Hello,

We are doing a stress analysis of heater inlet piping, which is having 10” dia main line and 4 Nos. of 6” dia branch connections. The support system for the main line and branch lines are simple resting type with guide (Restraint : +Y and Guide). During operation (Operating case) there is a vertical movement in the support nodes. Ultimately this shows the pipes are not resting on the supports during operating condition. Then what is the use of this support? And also tell me about the basis of stress calculation in these kind supports during operating conditions. We didn't give any Stiffness value on the restraints.