Bolt information

In the Project Environment dialog, in [library] > Configuration > Common, the Bolt information configuration object allows the project administrator to define which bolt set to use in flanges, based on face type and pressure rating.

Mapping flange types to bolt sets

Project administrator must map flange types to bolt sets.

Prerequisites

  • You have defined the required bolt set, as described in Bolt Sets.

Do the following:

  1. In the Project Environment dialog, browse to [library] > Configuration > Common, and double-click the Bolt information configuration object. The Bolt information editor dialog opens, displaying the existing mappings.

  2. To add a new mapping, do the following:

    1. Define the following settings in the Active entry pane:

      • Select rating – Opens a menu for selecting the pressure rating (Metric or ANSI).

      • Select face – Opens a menu for selecting the type and subtype of the flange face.

      • Select bolt set – Opens an object browser dialog for selecting a bolt set.

    2. Click Add. The new mapping is added to the list pane.

  3. To edit a mapping, do the following:

    1. Select the mapping from the list pane.

    2. Edit the settings in the Active entry pane.

    3. Click Modify.

  4. To view or edit the bolt set of a mapping, do the following:

    1. Select the mapping from the list pane.

    2. Click Browse bolt set.

  5. To delete a mapping, do the following:

    1. Select the mapping from the list pane.

    2. Click Remove.

  6. Click OK.

About flange rotation

When a flange is welded to the pipe at the pipe shop, it is necessary to know how the flange is to be rotated so that the bolt holes will match with the bolt holes of the companion flange at the erection site. The rotation angles are computed by the Piping Isometrics & Spools program when it generates manufacturing instructions for the pipe. Piping Isometrics & Spools in turn gets the necessary information from Plant Modeller. Plant Modeller generates an extra tag (FBO) into the isometric transfer file for flanges at pipe ends in the following cases:

  • The pipe end is connected to something.

  • The tag "Ifr" is not defined for the flange or it is set to value 1. This tag is intended to exclude stub end/loose flanges from flange rotation computations. Notice that this tag must be set to the stub end part as this part is present in the model; a loose flange is a slave part of the stub end.

The "FBO" tag contains the following information: the number of holes in the flange, the number of holes in the connected face, a flag that is set if there is a bolt hole on the bolt hole symmetry axis, and the direction of the symmetry axis in plant coordinates.

The number of decimals used in the flange rotation value can be controlled in the options, as described in M-File Output.

Number of bolt holes in a flanged face

To find out the number of bolt holes in a given flanged face (NS, rating, subtype), Plant Modeller first determines which bolt set Dimension Table maps to this rating/subtype pair, and then it extracts the number of bolt holes from that Dimension Table, from the line with the corresponding NS.

Direction of bolt hole symmetry axis

Connection nodes in component models have a secondary direction. For flanged faces this gives the direction of the bolt hole symmetry axis. If this direction is not specified then a default direction is set as follows: if the face direction is up or down then use the local y-axis, otherwise it points up and is perpendicular to the face direction.

Bolt holes can be located in two different ways with respect to the symmetry axis as shown in the figure below. If the last digit in the field 'inset_depth' associated with the node is 0 then the orientation is as seen in "case A"; otherwise orientation is as seen in "case B".

Flange connected to equipment

Information (NS, rating, and face subtype) in the equipment node determines the number of bolt holes. The direction of the bolt hole symmetry axis and orientation of bolt holes with respect to the symmetry axis is determined as described above.

Flange connected to a standard component

As with equipment nodes but if the rating is 0 then the rating from the corporate catalog is used.

Flange connected to a flange

The direction of the bolt hole symmetry axis is set as follows: if the pipe direction is up or down, then use the y-axis, otherwise it points up and is perpendicular to the pipe direction. Bolt holes are oriented as in "case A".

Examples: PN 10;0;NF_D2576M;