Flanged connections

A flange can be connected to another flange or wafer-style body if the connecting faces have been defined to be compatible with each other in the Compatibilities between connection faces configuration.

A flanged connection might also need bolts and gaskets, and to get all the needed parts for the connection, the required Bolt Sets and Gaskets must be assigned to the given connection type in the piping specification.

Adding bolt sets and gaskets to piping specifications

In Piping specifications, you can specify which bolt set and gasket to use for a flange joint that has a specific nominal size and specific connecting faces. Add the required nominal sizes to the specification, using the Component Classes "Bolt Sets for Flange Joints" and "Gaskets for Flange Joints". Note that you do not have to use the same bolt set type or the same gasket type for all the nominal sizes of a given flange joint type. If you select some of the nominal sizes from a different bolt set or gasket type, the program indicates this by adding an empty row between them, as shown in the image below.

If the connected objects are using different specifications and those specifications define different materials for the given connection type, either Plant Modeller or the user selects which materials to use, as described below.

Assigning bolt sets and gaskets to flange joints

The piping specification defines which bolt sets and gaskets a given flange joint is to use. If the objects that the flange joint connects are using different specifications, Plant Modeller tries to decide which specification to use. In some cases, Plant Modeller must prompt the user to select the correct specification or instruct the user to set one of the connected objects as the "bolt owner", and then it is the specification of the bolt owner object that determines the joint materials.

How bolt sets are assigned to flange joints | How gaskets are assigned to flange joints | Setting bolt owner by selecting a specification | Setting bolt owner manually

How bolt sets are assigned to flange joints

When the connected objects are not using the same specification, Plant Modeller uses the following logic to decide which bolt set to use.

If one of the objects is a bolt owner:
1. Check the specification of the bolt owner object. If bolt set is found, then use that bolt set.
2. Check the specifications of the pipeline of the bolt owner object, in the order the specifications are defined for the pipeline. If bolt set is found, then use that bolt set.
If there is no bolt owner:
1. Check the specifications of the connected objects. If bolt set is found in either specification, then use that bolt set. For example, if object #1 has no bolt set in its specification but object #2 does have a bolt set in its specification, then use the bolt set of object #2.
2. Check the specifications of the pipelines of the connected objects, in the order the specifications are defined for the pipelines, and select the first bolt set that is found. For example, if bolt set is found in the second specification of object #1 and in the third specification of object #2, then use the bolt set of object #1.

How gaskets are assigned to flange joints

When the connected objects are not using the same specification, Plant Modeller uses the following logic to decide which gasket to use.

If the connection already has a bolt set, take the gasket from the same specification as the bolt set.
If the connection does not have a bolt set but one of the connected objects is a bolt owner:
1. Check the specification of the bolt owner object. If gasket is found, then use that gasket.
2. Check the specifications of the pipeline of the bolt owner object, in the order the specifications are defined for the pipeline. If gasket is found, then use that gasket.
If there is neither bolt set nor bolt owner:
1. Check the specifications of the connected objects. If gasket is found in either specification, then use that gasket. For example, if object #1 has no gasket in its specification but object #2 does have gasket in its specification, then use the gasket of object #2.
2. Check the specifications of the pipelines of the connected objects, in the order the specifications are defined for the pipelines, and select the first gasket that is found. For example, if gasket is found in the second specification of object #1 and in the third specification of object #2, then use the gasket of object #1.

Setting bolt owner by selecting a specification

Routing a pipe or inserting or deleting a Standard Component in a location where one specification changes to another might ask the user to select which specification to use for connecting the objects.

The Different Joint Material dialog opens when the operation that is being performed is connecting objects and these conditions are met:

The connected objects use different joint materials.
One of the connected objects specifies both bolt set and gasket, but the other object only specifies either bolt set or gasket.
The connected objects are checked out to the user.

The object whose specification the user selects in the dialog is designated as the bolt owner and determines which joint materials are used.

If the bolt owner cannot be set this way (for example, object is not checked out or object is already connected to a bolt owner), the user is told to set it manually.

Setting bolt owner manually

In some cases of connecting objects that use different specifications, the user must be told to select the bolt owner object manually. This can happen, for example, if a connected object is not checked out or if the user is sliding a Standard Component so that existing connections change. Setting the bolt owner can be done by selecting the required object with the Bolt owner: Set tool.

Checking object compatibility in flange joints

In the 3D model, you can use the Basic information tab of the Properties pane to check whether a given piping part is compatible with its current neighbors.

The "Compatibility with neighbors" (.Bd) attribute has the value "Ok" if the connection faces are compatible with each other and "Incompatible nearby" if they are not.

In the example below, the first pipe is properly connected to the flange at the weld point, but the second pipe has erroneously been routed directly to the gasket face of the flange, so the pipes are not connected to each other and Plant Modeller displays the second pipe as being incompatible with its neighbor.

Checking connections in flange joints

In the 3D model, you can use the Connections tab of the Properties pane tool to see information on the connection nodes and the joint materials.

If you are on the Connections tab and the Messages pane is open, you can see possible errors and warnings that the program might issue in regard to the flange joint. For example, if the connection requires a bolt owner and it has not been set yet, the message pane displays a message such as "Warning: Specification 'DIN_H2A' and 'Example_training' are using different bolt sets".