J101013 Consideration on Seismic Design Margin of Elbow in Piping

Abstract

Elbow is an essential element for three dimensionally arranged piping and it is actually used in most kinds of plants. Many great researches on the flexibility and stress intensity regarding elbow elements have been performed. Moreover, we can greatly benefit from the design code where elbow elements are specified. Our research group also started a research on ultimate strength of piping systems containing elbows in 1997 and we have performed several kinds of elbow element tests and shaking table tests. All experimental results have shown that the failure loads are far higher than those described by the design criteria. The authors have confirmed that the seismic design margin is extremely conservative. In this paper, the results of shaking table tests of piping, elbow element experiments and the stress calculation for those experiments based on design code are described, their results are compared with the seismic design criteria, and the margin is discussed. The authors point out the necessity of a new design code on the basis of the detail analysis and strain criteria in order to describe more appropriate and reasonable seismic design margin of the piping.