Hi there and Happy May Day,

Just have a question with regards to above.

I have a buried pipeline that terminates to a riser. Where the elbow transitions from the horizontal to the vertical riser I place an anchor to then form the basis for the design of the concrete thrust block.

When running the analysis I get a failure at the node just before and after where I placed the anchor. The thrust block itself is 1 cubic metre so in reality it restraints the entire elbow and pipe in the vicinity.

My question is: Is this the correct way of modelling a thrust block? How can I 'encapsulate' the entire elbow so as to simulate that it is indeed within a concrete block?

I had a look at the manuals and the discussion forum and can't seem to find any information regarding this.

Any response is much appreciated.

Hi Dave, Richard,

Any response to this? Any guidance is appreciated. Just as an update. I have placed additional anchor next to the elbow and that fixed the problem. Still would like to know if this is the correct way though.

Regards.

Caesar doen't know about the position of the pipe wall. The elements are stick type 'round beams' with defined displacement properties at each end.

What you have described is a full anchor. Don't model the elbow, just locate a full anchor at the position of the concrete limit.

Thanks MoverZ... The elbow is encased in a 1 cubic metre concrete block as a standard so there are two concrete limit.... does this mean I place two anchors at the entry (horizontal) and exit (vertical) points?

Thanks again for replying :-)

If you want to model through your thrust block you would probably be near enough if you just model a rigid element to and from the elbow tangent point and apply a full anchor at that point. Don't try to define an elbow.

Oh thanks Moverz. That is an excellent idea to convert the element to a rigid.