Wall-Thickness Calculation Tool

Authors: Ahmed Hassanin, Engineering Specialist & James Wang, Vice President - Advanced Engineering Group

As part of The Jukes Group’s continuous pursuit of excellence, we strive to meet the market’s demand when it comes to advancing technology and streamlining the engineering design process. The Jukes Group is currently developing its first commercial software tool to assist design engineers in generating quick on-the-go results, as well as detailed results. The Jukes Group envisions a full suite of tools that will be progressively developed over the next few years based on the expertise and knowledge base of our mechanical, subsea and pipeline engineers. The suite of tools will assist experienced and non-experienced engineers, students and managers in generating data with the click of a few buttons. 

Our first tool that is set to be released soon is the Wall Thickness Calculation Tool. This tool is designed using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) based macros in Microsoft Excel. Unlike readily available tools in the market, the user interface of this tool is very simple and easy to master after a few trials. The incorporation of userforms in Excel makes it easier for the user to navigate, input data and generate results as opposed to working directly on the worksheet and typing values into cells.

The advantages of using this tool are:

-            Quick solution generation.

-            Friendly user interface compared to MathCAD sheets or typical Excel Worksheets.

-            Automatic report generation of the results.

-            Comprehensive tool. i.e. it can be used by engineers in the service industry, students in academic institutes or non-technical individuals.

-            Multiple operating and environmental conditions are considered.

-            Available in both SI and USCS unit systems.

-            Compares three (3) of the most used standards/recommended practices in the US.

The Wall Thickness Calculation Tool is based on calculations provided by three standards and recommended practices that are widely used in the United States (US). These include API RP 1111, ASME B31.4/B31.8 and 30 CFR 250. The Wall Thickness Calculation Tool incorporates two calculation options: Unit Test and Wall Thickness Calculation.

The Unit Test option is meant to be a quick check calculation that determines whether a pipe’s cross-section will fail or pass under certain operating conditions. The user has the freedom to choose any specific loading condition from any of the codes. This can be useful in the early stages of a project when all the input parameters are not clear, yet the engineer requires a quick solution. Recognizing the cases where the pipe fails, early adjustments to the design can be considered. The figure below shows a preview of the selected options for the Unit Test.

The Wall Thickness Calculation option provides the user with the minimum required wall thickness based on a comparison of all the codes. The user can still use the desired results from a specific code as they are all presented clearly. Multiple options are available for the user to test such as: corrosion allowance, reeling, restrained pipe, risers and DSAW/ERW pipes. The figure above shows a preview of the option for the Wall Thickness Calculation.

For both options, the user can work in either SI or USCS unit systems with a click of a button to do the conversions. The results can also be automatically generated into a Microsoft Word document for quick reporting or use in a separate file once they are viewed as shown in the figure below. 

Unlike other tools, The Jukes Group ensured that the tool provides a quick and easy method of generating unit checks and wall thicknesses based on several conditions. The input fields are automatically disabled for certain loading conditions as the parameters are not used in the calculation. By doing so, the user can understand which parameters are necessary for the calculations and which ones are not.

In addition to the tool, course material and a step-by-step manual for a base case are available. The tool has been calibrated against multiple cases for different conditions based on real-life projects and design examples.

Please stay tuned to The Jukes Group posts on our social media pages as we get closer to the release date of the tool. We are very excited to bring this easy-to-use and efficient tool to you because we know it will make your calculations more streamlined.

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