PIPING
NABLADUCT
Automatic pipeline routing
CLIENT
Manufacturer of industrial ventilation systems
CHALLENGE
Reduce piping system design time
SUCCESS
Drastic acceleration of the 3D pipe design process
The designer has more time for other activities
01
CHALLENGE
In complex systems, once the operational P&ID scheme has been defined, the tracing of pipelines in 3D space is a long, iterative process whose result depends very much on the experience and choices of the designer. There are many variables to consider:
01
fluid type
02
flow rates, pressures, head losses
03
spatial design constraints
04
positioning of components in the system — tanks, reactors, burners, combustors
05
quantity and type of pipe supports
Once the piping and instrumentation diagram is fixed, positioning the pipelines in three-dimensional space is usually long and iterative, and typically full of repetitive tasks. As the number of pathlines rises and branches multiply, the number of possible configurations grows exponentially.
3D design proceeds from the choice of one specific configuration among infinite possibilities — derived more from personal experience than from objective, quantitative reasoning. The final design does not guarantee the simplest solution, nor the best performance parameters.
02
SOLUTION
The piping software developed by Nablawave aims to reduce the design time of piping systems by means of automatic 3D tracing of the pathlines, significantly reducing the number of iterations and choices left to the designer.
As a starting point the software imports a CAD model defining the 3D space where the pipelines go. The geometry is simplified by filters that eliminate the superfluous detail which would burden the calculation. The multiple inlet (source) and outlet (sink) positions are then indicated for each pipeline.
Based on criteria chosen by the designer, the relative weight of some parameters is defined — for example:
01
the total length of the pipeline
02
head losses
03
pipeline overall weight
04
proximity to structural elements
This lets the algorithm produce a unique optimal solution, avoiding the obstacles in the 3D environment and any interpenetration between pipes. The designer can therefore vary the relative importance of the individual performance parameters and obtain different configurations — always Pareto-optimal.
03
RESULTS
The result is a drastic acceleration of the 3D piping design process, especially at higher pipeline complexities. The designer is exempt from repetitive tasks and can devote themselves to choosing between configurations that are already optimal in themselves, according to the importance they assign to each parameter.
Where it is used:
01
civil and industrial plant engineering — hydraulics and ventilation
02
chemical and pharmaceutical plants
03
aeronautical and aerospace engines