Dimensionamento e validação de projeto de tubulações industriais através de métodos analíticos e simulações em softwares

Abstract

Industrial piping systems are essential in several industrial sectors, such as petrochemical, pharmaceutical, food, and mining industries, playing a key role in the transportation of fluids from one point to another. Industrial piping design is conceived to interconnect equipment and systems, forming an integrated network that enables efficient and coordinated industrial operations. However, piping systems are often oversized due to the lack of validation through engineering calculations or the insufficiency of reliable information regarding the pipe sizing process. Therefore, this work was motivated by the need to perform the sizing and validation of an industrial piping system, using analytical methods and comparing the results with computer simulations, using methods available in the literature, to develop an electronic spreadsheet, gathering physical properties of various types of materials, for the determination of the dimensions and layouts adopted in a piping system. To reinforce the obtained results, computational simulations were performed, seeking results closer to real operating conditions and providing increased operational safety to the process. The spreadsheet was applied to the sizing of a pipeline within the oil blending system of a margarine manufacturing plant, and the results were compared with those obtained from the simulations, reinforcing the values derived from theoretical formulas and validating the previously designed system. By analyzing the results, it can be observed that the dimensional design criteria are adequate; for a diameter of ø2 1/2”, the calculated pipe wall thickness was 1.06 milimeters, allowing the use of SCH10 pipe with a wall thickness of 3.05 milimeters. However, considering corrosion effects over time, SCH40 pipe, with a wall thickness of 5.16 milimeters, was adopted as the standard for the line. It is also worth noting that the adopted layout presents characteristics that enhance the dissipation of stresses acting on the system; however, the spacing between supports exceeds the calculated limit, which was determined as 3.27 meters, while in some sections the actual spacing reaches 6 meters. It is concluded that the use of theoretical methods combined with computational simulations results in more accurate values, validating the service life of the piping system regardless of the process to which it is applied, contributing to the proper sizing and selection of pipes, fittings, and accessories without oversizing, improving system operation and reducing costs, maintenance requirements, and project development efforts.