Contents

1.  Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 3 

2.  Material Property ..................................................................................................................... 3 
3.  Analysis Methodology............................................................................................................. 4 
4.  Results of Analysis .................................................................................................................. 4 
5.  Conclusion and Recommendation ........................................................................................... 8 
 1. Introduction

Analysis of bifurcation geometry needs to be carried out in order to check its structural
capacity to withstand the given loading condition. This can be performed using
conventional analytical method. However, due to the complicated geometry of the
bifurcation, this method does not yield accurate result. So, to optimize the design
works, finite element method was applied to calculate the structural stress of the
bifurcation in the given condition. There are various software packages to perform such
calculations. ANSYS STRUCTURAL of ANSYS v12 is one of the powerful among them.
The result was further modified in order to optimize the design.

2. Material Property

The material is IS2062 Grade E250 or equivalent with following properties.

Density 7850 kg m^-3
Coefficient of Thermal
1.2e-005 C^-1
Expansion
Specific Heat 434 J kg^-1 C^-1
60.5 W m^-1 C^-
Thermal Conductivity
1
Resistivity 1.7e-007 ohm m
Tensile Yield Stress (Pa) 2.5 e+008
Young's Modulus (Pa) 2.e+011
Poisson's Ratio 0.3
 3. Analysis Methodology

We need to minimize the effect of eadge effect caused by the definition of boundry
condition. Therefore we have added 20D length of pipes to the inlet and outlet of the
bifurcation. The boundry condition are applied to their face which will reduce the eadge
effect.
Following methodology was adopted to perform the structural analysis.
1. Creation of solid model of the bifurcation with an initial guess of all thickness and
sizes.
2. Creation of mesh based on this solid model.
3. Application of pressure load, 0 MPa @ t=0 s and gradually increasing upto 4.5
MPa from t=0 to t=3 s to the inner wall of the bifurcation.
4. Support is added at inlet and outlet to restrict the displacement in flow direction.
5. Calculation of equivalent von misses stress.
6. Reviewing of the von miss stress to check if it is within limit or not.
7. Review of total deformation.
8. Review of overall factor of safety.
9. Change the geometry, if required.
10. Repeat steps 2-8, if required.

This took several steps to reach final geometry and sizes. All of these are not reported
in this analysis. The final selected geometry is only reported.

4. Results of Analysis

The equivalent von miss stress was calculated. The stress diagram below was
produced by the program.
The maximum stress is 80.22N/mm^2 which is within the allowable limit. Hence plate
thickness of 28 mm is found to be within the acceptable range. Suitable corrosion
allowance(2mm) need to be added over this thickness.
 Calculation Structural Mesh for Birurcation

The number of nodes are 124,546 and number of elements are 62,016.

Another view showing local stress concentration at the mid of sickle plate (indicated by
red and yellow):
The sickle plate thickness considered in this geometry is 50 mm and depth of 450
mm(as shown in the drawing). The maximum stress is 80.22/mm^2 in the region
indicated by red color which is in the acceptable range.
The factor of safety defined as the ratio of to equivalent to yield stresses is evaluated for
the whole body and presented as below:

The minimum factor of safety is 3.11 which is in the acceptable range. The overall
structure is within the acceptable range.

5. Conclusion and Recommendation

The equivalent von miss stress diagram and safety factor diagram indicates that the
structure is within the allowable stress limit in the design load condition. The wall
thickness of 28 mm and maximum depth 450mm (refer to the attached drawing) is
found to be sufficient. Suitable corrosion allowance (2mm) needs to be added over this
thickness. For extra safety, it is recommended to use 25mm thick 200 mm width flange
over the sickle plate.