Plugin Documentation
Plugin Title: Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure
(MAOP) Calculation
Plugin Type: User profile calculation
Plugin DLL file name: [Link]
Video demo: Not yet
Language/environment: Intel Fortran XE 2013 SP1 update2; Visual Studio 2012
PIPESIM Compatibility: PIPESIM 2017.1
Revised Date: July 16, 2017
Version No.: 0.1
Schlumberger Proprietary: No
Author/contact: Mack Shippen (mshippen@[Link])
Summary: Reports Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure and Risk factor
Disclaimer: The user defined plugin described in this documentation was developed independently
based on the published PIPESIM plugin architecture (see “plugins” topic in PIPESIM User Guide). Plugins
may be used to add functionality to PIPESIM not presently available in the commercial release and/or to
prototype functionality that may eventually be added natively to PIPESIM. As such, the plugin described
here has not undergone the level of rigorous testing performed on the commercial PIPESIM software and
should therefore be considered Beta quality (i.e. not officially supported). Feedback to the author is
encouraged.
Contents:
How to Register
How to Use
Technical Description
References
Known Issues
Troubleshooting
PIPESIM User Defined Plugin Documentation: MAOP
How to Register
To register this plugin:
1. Save the .dll file to a local directory.
2. From within PIPESIM, select Workspace > Options > Plugins.
3. Select “Register” and then browse to the dll location.
Once registered successfully, you should see the plugin listed:
Note: when sharing models with other users, they must first register the same plugin.
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PIPESIM User Defined Plugin Documentation: MAOP
How to Use
Once registered, you may activate the terrain slug advisor through the Simulation Settings > User
extensions menu:
MAOP Parameter Description
Minimum Yield Stress for Minimum yield stress which depends on the grade of pipe
Pipe
Construction type design = 0.72 for Type A areas (cross country locations and road
factor crossings in casings) (default)
= 0.60 for Type B areas (fringe areas around cities and towns,
including road crossings with casings, or road crossings
without casings in Type A areas)
= 0.50 for Type C areas (commercial and residential
locations)
= 0.40 for Type D areas (areas with multi-story buildings)
longitudinal joint factor = 1.0 for seamless and electric welded pipe (default)
= 0.80 for fusion or spiral welded pipe
= 0.60 for furnace butt welded pipe
Upper Limits for MAOP Upper limit thresholds for the reported risk factors. Values
ratios above the “high” ratio will be reported as “Severe”
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PIPESIM User Defined Plugin Documentation: MAOP
Running Simulations:
If selected, the MAOP calculations will be used in all PIPESIM simulation tasks aside from Design tasks.
Results:
A number of calculated variables are provided as output. These include:
MAOP Profile Result Description
MAOP Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure
MAOP ratio Ratio of actual pressure to MAOP. The MAOP is exceeded if this
value is greater than 1.0.
MAOP risk factor Level of risk for MAOP based on the user defined thresholds
(Severe, High, Moderate, Low, Negligible, Not applicable)
MAOP System Result Description
MAOP for branch Minimum MAOP value for pipe sector
MAOP ratio maximum Maximum MAOP ratio for pipe sector
MAOP risk maximum Maximum MAOP risk for pipe sector
Results may be viewed along the profile in plots or GIS result gradients. These variables are pre-pended
with [MAOP_]).
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PIPESIM User Defined Plugin Documentation: MAOP
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PIPESIM User Defined Plugin Documentation: MAOP
Technical Description
For gas and liquid transmission and distribution piping, the MAOP can be determined from the following
relation (ref: GPSA Engineering Data Book):
2 𝑆 𝑡𝑚 𝐹 𝐸 𝑇 (1)
𝑀𝐴𝑂𝑃 =
𝐷
Where:
MAOP = maximum allowable operating pressure (psia)
S = specified minimum yield strength for the pipe (psi)
tm = minimum pipe wall thickness (inches)
D = pipe outside diameter (inches)
F = construction type design factor
= 0.72 for Type A areas (cross country locations and road crossings in casings)
= 0.60 for Type B areas (fringe areas around cities and towns, including road crossings with
casings, or road crossings without casings in Type A areas)
= 0.50 for Type C areas (commercial and residential locations)
= 0.40 for Type D areas (areas with multi-story buildings)
E = longitudinal joint factor
= 1.0 for seamless and electric welded pipe
= 0.80 for fusion or spiral welded pipe
= 0.60 for furnace butt welded pipe
T = temperature derating factor
= 1.0 up to 250 °F
= 0.967 up to 300 °F
= 0.933 up to 350 °F
= 0.900 up to 400 °F
= 0.867 up to 450 °F
(for intermediate temperatures, T is determined by interpolation)
The above values for F, E, and T are consistent with ANSI B31.8 - 1982, "Code of Pressure Piping, Gas
Transmission and Distribution Piping."
In Canada, the comparable values are defined according to the CSA document CAN/CSA - Z184-M92,
"Gas Pipeline Systems". The term "Location Factor" is used rather than "Construction Type Design
Factor", but both are interchangeable in Equation 1. The "Location Factors" are designated as Class 1,
Class 2, Class 3, and Class 4, which roughly correspond to the ANSI Type A, Type B, Type C, and Type D
construction design factor descriptions respectively. However, the CSA document should be consulted
for the specific requirements.
Under the CSA standard, the value of the location factor is also a function of whether or not the pipeline
carries sour gas, as follows:
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PIPESIM User Defined Plugin Documentation: MAOP
Location Factor Location
(i.e. Construction Design Factor) Sweet Gas Sour Gas
1 1.000 0.900
2 0.900 0.750
3 0.700 0.625
4 0.550 0.500
Sweet/sour gas factors are not presently considered in the calculations made by this plug-in.
There are also a number of specific restrictions that can affect the value of the location factor. For
example, in a Class 1 location, the maximum value of the Location Factor for uncased steel pipe that is
located under or within 7.0 m of a public road is 0.75. Other restrictions are imposed based on proximity
to railway lines, metering or pumping or regulator stations, public bridges, etc. Again, the CSA document
should be consulted for details in a given case.
The longitudinal joint factors and temperature derating factors are comparable under both standards.
Minimum yield strengths (S) are tabulated in the GPSA Engineering Data Book for a number of selected
grades of steel. Values typically vary from about 30,000 to 60,000 psi (0.21 MPa to 0.41 MPa).
Equation 1 can easily be rearranged to compute the minimum wall thickness required for a specified
MAOP, i.e.
𝑀𝐴𝑂𝑃 𝐷 (2)
𝑡𝑚 =
2𝑆𝐹𝐸𝑇
Note also that any wall thickness allowance for either corrosion or erosion losses is in addition to the
minimum wall thickness computed using Equation 2.
Example:
What is the minimum allowable wall thickness for a 16 inch seamless gas transmission line, operating at
950 psia (6550 kPa) in a Type B area? Assume the pipe is fabricated from Grade B carbon steel, for which
the minimum yield strength is 35,000 psi, and the maximum operating temperature will be about 150 °F.
Using Equation (2), with MAOP = 950 psia, D = 16.000 inches, S = 35,000, F = 0.60, E = 1.0, and T = 1.0,
(950)(16.000)
𝑡𝑚 = = 0.362 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠
2 (35000)(0.6)(1.0)(1.0)
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PIPESIM User Defined Plugin Documentation: MAOP
References
Gas Processors Suppliers Association, "Engineering Data Book", 10th Edition, Section 17, GPSA, Tulsa, OK
(1987)
Troubleshooting
Issue: Registration fails due to lack of access to plugins configuration file:
Solution:
To get around this, do the following:
1. Right-click on the PIPESIM Desktop icon or through the Start Menu and select “Properties”.
2. From the “Compatibility” tab, select the check box “Run this program as administrator”.
3. Select “Apply”
From within Windows Explorer, for each of these directories:
C:\ProgramData\Schlumberger\Production
C:\Program Files\Schlumberger
1. Right-click on these directories and select “Properties”
2. Uncheck the “read only” square and select Apply.