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Building Models — the Route Tab

The Route tab is where geometry is created. It has two modes, switched by the buttons at the top:

  • Sequential Route — the fastest way to draw a line: pick the node to continue from, enter an offset, choose what the new segment is (pipe, valve, flange…), and click + Route Component. The new node automatically becomes the next start point, so you "walk" the pipeline along.
  • Manual Node — place or edit a node at absolute coordinates. Use this to edit existing nodes (click ✎ in the node list, or click the node in the 3D view) and to build geometry non-sequentially.

Sequential routing​

  1. Continue Route From — the node the next segment starts at. It defaults to the most recently created node.
  2. Offsets (dX, dY, dZ) — the vector to the new node, in metres (or feet). A live preview of the segment is drawn in the viewer as you type.
  3. Component Type — what the segment (or the node at its end) is. See the component reference below.
  4. Optionally set a Boundary Restraint and Point Load for the new node in the panels underneath.
  5. Click + Route Component.

Node IDs are auto-numbered 10, 20, 30… Elements are numbered with a type prefix: P- pipe, V- valve, F- flange, R- rigid.

Direction vs. length

For plain pipe the offset is the segment itself. For a Flanged Valve the offset only sets the direction — the assembly's real length comes from the component lengths. For a Blind Flange the offset is ignored entirely (it caps the current node).

Component reference​

Straight Pipe Element​

A plain pipe segment between two nodes. Its section/material come from the component panel's Reference Section (or the first section in your library) — reassign per element later in Assign, the Inspector, or the Grid Editor.

Elbow / Bend​

Placed at a node — the node is the tangent intersection point (TIP) where the two straight legs would meet. At solve time the engine replaces it with a curved arc: tangent points are pulled back along each leg by T=Rtan⁡(θ/2)T = R\tan(\theta/2) and the arc is discretised with B31.3 flexibility factors.

  • Reference Section auto-fills the radius at 1.5 × OD; overwrite the Bend Radius for the true value (long-radius elbow = 1.5 × nominal, e.g. DN80 → 0.114 m; field bends are often 5D–10D).
  • Auto-calculate SIF (default on) derives the B31.3 Appendix D stress-intensification and flexibility factors from the geometry. Untick to enter k and i factors manually.
  • Both adjacent legs must be longer than the tangent length and must be plain pipe — the Check Model tool flags violations with the exact spool length needed.

Tee / Intersection​

Placed at the branch intersection node. The node needs exactly three connected elements (two run legs + one branch) or it is skipped with a warning.

  • Tee Type: Welding tee (ASME B16.9), Unreinforced fabricated (stub-in) or Reinforced fabricated (with Pad Thickness). Drives the automatic B31.3 SIFs, applied only at the intersection — run and branch weld points revert to plain pipe.
  • Run Length — the full end-to-end run dimension of the fitting (B16.9 DN100 tee: 0.21 m). The engine places the run weld points at half this each side of the centre.
  • Fitting Height — how far the branch weld point stands off beyond the run pipe's outer wall (mm). 0 for stub-ins; for a B16.9 tee it is the centre-to-branch-end dimension minus OD/2 (≈ 41 mm for DN100×80).
  • Manual SIF mode exposes separate run and branch in-plane/out-plane/torsion factors.

Reducer​

A transition segment. Set the second OD/wall on the pipe section (fields OD₂ / WT₂ in the Library) and the viewer renders the taper; Reducer Length controls the transition length.

Rigid Valve Element​

An element with 1000× stiffness carrying Body Mass + Actuator Mass (with vertical/transverse centre-of-gravity offsets used by seismic). The offset you route is its face-to-face length. Tick Flanged Valve — Leakage Assessment to attach gasket diameter / rating data for the flange leakage check.

Flanged Valve (Flange–Valve–Flange)​

One click builds the full assembly as three rigid segments in series — the standard commercial-package modelling approach. Enter the Valve Length (B16.10 face-to-face), Flange Length and Flange Mass per flange, plus valve masses; the offset sets only the direction. Generates F- / V- / F- elements and the intermediate nodes automatically.

Rigid Element (generic)​

A rigid segment (1000× stiffness) whose Total Weight replaces its steel self-weight — for equipment stubs, trunnions, in-line instruments, or anything modelled by weight alone. You can also convert existing pipe to rigid in the Assign tab or Grid Editor.

Flange Element​

  • Flange Pair — routes an in-series rigid flange element; the offset is the face-to-face length. Total Mass is applied at the flange node. Tick Perform Leakage Assessment for the Kellogg equivalent-pressure or ASME VIII UG-44(b) check (needs gasket diameter G and flange rating P_R).
  • Blind Flange — caps the current route node. No new node or element is created; the node must be a line end (exactly one connected element). The solver models it as a rigid stub with the flange mass; the viewer draws the blind plate.
Flanges and valves against fittings

A rigid component cannot sit inside a bend's tangent length or a tee's run/branch dimension — Check Model reports the minimum pipe spool needed. (PCF imports handle this automatically with exact leg stubs.)

Manual Node mode​

Enter an ID (blank = auto) and absolute X/Y/Z coordinates, choose a component/restraint/point load, and + Save Node. Editing an existing node (✎ in the list below, or click it in 3D) pre-fills everything; Update saves, ✕ deletes the node and all elements connected to it.

To connect two existing nodes with an element without routing, use the Elements tab: pick Start and End nodes and save.

Node click-to-edit​

Clicking a node in the 3D viewer opens the Inspector with a node editor: coordinates (moving a node drags its connected piping), the full restraint editor, point loads, and quick fields for the node's component (bend radius, flange type/mass, tee run/height). Clicking a pipe opens the element inspector (section, material, spec, soil, end-node restraints).

Point loads​

Every node can carry a static force (Fx, Fy, Fz in N or lbf) — applied in all weight-bearing load cases. Set it while routing, in the node inspector, or in Manual Node mode.