1. What is AutoPIPE Vessel?
AutoPIPE Vessel is a comprehensive & advanced software tool specialized in the design &
analysis of pressure vessels and heat exchangers. It also offers capability to model Air Coolers and Storage Tanks.
2. What are the different types of equipment that can be designed using AutoPIPE Vessel?
AutoPIPE Vessel offers capabilities to design and analyze various different types of pressure vessels (horizontal, vertical, multi-chamber), shell and tube heat exchangers of all the different TEMA configurations and dimensional verification with TEMA standard (multiple shell and tube passes), air coolers, chimneys and tanks as well as individual component design including anchor bases, beams, flanges, head, saddle, shell, tube layout etc. It has the capability to design all the common configurations of vessel support including skirt, rings, anchor, saddle, legs, brackets etc.
3. What design code capabilities does AutoPIPE Vessel offer?
Apart from ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section VIII (Div. 1 and 2), AutoPIPE Vessel also supports almost all major international pressure vessel design codes including ADM, API
650, CODAP, EN, GOST, PD5500, GB 150 & GB 151, WRC (for local loads).
4. Does AutoPIPE Vessel offer Seismic and Wind design capabilities?
Yes. Wind and Seismic analysis can be performed according to various international codes including ASCE, UBC, UK, Canadian (NBC), Spanish, Turkish, Russian, Portuguese, Indian, French, EN, Brazilian, Chinese, DIN codes.
5. What about Bill of Material and Cost Estimate?
AutoPIPE Vessel comes with an in-built bill of material and cost estimating tool. The cost estimation module is extensive and detailed and highly customizable to suit individual customer’s operating costs and rates. Additional cost items and costing formulations can be added very easily. The manufacturing cost of the entire equipment can be performed with a thorough and rigorous approach, considering every single material and fabrication details and engineering cost, resulting in accurate cost estimation, in a matter of seconds. The cost estimation is a very powerful tool for cost optimization of capital equipment.
6. Does it include material properties library?
Yes. AutoPIPE Vessel has an extensive database of material properties based on ASME, ASTM, DIN, EN, GOST, NF, GB, PD5500 codes. Apart from that it also consists of thermal expansion and modulus properties library. In addition it also allows creation of user-defined material properties for use in calculations.
7. What are some of the advanced design and analysis features that it offers (other than code calculations)?
AutoPIPE Vessel offers a complete solution for pressure vessel and heat exchanger design and
not just a simple code calculation tool. Some of the advanced features include calculations of local loads, reverse flange design, expansion joint calculations, fatigue and creep analysis, flange optimization, shell buckling analysis, alternative method of flange design based on EN 13445 (besides the regular ASME Appendix 2 design), detailed tube layout and modification, Wind, Seismic, Vortex Shedding, Blast and Motion loading, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of expansion joint following TEMA 9 guidelines; these are just to name a few.
8. How about CAD interface?
Once the design is completed, the model can be easily converted into dxf, dwg files and can be opened in popular CAD tools like AutoCAD/Microstation. The solid model can also be imported into SolidWorks.
9. How does the graphic user interface look?
The user interacts with the model as it is being built via the 2D and 3D model on the screen. Modifications, additions and deletions of components can very easily be performed interactively almost like any 3D CAD software. The 3D model can be rotated, zoomed and even the walls can be made transparent or components hidden to provide better visibility.
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See Also
Bentley Select Services Technical Support webpage: