case) is 0.213".  It means displacement exceeds gap allowance. Is it possible? Answer : Please see the following file " Nonlinear_wind_load_analysis.pdf ". It all depends on the specified load sequence or initial state.  Defining nonlinear wind loads is much easier in AutoPIPE as all combinations are created for you automatically. Item #12, Question: I have been asked if the pressure used in a wind profile is the basic pressure i.e. acting on a plate is required in the input to allow AutoPIPE to adjust, or do I have to adjust the pressure for a pipe when inputting the figure? Answer : Yes for the wind profile you should calculate the pressure acting on a pipe or cylindrical shape including the shape factor. This pressure will be calculated and entered at different heights. Also enter the wind shape factor multiplier = 1.0. Note: Using UBC and ASCE-7 wind methods, the wind profile is automatically calculated. It is common practice to analyze at a minimum, wind loading for two non-concurrent directions typically X and Z (assuming Y vertical). However the wind could be acting in positive or negative directions like seismic so you may wish to analyze a minimum of four cases +/- X and +/- Z. If you have no gaps or non-linear features like friction then only two cases +X and +Z may only be necessary then create load combinations to include +/-X and +/-Z e.g. Gr+T1+W1 and Gr+T1-W1. Item #13, Question: What is the importance of annual probability of exceedancce for Wind Calculation (say 1/500)?...What is the interpretation for this value and its relevance for determining wind load? Answer : The annual probability for exceedance of a 1/500 storm event is a 0.2% chance of getting or exceeding that storm event...this basically saying it's a 500 year storm which is only supposed to happen once every 500 years, but what it really means is there's a 1 in 500 chance, or 0.2%, of getting that storm event every year.  But then you get a situation as seen in southern United States a few years ago where you get three 100-year storms in less than five years.  AutoPIPE is not concerend with the frequency of  a 1 in 500 year storm, what needs to be determine is what's the minimum design requirements to be modeled?  Are the Wind loads entered into the model based on a 1, 10, 50, 100, 500 and etc. event?  Refer to governing regulation, building code, or project documentation for wind loads to be applied in a model. Apply the respective wind loads as desired into the AutoPIPE model.  Item #14, Q uestion:  Prefer not to consider friction in any occasional case (i.e. Wind, Siesmic, stc..). Is there any way to consider friction only the expansion case but not in any occasional Wind loads? Answer : Consider defining wind load cases in a separate analysis set and set the friction scale factor to zero in that analysis set. (Load Static Analysis Sets Enable "Gaps/Friction/Soil", with other load cases, press OK button, on the "Non-Linear Analysis settings, Friction scale factor = 0.0, press OK button). Item #15,   Question: If an insulation thickness is provided for a member, does AutoPIPE adjust the effective diameter for wind/wave force calculations? Answer : Yes, Force coefficients (Cf) are given in Tables 6-10 for "Chimneys, Tanks and Similar Structures" in the ASCE 7-98 code. In Table 6-10, the force coefficient is a function of the h/D (= height/diameter) ratio and D*sqrt(qz). The default value "Automatic" will calculate Cf for each point based on D*sqrt(qz) as per Table 6-10 assuming round smooth pipes and a conservative h/D value of 25. The outside diameter D includes the pipe insulation thickness. The height h of chimneys and tanks in Table 6-10 would correspond to the pipe length facing the wind, not the pipe height.  The pipe length is not considered in determining the Cf factor in AutoPIPE and instead a conservative value of h/D=25 is assumed. For most common pipe sizes, the shape factor is typically 0.7 when using "Automatic" option. Only very small diameters will have a shape factor of 1.2. The load summary will list calculated Kz, Cf and qz values as a function of height h. The Cf values in the load summary assume D = 1 ft. Item #16, Question: ASCE 7-10 Wind speeds Now Available on Web Answer : The wind speed site, www.atcouncil.org/windspeed , will be free for users. Users are encouraged to provide ATC with feedback about the site, using the Contact Us page, so that enhancements can be planned. Item #17, Commment: The following only affects AutoPIPE V8i 09.06.00.15 and will be fixed in the next new version 09.06.01.xx and higher: The Ground Elevation for Wind is always entered in Feet, regardless of the model units file specified on Tools Model Options General dialog . This can be confirmed with the Loads Summary Data Listing report using any metric units file (CAE-TR-11097). .    See Also Bentley AutoPIPE External Links Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase Bentley LEARN Server Comments or Corrections? Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please submit any comments you have on this Wiki article to the "Comments" area below. THANK YOU!

Topics under the heading should be based on: Bentley AutoPIPE Automatic Test Set (ATS) AutoPIPE ATS download instructions AutoPIPE ATS release notes Batch Processing FAQ about the AutoPIPE ATS

Applies To Product(s): AutoPIPE, Version(s): 2004, XM, & V8i Environment: N/A Area: ATS Subarea: Original Author: Bentley Technical Support Group Item #1: I am trying to locate the reference information for the equations used to validate the AutoPIPE software as stated in the ATS documentation.  "THEORY: Refer to the AutoPIPE Reference Information in the AutoPIPE Online Help, for details on the equations used by AutoPIPE for calculation of stresses." Answer: Please see the following AutoPIPE help section: Help Contents Contents Tab Reference Information Code Compliance Calculations select the correct piping code. In addition to the online help, QA&R users have a right of access to Bentley's facility and documents (including  more detailed hand calculations) for the purpose of QA audits or inspection to verify the implementation of our quality assurance program. Item #2 I was running the Acceptance Test Set of AutoPIPE Nuclear 9.4.1.5 on our Technical Server and the Error Log showed differences we did not find when installing on our Personal Computers. Answer : The fact that operation ran flawlessly on your system tells us that the AutoPIPE and ATS installation are working correctly. Also, tells us that something is wrong with one of the following: your log in access to the Technical server, missing files, server communication, etc.. Your IT department should be able to assist you compare folders, access rights, and Read/Write folder settings. When logging a service request please be sure to supply all the information about your computer and the server computer.  Item #3 AutoPIPE: model missing from ATS During review of the AutoPIPE ATS document (ap_ats.pdf), some models (ex.QA 262-6.dat) are missing and are not listed in the Test Set Execution Status Matrix TR Number: None Product: AutoPIPE Version: all Area: General Problem ID#: 71089 Answer:   In the AutoPIPE ATS document (ap_ats.pdf), just before "Description of Acceptance Test Systems", is a note that reads" " * These test sets are not part of the published Acceptance Test Set Manual." The ap_ats.pdf lists all the models that are part of our QA&R testing. However, not all these models are available in the ATS. So any models listed in the "Test Feature Cross Reference" part of the document with an "*" next to the model name is not available in the Automatic test set. Accounts that are signed up as Q&AR have an extra privilege to visit the CAE group facility in Walnut Creek, CA. to review all of AutoPIPE's models, documents, and calculations. This is by appointment only. Please see the following  WIKI site about QA&R subscription details .    Item #4: After running the ATS the log shows some discrepancies for certain test files. What is considered acceptable messages in the error log file? Answer: After successful installation of the AutoPIPE V8i SELECTseries 4 ATS, a desktop shortcut to the ATS program group containing five new icons would be created: 1. ATS Documentation - detailed document about ATS program. 2. ATS Readme. - general technical data about the application. 3.  Read1st.ATS. 4. Review AutoPIPE ATS Results in Error.log. It is vitally important before running an ATS that all user read  these documents. Note: under the "ATS Documentation", "RECOMMENDED VERIFICATION PROCEDURES", step #6: "Note that there will always be a few differences captured in the log file. These differences are due to the date/time stamping of the analysis files which are captured in the Analysis Summary sub-report produced for several (but not all) of the test systems. Also, there may be minor numeric differences, refer to the Acceptance Criteria section for further details."  In addition, see " Appendix B: AUTOMATED SYSTEM PROCESSING MATRIX " of the same document: The following table lists the test systems executed by the Automated System Processing Method for each AutoPIPE edition ( Standard, Advanced, Advanced + KHK, Nuclear, and Nuclear + KHK). Therefore depending on your application license and computer one or more of the following may occur: Time / date difference Results may be off by up to but not exceeding 2% of documented values. Not all model will have results based on system process matrix    See Also Bentley AutoPIPE External Links Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase Bentley LEARN Server Comments or Corrections? Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please submit any comments you have on this Wiki article to the "Comments" area below. THANK YOU!

Applies To Product(s): PlantFLOW Version(s): ALL Environment: N/A Area: Analysis Subarea: Original Author: Bentley Technical Support Group Problem: A typical issue with analyzing a model in PLantFLOW is that the analysis may not converge. The best starting point is to review PlantFLOW's online help section: "Tips for Convergence and Instability Problems" that includes 7 tipe and techniques to resolve the most common causes of a model failing to converge. If those do not resolve your issue, see the following examples of models that did not converge and the suggestion for each example to fix the model. Again, the following example answers are specific to these models but one or more of the solution may apply to your situation: Item #1: The attached model is a simple model with no branches and only one inlet/outlet. However the model doesn't seem to converge at inlet pressure 25 which is our desired pressure. We have tried everything in the help file, from increasing the flow tolerance to unchecking the heat transfer option, sometimes simultaneously. Nothing helped. We have even decreased the number of points in the system to maybe less than 20% of the original number and have rebuilt the whole model from scratch. Please let us know what else we can do to solve this problem. When I run this model I get the following error message: --------------------------- Error --------------------------- E72-12:  Negative absolute temperatures found --------------------------- OK   --------------------------- Answer: There is too many points in their model. Be sure to know the limitation of the PlantFLOW. Resolution: split the model into smaller more manageable models that the program can handle. As the client builds the model, they should periodically save the model with a different filename and if they run into a change that causes the model to stop converging, they will have a model that they know will converge by going back to a previous version.  This can also be useful for us to help them figure out any problems that they may run into. Item #2: Model does not converge: Answer: It appears the model has a very large pressure drop that could lead to negative pressure at the outlet. For this reason I set the outlet pressure to 100 kPa (atmospheric) and set inlet pressure to unknown. The model solved with no problem.  The inlet pressure was solved as 1364 kPa giving a drop of 1264 kPa. Item #3: I had tried a change a few settings, and looked at the log report, but I am unable to get this model to converge. Answer: This system has 36 outlets. The user sets the consumption at all these outlets. If these consumptions are un-realistic, the flow cannot converge. For example a flow at B01 is 4 while it is 116 at AS02 which way further from the source. Would expect more flow at B01 since pressure is higher unless a severe restriction orifice is inserted. Suspect the reason there is a flow of 4 is due to some valve restriction at B01. Unless these restrictions are modeled, the boundary conditions may not be correct or realistic. Unfortunately PlantFLOW does not have a flow control valve that automatically assign a restriction to maintain the flow. Unless they model the actual restrictions and pressure drop at valves for these devices, PlantFLOW will not be able to solve.  One suggestion may be to model with an orifice plate. This is may not work as they have 36 orifice beta ratios that may be known or unknown. Unless they know orifice beta or valve Cv factors for all exits. It appears the user is guessing the outcome flow, but the flow is not up to the user to decide unless they have flow control valves. Even then, you cannot set flow arbitrarily. Item #4: I have modeled in 3 pumps. The system is a closed loop so fluid is constantly pumped around. Over this closed loop we need to calculate the total pressure drop (including running pumps). PlantFLOW requires 2 control points (inlet and outlet). I have located the 2 control point at the beginning of the pump discharge header and at the end of the pump suction header (see attached pdf file "control"). But when I doe the command "Analyze Run" with the flow status of the pumps set "On" I get the Error "E72-5: Solution not converging". Do you have any idea why this error appears? Answer: First try the following, update the model to disable some segments where two of the pumps are present. As a result the model analysis did converge.  The original model  is not a realistic one as the inlet and outlet should be part of the loop as in EX1.FDA. You would need to set pressures at inlet and outlet to KNOWN with same value, otherwise the cut is not valid. Tried running three pumps together but that did not converge. They may need to provide more realistic flow scenario for it to converge. Note: EX1.FDA example can be found in the following PlantFLOW help section: Help Contents Contents Tab Example systems Example 1.  In further details of looking at the pump curve, believe the pump curves entered are not correct. The pump curves are usually given for different impeller diameters since these can be trimmed. Designated these as Low, Medium and High A sample medium curve is shown below. 450x350M = 450x350x390 Suggest changeing the units using Tools Units to m3/hr (act flow) and m (head) See Also Bentley AutoPIPE External Links Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase Bentley LEARN Server Comments or Corrections? Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please submit any comments you have on this Wiki article to the "Comments" area below. THANK YOU!

Hi all, I had a problem with allowable stress on Bursting condition (Standard DNV2012). I don't understanding why allowable stress was very small (see attach file for more information). Please help me to clarify this problem. Thanks!

I had the same problem and didnt get answer from it from support they just told me read the DNV tutorial carefully..! I am struggling with understanding how load cases and combinations are been build in autopipe

One more concern. In code-combination, bursting condition only has T1 load case but DNV show that, bursting is defined  as pressure containment, it's due to different between internal & external pressure. It's look unreasonable.

Applies To Product(s): AutoPIPE, Version(s): 2004, XM, & V8i Environment: N/A Area: settings Subarea: Original Author: Bentley Technical Support Group Comments, Questions, and Answers about AutoPIPE's Settings: Select the following hyperlink: View Settings : Axes Size Location Show North Arrow Angle From X-Axis Text Print Title Size Distance Font Title Location Support Gap Scale (default = 1) Line Width (1 point) Line Width (2 point) No. of Wires Cursor Thickness Large Cursor Size Show Origin Show Tee Arrows Mouse Over for Point Symbols Interpolate Colors in Code Compliance Enable Hardware Acceleration Tools Model Options: General...   Description GUID Edit... Results Buried Pipe Result Options DNV 2012 Result Options Save Defaults Tools Settings: Plotter Setup Printer Setup Recent Models Model Version Changing the Company Name Edition License Management Tool Color Preferences White Background Black Background PCF CAD Mapping Grids Settings Supports Settings Default Bend Radius Isogen Deflected Plot Preferences DXF Export Drawing Border DXF Export Layers DXF Export 3D Symbols     See Also Bentley AutoPIPE External Links Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase Bentley LEARN Server Comments or Corrections? Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please submit any comments you have on this Wiki article to the "Comments" area below. THANK YOU!    

Applies To Product(s): AutoPIPE, Version(s): 2004, XM, & V8i Environment: N/A Area: settings Subarea: Original Author: Bentley Technical Support Group Problem: What does the View Settings Axis feature do in AutoPIPE? Answer:  Start AutoPIPE and open any model. After a model has been opened, select View Settings Axis, there are 5 different setting in this section of the dialog screeen: as shown below: In general see AutoPIPE's online help for details on each of these settings. The information below is in addition to that found in the online help: Show (default = On):  If this option is enabled then Global axes are displayed on the screen. Size (default = 7): Enter an axes size between 1 and 20 inclusive. Location (default = Bottom Left) Select the location of the axes symbol from one of the four corners of the screen (Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Left and Bottom Right). Show North Arrow (default = On):  If this option is enabled then North Arrow will be displayed in the global axes. North Arrow is independent of the Global Axes option, means if Global Axes are disabled and North Arrow is enabled the North Arrow will be displayed on the screen.   Angle From X-Axis (default = 90) Angle from horizontal axis in clockwise direction. The reference axis will be X in Y-up coordinate system and Y for Z-up coordinate system. Unit of the angle depends on the model's unit. Enter angle values between -10000 and 10000 inclusive. Notes : 1. with AutoPIPE V8i 09.06.00.xx and lower this setting is not saved with the individual model, its value is determined by the last setting used when the last model was closed. Example, last model setting = 270 deg, when the next model is opened the North Arrow setting will be 270 deg.  2. 0 deg is always +X axis, and angle is measured CCW about the vertical axis. See Also Bentley AutoPIPE External Links Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase Bentley LEARN Server Comments or Corrections? Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please submit any comments you have on this Wiki article to the "Comments" area below. THANK YOU!

Does AutoPIPE applies the rules for stresses in the occasional load case, when piping is subject to Elevated Temperature Fluid Service? Im referring to para 302.3.6(a), 2nd paragraph (" For Elevated Temperature Fluid Service (see definition in para. 300.2), as ...taken as 1.0 for austenitic stainless steel and 0.8 for other materials .") from the 2012 edition. If so, where is this incorporated in the software? Does it require the user click some check-marks, or does it do this itself? Im currently evaluating some piping subject to Elevated Temperature Fluid Service, and am not sure how AutoPIPE deals with this. Any help would be appreciated.

Hello Greenlane, AutoPIPE models are analyzed based on center-line beams. Another words all piping is assumed to be a single element located at the center-line of the modeled geometry. It has been widely acceptable practice to model branch fittings as a single intersecting point (intersection of a header pipe and branch pipe). However, another method, as described in the aforementioned document, provides a closer approximation of the stress at the actual connection point where the brach piping connects to the header pipe. This type of modeling approach is also mentioned in ASME BPVC III -NB 2007, section "NB-3686.4: Welded Tee or Branch connection". If you are using method #2 from the aforementioned document, as mentioned "On “point 2”, B02, insert a User SIF." this would be the SIF value from the code, manufacture recommendation, or other FEA analysis. Just be sure that point A01 has an SIF setting = 1.0 . Behind the graphical features and element naming, a Nozzle element is a flexible joint. It is just that there is some automatic calculations performed to determine the stiffness values with a Nozzle element based on the dialog settings. Otherwise with a Flexible joint the user is responsible to entering all the stiffness values. Regardless of using a flexible joint or nozzle element, you will need to still insert an SIF value at point #2, B02. This modeling technique just takes into consideration the flexibility in the wall of the header piping. Regards, Mike Dattilio Bentley Technical Support Analyst Web: selectservices.bentley.com Create your Service Request online!  Log in to SELECTservices Online via selectservices.bentley.com and then go to My Support Account Service Request Manager.  You'll have the ability to create a new Service request, view all Service Requests created by you or anyone else in your company, and view statistics on previous requests.

Hello HVN, What Piping code are you referring to? Regardless, please see the following AutoPIPE help section: Help Contents Contents Tab Reference Information Code Compliance Calculations select the respective piping code to see if it is being considered or not. Furthermore, consider reviewing AutoPIPE typical settings in Tools Model options General, Edit, or Results dialog screens Regards, Mike Dattilio Bentley Technical Support Analyst Web: selectservices.bentley.com Create your Service Request online!  Log in to SELECTservices Online via selectservices.bentley.com and then go to My Support Account Service Request Manager.  You'll have the ability to create a new Service request, view all Service Requests created by you or anyone else in your company, and view statistics on previous requests.