How to Calculate Tensile Pipe Stress with Engineering Software

The calculation of tensile stress on water, sewer and other pipes is important for keeping your project on track. A pipe that has excessive tensile stress will undergo deformation that is potentially dangerous for tenants. A simple calculation of tensile pipe stress in your engineering software can prevent major issues down the road.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Project blueprints

Assess Stress on Pipes with New Engineering Software

1. Use your knowledge of different pipe types as you calculate tensile stress in engineering software. You should be able to switch the pipe material type in your software to account for pipe thickness and long-term durability.
2. Add the total number of pipes used in your project to calculate tensile stress. Most engineering programs allow you to create a two- or three-dimensional image of a single pipe that can be replicated as many times as necessary. You can inform designers of potential issues by viewing a model of pipes lined up end to end.
3. Insert the total area that is covered by a system of pipes to make a final calculation in engineering software. You should look at the plot of land that is serviced by the pipes, and multiply length (in feet) by width and depth. This will inform you of the total volume of soil and other materials applying stress to the pipes.
4. Consult with civil engineers on the amount of traffic that will run over a particular set of pipes. Pipes that are not buried deeply in rural areas or small cities may experience significant wear with vehicles and foot traffic pressing down on individual pipes.
5. Modify your tensile stress calculations with engineering software, based on the material surrounding your pipes. The ability of dirt to withstand stress is different than the threshold for clay and concrete. You should test out other surrounding materials to see these differences in stark contrast.
6. Simulate average liquid flow through pipes to calculate the amount of internal stress applied daily. You should look at neighboring pipe systems for a typical daily amount of waste or water to use as part of your simulation.
7. Test out higher and lower variations on each measurement during a project's preliminary-design phase. You can provide insight into ways of saving money or creating a stronger pipeline for a construction project with a little experimentation.

Tips & Warnings

• Contact site managers for each engineering project to double-check measurements and calculations. You should run grades, pipe lengths and other factors through engineering software once to determine a preliminary measurement of tensile pipe stress. A short phone call can help you avoid critical errors in measuring tensile stress.

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