Optimal Design Of Wye Branches For Steel Pipe

For several decades, the construction of water power in our country has developed greatly. Pressure steel pipe is the important part in the structure of water conveying in water power engineering project. When a pipe need to serve several equipments, or need to be led part flux, it is necessary to use branch pipe. The branch pipe is the typical thin shell structure at the end of the pressure pipe. It is the throat of the hydroelectric station. The design of branch pipe is one of the important part in the steel design.The feature of internal force of branch pipe is associate with the types and the parameters of itself, and also associate with the geological environment. So it is very necessary to carry out optimum design for branch pipe. Optimization design may speed and upgrade the design. Compared with traditional design method, optimization design can save project investment on economy and bring great benefit.Computer Aided Engineering(CAE) has become indispensable analysis and optimization technology. Relative to traditional design analysis means, CAE technology has many advantages. It offers a very good platform of analysis and calculation for engineer to finish the work of design and simulation. American ANSYS company is one of the greatest business which have the greatest reputation for offering CAE in the world. It offers CAE design analysis program and series of ANSYS products which has perfect function and gets extensive application in the world. APDL(Parameter Design Language) is one of high-grade analysis technologies of ANSYS, can be used to realize the finite element analysis with parameter, analysis batch processing, secondary development on special analysis system and optimization design. It is the indispensable technology in ANSYS.This paper adopt the method of structural mechanics and the finite element method to analysis the Wye branches for steel pipe. On this foundation, optimization programs using the method of structural mechanics are developed. Using software ANSYS based on APDL language, two sets of optimization design schemes with its body parameters are made. With actual project, initial design scheme with the method of structural mechanics is given. With programs compiled by myself, optimization design scheme have made; And with shell element, imitated and established finite element model. Proceeded optimization analysis using ANSYS optimization modular, and carried out optimum design scheme. The method of structure mechanics is compared with the method of the Finite Element, And some valuable results are obtained.