Hello, may some one help me?

I need to model a pipe fixed to its support by U-bolts, and with HDPE plate betwen the support and the pipe.

The restraint type called "GUIDE" does not give the restriction I am looking for. Which should I use?? Any ideas??

Thanks for the help!!!

Regards
David Carrasco

In my view, it depends.If the u-bolt is NOT tightly bolted, I modeled the support as:

+Y, with friction coefficient 0.3.
-Y, with 3mm Gap,
Guide, with 3mm Gap.

Sometimes the u-bolt is "tightly" bolted. I just remove the gap from above model because it may become loose after some time.

A "U-Bolt" should be modeled with two restraints, perpendicular to the axis of the pipe. So if your pipe is running in the "X direction", you want a "Y" and a "Z" restraint at the location of your "U-bolt".

A guide gives you a double acting restraint perpendicular to the pipe, in the horizontal plane. The exception to this statement is if the pipe is running vertically. In this instance, a guide gives you two restraints in the horizontal plane, perpendicular to each other. So if "Y" is vertical, in this case, a guide gives you both an "X" and "Z" restraints.

In both cases, you are free to include a coefficient of friction if required.

Thanks for the tips. i will take them into account.

Regards,
David Carrasco