Vessel Engineering
Software
How to create a pressure vessel or heat
exchanger in the VES software and
perform a norm calculation
An introduction to working with VES
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Table of Contents
1
Getting started ................................................................................................................................ 3
1.1
Ves program .............................................................................................................................. 3
1.2
Using menus ............................................................................................................................. 3
1.3
Projects ..................................................................................................................................... 4
1.3.1
How to create a new project .............................................................................................. 5
1.3.2
How to open a project ........................................................................................................ 5
1.3.3
How to delete a project ...................................................................................................... 5
1.4
Items ......................................................................................................................................... 6
1.4.1
How to open an item .......................................................................................................... 6
1.4.2
How to create a new item .................................................................................................. 8
1.4.3
How to delete an item ...................................................................................................... 13
1.4.4
How to copy an item ........................................................................................................ 13
1.5
Parts ........................................................................................................................................ 14
1.5.1
How to create a part ........................................................................................................ 15
1.5.2
How to delete a part ......................................................................................................... 16
1.5.3
How to open a pressure part calculation document ........................................................ 16
2
Introduction Heat Exchanger Design ......................................................................................... 18
2.1
Edit the nozzle list ................................................................................................................... 18
2.2
Edit the mechanical datasheet ................................................................................................ 19
2.2.1
Optional data entries ........................................................................................................ 21
2.2.2
Reinforcement pads ......................................................................................................... 21
2.2.3
Gasket parameters .......................................................................................................... 21
2
2.3
Edit the material list ................................................................................................................. 21
2.4
Starting a heat exchanger design cycle .................................................................................. 23
2.5
Design options ........................................................................................................................ 23
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1 Getting started
In this chapter we will introduce you to the basics of the VES program. We will explain project
management, pressure vessels and pressure parts. We will create new pressure vessels like heat
exchangers, horizontal vessels and vertical columns. We will use the program to explore the pressure
vessels and activate RToD (Rules for pressure vessels), ASME VIII, AD Merkblätter or EN 13445
calculations. At the end of this chapter you will have the basic skills needed to check and design
pressure vessels with the VES program.
1.1
Ves program
To start Ves program in Windows, use the Start button from the windows task bar. Open the Windows
Programs Menu entry P3 Engineering and select the sub menu entry VES xxxx (xxxx is the version).
This will start the VES program. The program will first check for a license. If you want to extend your
license with a new code module you can buy this code module from P3 Engineering. We will send you
a new license with the requested license options.
The VES program can be used to manage all project related mechanical design data. The RToD,
ASME VIII, EN 13445 and AD Merkblätter modules are incorporated dynamically by selecting one of
the pressure code options available on screen. Only the options present in your license agreement will
be enabled. Use the mouse to activate the required pressure code option.
Figure 1-1 VES codes
1.2
Using menus
This paragraph explains how to use the built in menus. In figure 1-2 you see the Project menu. You
can open the menu by moving the mouse cursor over the menu text Project and clicking the left
mouse button. If you prefer to use the keyboard to activate the Project menu you can use the <Alt>+P
combination. The same works for the Item menu with, <Alt><I>, and the Part menu with <Alt><A> or
any other menu in the VES program.
To select one of the sub menu entries of the Project menu in figure 1-2 you can use the mouse or one
of the shortcut keys.
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Figure 1-2 Project menu
1.3
Projects
Any new project will start by creating a new project entry in the VES program. This project entry will be
used to collect all mechanical design data for the pressure vessels of the project. This way each user
working on the project can easily find all project related pressure vessels by opening the appropriate
project entry.
In this paragraph you will learn how to create project entries, open, close and delete projects. Later
you will learn how to add pressure vessels to your new project entries.
Figure 1-3-1 Project entries
When you start the VES program for the first time you will see the Project Entries Window from figure
1-3-1 with validation projects made by P3 Engineering. The projects are filled with several pressure
vessel components used to test the program. This is useful for ISO certification because with the
4
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tested and checked calculations in the validation projects you can prove the correctness of the
software.
1.3.1 How to create a new project
You can create a new project by select the button New in the project entry list or selecting the menu
option New in the Project menu. You will see the New Project window from figure 1-3-2.
Figure 1-3-2 New Project
In the New Project window you must enter a unique project number, description, client name, plant
location, company and calculation code. Check the input and use the Ok button. The VES program will
create and open the new project entry. The new project is empty with no items and no components.
1.3.2 How to open a project
You can open a project by using the earlier mentioned Project Selection window via the Project menu
Open. Use the mouse or arrow keys to select one of the project numbers. If you click the Open button
or press the ENTER key the VES program will open the selected project.
1.3.3 How to delete a project
You can delete a project by selecting the menu option Delete in the Project menu. The Ves program
will delete the currently open project entry and all related items (pressure vessels). However, the VES
program will first ask for confirmation before deleting the project from figure 1-3-3 by selecting a Yes or
No button.
Figure 1-3-3
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With the No button the VES program will abort deletion and nothing will be removed. If you select Yes,
the VES program checks if there are still project related items. If one or more items are found you will
be warned you that there are still project related items. Again selecting No will abort project deletion.
Selecting Yes will remove all project related items and finally delete the project entry Warning: there is
no way to recover deleted project entries. P3 Engineering advises you to create regular backups of the
project data.
1.4
Items
In this paragraph you will learn how to create, open, delete and copy items using the Item menu from
figure 1-4.
Figure 1-4
Make sure that you have created or opened a project entry as described earlier.
In the VES program an item can be any type of pressure vessel. We will create horizontal vessels,
heat exchangers and generic vessels. A generic vessel is an item with an arbitrary number of pressure
parts. You can use this type of vessel to design one or more custom made pressure parts or to
experiment with alternative design data or conditions.
1.4.1 How to open an item
To open an existing item use the Item menu entry Open. This menu entry will open the Item Open
window. Use the mouse or arrow key to select an item and click the Open button or press the ENTER
key. The VES program will load the selected item data and all the pressure part connected to the item.
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Figure 1-4-2-1
For each item you can change the item data like the revision number and item description. Click the
save button to save the changes.
The bottom half of the screen will show a list of the item related design documents and pressure parts.
In the chapter Heat exchanger design you can read how to start the mechanical design of the
selected heat exchanger.
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Figure 1-4-2-1
1.4.2 How to create a new item
To create a new item use the Item menu entry New and select one if the sub entries.
You can choose one of the following pressure vessels types:
A)
B)
C)
D)
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General vessel
Horizontal vessel on two saddles
Vertical vessel
Shell and tube heat exchanger
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Figure 1-4-2
For each new item you must enter a unique item number. This number must be unique within the
project you are working on.
A) General vessel
This will open the new general vessel dialog. Enter a unique item number and other vessel data and
click the OK button.
The VES program will create a new item of type General Vessel. You can use this type of vessel to
make separate calculations for pressure parts like cylinders, heads, flanges etc. You can read about
adding and deleting parts later.
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B) Horizontal vessel
This will open the new horizontal vessel dialog. You must enter a unique item number (Vessel
number/tag) and you can choose the type of head from a drop down list. Click the Ok button to create
the vessel. The VES program will create a new horizontal vessel and add the 4 default pressure parts
(1 cylinder, 2 heads and saddles).
Optionally you can change the default numbers for the pressure parts. For example you can change
the default pressure part number Shell barrel.
C) Vertical vessel
This will open the new vertical vessel dialog. You must enter a unique item number (Vessel
number/tag) and you can choose the heads and the type of support.
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D) Heat exchanger
The dialog you see is the heat exchanger type dialog. With this dialog you can choose the TEMA type
for the heat exchanger you want to create.
1. Use the mouse to click on one of the Front end channel pictures. In the centre of the window you
will find a character indicating the TEMA type for the selected front end channel. The lower part of the
window will show an enlarged copy of the small picture you selected.
2. Click on one the small Shell pictures you find in the top middle of the screen. Again the dialog will
show you the TEMA type character and an enlarged copy of the selected Shell section.
3. Click on one of the Rear end Channel pictures.
4. Check the heat exchanger configuration (removable bundle and tubesheet type and click the Create
button. This will open the New Heat Exchanger dialog.
5. Enter a unique item number and selected the type of head. Optional you can change the pressure
part numbers and descriptions. Click the Ok button to create the heat exchanger.
In the chapter Heat Exchanger Design you can read about how to start the mechanical design of the
newly created heat exchanger
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While selecting the TEMA type of heat exchanger you want to create you have to look carefully at the
number of flanges around the tubesheet. If you create a TEMA AEU type of heat exchanger there are
two possible configurations. One with a removable bundle and another with a none removable bundle.
The first configuration will have flanges on both sides of the tube sheet. The second one with the none
removable bundle will have only one flange connected to tube side of the tubesheet.
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1.4.3 How to delete an item
To delete an item use the Item menu entry Delete. You can only delete the currently open item. To
delete an item open it and select the Item menu entry Delete. The VES program will open a Yes/No
dialog. Select Yes to delete the item or No to cancel the deletion.
Figure 1-4-3
1.4.4 How to copy an item
To copy an item use the Item menu entry Copy. With this menu entry you can create a copy of the
currently open item. You can copy an item from one project number to another or create copies of an
item within the same project number. This way you can create multiple copy of an item with different
revision number. You could also create copies to design the item for changed conditions or alternative
materials.
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Figure 1-4-4
The Item copy window has two sections. The upper section called Source project & item is for
selecting the source to copy from. In the lower section called Destination project & item you can select
the project number to copy to and enter a new item number. This item number must be unique within
the destination project number you selected. To start the copy function, click the Start Copy button.
The VES program will copy all item data and related pressure parts to the new item number.
1.5
Parts
In this paragraph you can read about creating, deleting and calculating pressure parts using the Part
menu from figure 1-5.
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Figure 1-5
Before you can create or calculate a pressure part you have to create or open a project and item as
described in the previous paragraphs.
1.5.1 How to create a part
To create a part use the Part menu entry New. This entry has several sub entries for creating different
kind of pressure parts. The pressure parts that you create will be added to the currently open item.
Each pressure part must have a unique number within the item it belongs to.
Figure 1-5-1
Next you see an example part of category Shell and type Cylinder.
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You can add shells, heads, flanges, flat covers, dished heads, tubesheets and bellows. To add
nozzles you must open the nozzle list document. This document is the second entry in the pressure
part list, just below the material list entry. To open the nozzle list double click on the document.
1.5.2 How to delete a part
To delete a part use the Part menu entry Delete. Use this menu entry to delete the selected part from
an item. The VES program will ask for conformation by opening a Yes/No dialog. Selecting No will
abort the deletion.
Figure 1-5-2
1.5.3 How to open a pressure part calculation document
Make sure you have opened a project and an item. Then select the required pressure code option:
RToD, ASME VIII, AD Merkblätter or EN 13445. Use the mouse or arrow keys to select the pressure
part for which you want to open a calculation document. Click on the plus sign at the left of the
selected part (or pressure the ENTER key). This will open the document list containing all applicable
documents for the pressure part category and type.
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Figure 1-5-3
To open a pressure code document select the document with the mouse or arrow keys. Double click
or press the ENTER key to activate the document.
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2 Introduction Heat Exchanger Design
This chapter will introduce you to the heat exchanger design module. First open a project and create a
new heat exchanger as described earlier.
The next paragraphs will tell you how to start entering the data for the heat exchanger design. It will
start by editing the Nozzle list document. Then open the document called Mechanical vessel design. In
this document you can enter the mechanical design data and the materials for the heat exchanger.
The mechanical design document contains a custom made material list especially designed for heat
exchangers.
2.1
Edit the nozzle list
Select and open the nozzle list. The default number of nozzles for a heat exchanger is 4. For each
nozzle you must enter the following data:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Nozzle mark
Service description
Flange rating
Flange type
Flange facing type
Nominal nozzle neck outside diameter
Nozzle neck wall thickness
Nozzle neck wall tolerance
Figure 2-1
Don't enter the reinforcement pad dimensions and the standout. The heat exchanger design module
will calculate these values for you. You can use the option menus to select pipe schedules, rating and
flange types.
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Figure 2-1-1
Figure 2-1-2
2.2
Edit the mechanical datasheet
Select and open the document called Mechanical vessel design. This will open the mechanical
datasheet. The MDS is divided into four section:
• Design data: pressures, temperatures, join efficiency, number of passes etc.
• Design data cylinders: diameters, optional thickness and optional reinforcement pad
dimensions.
• Design data girth flanges: type of flange and gasket properties.
• Design data tubesheet and bundle: tube properties, tube pitch layout, baffle cuts and
spacing, optional tubesheet thickness.
Fill in the mechanical datasheet completely and use the File menu entry Save to secure the data. It is
good practice to save the mechanical datasheet every time you made some important changes to the
data.
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Figure 2-2
2.2.1 Optional data entries
Some of the data entries are marked as optional. A value of zero indicates the design module must
calculate an optimised value for this entry. You can force the heat exchanger design to use a specific
user defined value by entering a none-zero value for the optional data entry.
Example: you want use a 13 mm thick plate for the channel. In the section called Design data
cylinders enter the value 13 in the entry called Wall thickness (this entry is marked as optional). The
design module will design the channels using a 13 mm wall thickness. If the 13 mm plate is not
enough for the design pressure you will get a warning indicating there is not enough wall thickness to
satisfy the pressure code regulations.
There are optional data entries for the cylinder wall thickness, reinforcement pads, tubesheet
thickness and flat cover thickness (if applicable).
2.2.2 Reinforcement pads
You can force the design module to design the heat exchanger with integral nozzle reinforcement. If
you fill the data entry called Allow reinforcement pads with No the design module will calculate the
cylinder wall thickness to be sufficient for internal pressure and nozzle reinforcement. There will be no
reinforcement pads required because of the oversized wall thickness of the cylinders.
In case of large reinforcement pads you could try this option to reduce the length of the channels.
2.2.3 Gasket parameters
Use the Edit menu entry called Gasket to select one of the standard ASME gaskets. VES has added
some new gaskets to the end of the list (Camprofiles). If you want to use none standard gaskets you
must enter the gasket parameters like the compression factor and the seating pressure yourself. You
can get these parameters from your gasket supplier.
2.3
Edit the material list
Use the Edit menu entry Material list to open the material list. This is a custom made material list
especially for the heat exchanger design module. In this list you can find the allowable stress values
and the specific gravity for each material.
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Figure 2-3
You can select materials from the material database supplied by VES. Or you can enter materials not
available in the material database.
To enter a material from the material database:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Move the cursor onto the cell of the material you want to edit.
Use the Materials button to open a selection window containing the database materials.
Select on of the materials and click the Ok button.
The material and allowable stress values will appear in selected cell of the material list.
To enter a custom material not available from the material database:
1. Move the cursor onto the cell of the material you want to edit.
2. Enter the custom material description.
3. Enter the allowable stress values and the specific gravity (Kg per cubic decimeter).
For each design cycle the design module will check if the design temperature has changed. For the
materials selected from the VES material database it will adjust the allowable stress values for the new
design temperature. If you have entered materials not available from the VES material database you
have to check the allowable stress values for these materials yourself.
If you are ready entering materials click the Close button and use the Save menu to secure the data
changes.
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2.4
Starting a heat exchanger design cycle
Design & View
If you have filled the nozzle list, mechanical data sheet and the material list you are ready to start a
design cycle. To start a design cycle use the View menu entry Design & View… from the mechanical
data sheet. To design the heat exchanger you have two options:
1. Design & View the heat exchanger dimensions. This option will design the heat exchanger
and show you a workbook filled with the mechanical datasheet, all pressure part
dimensions, nozzle list and the material list. You can use the Export to Excel button to
create a MS Excel work of this output. This is useful if you want to E-mail the heat
exchanger design over the Internet.
2. Design & View the ASME VIII calculations. This option will design the heat exchanger and
show you a workbook filled with all applicable ASME VIII calculations. This workbook can
also be exported to a MS Excel formatted file.
Each time you run a design cycle all dimensions will be recalculated. You have to run at least one
design cycle to get a complete heat exchanger design.
After running a design cycle you can use the View menu to get a weight table or to view the setting
plan drawings.
Check & View (customised heat exchangers)
After running at least one design cycle you can use the RToD, ASME VIII or AD Merblätter modules to
customise one of the pressure parts. Now you can only use one of the Check & View … menu entries.
Using one of these entries will not change the heat exchanger design and only report if there are
inconsistencies in the heat exchanger design.
If you want to discard the customised pressure parts you can rerun a Design & View … cycle. This will
restore the default pressure part dimensions. After a Design & View cycle all customised data will be
lost (you could use the Item menu entry Copy to secure your customised heat exchanger design).
2.5
Design options
The Edit menu entry Options will open the option window. This window is filled with design parameters
you can use the control the heat exchanger design. There are options for:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Flange design
Minimum bolt sizes
Tubesheet design
Nozzle position and orientations
Saddle positions
Dished covers design
Flat cover design.
Floating tubesheet design
You can get technical help for all options by clicking the Help button at the bottom of the options
window. In the help file you will find picture and text explaining the use of all options.
Some options will change the heat exchanger design details. Therefore it is useful to print the option
worksheet if you have finalised your heat exchanger design. Use the print button to get a printed
design parameter worksheet.
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