In
this page I will talk about Shell & Tube Exchanger
equipment
foundation load calculation. Following is a picture of Shell &
Tube
Exchanger:
Now you will follow the following steps to start the foundation load
calculation and design:
Step-1 :
Review
of vessel drawing (Vendor Equipment Drawing)
You
need to review Vessel drawings from foundation design point of view and
check whether you have all the following information:
- Vessel Erection
weight
(De1)
- Vessel Empty
weight
(De2)
- Vessel Operating weight
(Do)
- Vessel Hydrotest
weight (Dt)
- Weight of Tube Bundle
- Wind Shear and Moment in transverse direction
- Seismic Shear and Moment in transverse direction (if
the Project site is at Seismic zone)
- Vessel operating temperature and confirm with
Mechnaical discipline
- Total length of vessel and spacing of saddle supports
- Vessel Center of Gravity location with
respect to saddle
- Anchor bolt location on fixed and sliding saddle
- Detail of equipment saddle (fixed and sliding)
Step-2 :
Verification
of foundation location, elevation and external fittings loads
You
need to review Plot plan, Equipment location drawings and 3
-D
Models and check whether you have all the following
information:
- Verify the area available for foundation.
- Verify Foundation location and Elevation
- Pipe supports and Nozzle loads on Equipment (Dp)
- Location and size of Platforms around the vessel
- Locations of underground pipes
- Electrical and Instrument duct banks
- Locations and extent of adjacent foundations
- Verify the location and extent of new/existing
foundations not shown in 3D model or plot plan.
Step-3 :
Description of
Foundation Loads:
Please follow this section to understand the different loads on
foundation:
Vessel
Erection weight (De1): The erection weight is the
fabricated weight of the vessel, plus internals, platforms, etc., that
are actually erected with the vessel. Data from Equipment drawing.
Vessel
Empty weight (De2): The empty weight is
the in-place
weight of the completed vessel, including the fabricated weight of the
vessel, plus the weight of internals, piping, insulation, and
platforms, but excluding the weight of fluids or products which will be
contained in the vessel during operation. Data from Equipment drawings.
Vessel
Operating weight (Do): Vessel
Empty
weight (De2) + Weight of Fluid inside the
vessel.
Data from Equipment drawings.
Vessel Hydrotest
weight
(Dt): Vessel Empty
weight (De2) + Weight of test water
Pipe supports
and Nozzle loads on Equipment (Dp): Please Coordinate with the Pipe
Stress Group for determination of nozzle loads and loads due to pipe
supports attached to the vessel.
Wind Shear and
Moment (W): You will find this
load data in
vendor drawings. However, you have to calculate this load based on
project design basis. During wind load calculation, you need to
consider the pipes and platforms attached with the vessel. Transverse
and longitudinal wind load shall be calculated per design project
criteria. No allowance shall be made for shielding of winds by nearby
equioment. The calculated design moments and shears due to wind load
should be compared to those shown on the vessel drawings and maximum
loads shall be used for foundation design.
Seismic Shear and
Moment (E)
(if the Project site is
at Seismic zone): You will find this load data in vendor drawings.
However, you have to calculate this load based on project design basis.
During seismic load calculation, you need to consider the pipes and
platforms attached with the vessel. The longitudinal seismic force
shall be resisted by the fixed end pier only unless the piers are tied
together by tie beams below the base plates. Transverse
seismic
forces shall be resisted by both piers using saddle or base plate
reactions as the basis for computing base shear. The calculated design
moments and shears due to seismic should be compared to those shown on
the vessel drawings and maximum loads shall be used for
foundation design.
Thermal Load (T): The
thermal load is defined as the load which results from thermal
expansion or contraction of the exchanger/vessel in the longitudinal
direction. The maximum thermal force is equal to the maximum
static friction force (frictional resistance) acting at the equipment
sliding support before the saddle begins to move. The
frictional
resistance equals the coefficient of friction (see project design
criteria) times the vertical support reaction.
The thermal load considered in foundation design shall be the smaller
of the following:
- The maximum pier reaction at the sliding end times
the coefficient of friction of the sliding surfaces
- The force required to deflect each pier one-half the
amount of the
total thermal expansion between supports
(assuming thermal loads
of equal magnitude, but opposite directions, act on each pier).
Bundle
Pull Load (Lb): The bundle pull load is applicable only to
foundations supporting exchangers with a removable tube bundle. It is
the longitudinal force which results from the tube bundle removal
operation during maintenance.This force shall be applied at the center
of bundle elevation. In case of stacked exchangers, the more (most)
critical load due to bundle pull, applied at the center of the
respective bundle, shall be used. The force due to bundle pull shall be
resisted by the fixed end pier only. Bundle pull load may be omitted if
a bundle pulling extractor is used for removal of the bundle. The
method of bundle removal should be listed in the project design
criteria. Unless the project design criteria dictates otherwise, the
bundle pull load is considered to be 100% of the bundle weight. Bundle
pull load should be considered as live load for assigning load factors.
Step-4 :
Load combinations for
foundation sizing / Pile loads and Foundation design:
You
need to create the load combination per your project design criteria.
However, I have created this load combination based on ACI 318:
Load combination for Foundation sizing and Pile load calculation
(un-factored load calculation):
- LC1: Do + Dp + T
- LC2: (De1 or De2)+ Wind
- LC3: De2+ Seismic
- LC4: Do + Dp + Wind + T
- LC5: Do + Dp + Seismic + T
- LC6: Dt +
025*Wind * LC7: De2+ Lb
Load combination for Pedestal and Foundation design (factored load
calculation):
- LC8: 1.4*(Do + T + Dp )
- LC9: 0.75 [1.4 De2 (or 1.4 De1)] +1.6
Wind
- LC10: 1.2 De2 +1.0 E
- LC11: 0.75 (1.4 Do +1.4 T + 1.4 Dp) ± 1.6
Wind
- LC12: 1.2 (Do +T + Dp) + 1.0
E
- LC13: 0.75 (1.4 Dt) + 1.6 (0.25
W)
- LC14: 1.4*De2+ 1.7*Lb
The
weight of the foundation and of the soil on top of the foundation shall
be included as dead load in all of these load combinations.
Step-5 :
Anchor
Bolt Check:
Maximum
shear and tension on anchor bolt shall be calculated based on above
load combinations and shall be compared with project acceptable value.
Anchor bolt embedment length shall be checked per any project approved
code (ex: ACI 318 appendix-D).
Step-6 :
Pedestal
Sizing and reinforcement:
Unless
controlled by other factors, the minimum pier dimensions in each
direction should equal to the dimensions of the base plate plus
100mm. Piers shall be sized in 50mm increments. The
minimum
thickness of the pier should be approximately 10% of the pier height,
with a minimum of 250mm.
- Pier size should be adjusted to
ensure the factored vertical force on the pier does not exceed the
value of 0.1Agfc¢ (Refer ACI 318 section 10.3.5)
- Piers should be designed as axially loaded cantilever
flexural members
- When
the size of the pier cannot be adjusted and the value of the axial load
exceeds 0.1Agfc¢, the piers should be designed as compression members
subjected to combined flexure and compressive axial load.
- For
piers with slenderness ratio equal to or exceeding 22, moment
magnification effects should be considered (refer section 10.13 of ACI
318). In calculating the slenderness ratio, a "K" factor of 2
should be used. The P-M column interaction check may also be
considered in pier design.
- Shears on piers along both the
longitudinal and transverse directions of the equipment shall be
checked per code requirements (refer ACI 318, Chapter 11).
- Reinforcement
should normally be arranged symmetrically. Both the fixed end
and
sliding end piers shall be sized and reinforced identically.
For
pier height less than 7 feet, the vertical reinforcement may be
extended from the foundation with no dowels being required.
- A
double tie shall be placed at the top of piers, spaced 50mm and 125mm
below the top of concrete (or below the bottom of grout), to protect
the top of concrete piers against cracking.
Step-7 :
Slide
plate :
- Slide
plates are placed at the sliding end pier to allow longitudinal
movement of exchangers and vessels due to the thermal growth.
The
steel slide plate on the sliding end is generally coated with Dow
Corning G-n Metal Assembly Paste or similar lubricant in order to
reduce the coefficient of friction. Slide plates should be
galvanized or painted to prevent
corrosion.
- For
large movements and/or heavy vessels, it may be necessary to
use
slide plates with low coefficient of static friction, such as lubrite,
teflon, etc. Design of lubrite and teflon slide plates shall
be
in accordance with the recommendations of the slide plate manufacturer,
as the coefficient of static friction varies with the temperature and
pressure at the bearing surface.
- Typical coefficients of friction (m) are as
follows:
* 0.15, for mild steel
slide plates coated with Dow Corning G-n Metal Assembly Paste
* 0.20, for mild steel to
mild steel without lubricant
* 0.06, for teflon
slide plates with bearing pressure over 100 psi
Now from above steps, you have learnt the following:
- Different types of loads on
foundation
- Different criterias for the pedestal
sizing
- Maximum tension and shear force on each anchor
bolt
- A sample load combinations.
To complete the foundation design, your work will be to create
following calculation sheets:
- A calculation sheet for anchor bolt embedment length
check (ex: ACI 318 appendix-D).
- A
calculation sheet for foundation sizing (considering soil bearing
pressure, Sliding, Buoyancy and overturning) or pile load (tension,
compression and shear on each pile) calculation and check with soil
consultant for acceptable values.
- A calculation sheet for foundation and pedestal
reinforcement calculation per your project design criteria.
For a typical
foundation for Shell & Tube Exchanger click here
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2009.
All rights reserved. Please do not print or copy of this page or any
part of this page without written permission from Subhro Roy.
Disclaimer:
This page is prepared based on experience on Civil Engineering Design.
All definitions and most of the explanations are taken from different
text books and international design codes, which are referenced in the
contents. Any similarity of the content or part of with any company
document is simply a coincidence. Subhro Roy is not responsible for
that.