Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics, 2013, 1, 57-61
Published Online November 2013 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/jamp)
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jamp.2013.16012
Open Access JAMP
Application of Peps in Stress Analysis of Nuclear Piping
Rui Liu, Zhiwei Fu, Tieping Li
Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Beijing, China
Email: l i urui_1985@yeah.net, everlasting_cat@sina.com
Received August 2013
ABSTRACT
According to the nuclear safety regulations, this paper discusses the mechanical analysis method for piping system.
Peps program has advantages of stress analysis and evaluation for nuclear piping. First, this paper introduces the Peps
software, and discusses the process of stress analysis and evaluation for nuclear piping using the general finite element
software; Secondly, taking nuclear class 2/3 piping system as an example, it uses Peps4.0 program to calculate the pip-
ing stress in variety of working conditions, such as weight, pressure, thermal expansion, earthquake, time-histo ry force,
and etc. Finally, the paper calculates the maximum stress and stress ratio according to the ASME.
Keywords: Peps; Nuclear Class 2/3; Piping; ASME
1. Introduction
In recent years, the rapid development of nuclear power
plants has more strict demand for safety. The safety of
nuclear power plants depends mainly on the devices
which perform safety functions. Most of these devices
are treated with radioactive medium. Once leakage oc-
curs, it will result in the loss that can’t be estimated.
Therefore the nuclear power plants must be designed in
accordance with the corresponding regulatory require-
ments. Nuclear piping which provides the important
guarantee for safe operation is important equipment in
nuclear reactor. The purpose of stress analysis for nuclear
piping is to proof that the maximum stress does not ex-
ceed the limits of regulatory requirements under different
working conditions [1].
There are two kinds of methods of stress analysis for
nuclear piping: simplified calculation method and nu-
merical simulation method. Simplified calculation me-
thod based on the empirical formula, which is suitable
for small piping, could not accurately describe the me-
chanical behavior of the piping system. Considering the
high requirements for security, large piping systems with
complex mechanical properties must resort to numerical
simulation method with the aid of computer program [2].
With the development and application of computer
technology, stress analysis of larger piping system can be
achieved. At present, the civilian nuclear piping stress
analysis software are mainly: ADLPIPE, AUTOPIPE,
SYSPIPE, PIPESTRESS, KWUROHR, HROHR2, APA
(AREVA PIPING ADDON), and etc. Peps (PIPE-
STRESS) used in the three-dimensional linear elastic
piping systems analysis and calculation at home and
abroad. This paper takes a nuclear class 2/3 piping sys-
tem model as an example, and uses Peps4.0 program to
calculate the piping stress in variety of working condi-
tions, such as weight, pressure, thermal expansion, earth-
quakes time-history force, and etc. Finally the paper uses
ASME standard to evaluate the mechanical properties
[3-5].
2. Peps Overview
Peps of DST Company in Switzerland is an integrated
package containing PIPESTRESS, the piping analysis
core program, and Editpipe, its pre- and post-processor.
PIPESTRESS is a program for performing linear elastic
analysis of three -dimensional piping systems subject to a
variety of loading conditions. Chemical process piping,
nuclear and conventional power generation piping sys-
tems may be investigated for compliance with piping
codes and with other constraints on system response.
PIPESTRESS plays an important role in the world nuc-
lear industry. Editpipe is the pre- and post-processor of
PIPESTRESS. Here are some outstanding features of
Editpipe: 1) Advanced text editor environment with full
syntax coloring for editing PIPESTRESS free format
input files. 2) Instant visualization of the piping model
defined in the input file, with input error detection. 3)
Integrated database of PIPESTRESS free format input
cards and standard piping fittings. 4) Post-processing
module for visualizing mode shapes and load case dis-
placements, forces and moments. 5) Tabular view of the
data. 6) QuickPipe wizard to generate complete input