Zeynep,


Yes, model it as 3 individual rigid elements, which means you use 3 spreadsheets. The combined weight defined on these 3 spreadsheets must add up to the total weight of the 3-way valve.

Samabdul,


True. A valve is a rigid element (because it is much stiffer than the pipe). A rigid element (from a numerical point of view) is a "3D beam element" whose stiffness is much larger than the "3D beam elements" used to model the connected piping. So from a finite element analysis point of view, it makes no difference whether the rigid is a control valve, a gate valve, a ball valve, a PSV, or a flange pair. So it's not that CAESAR II doesn't understand a valve - it is simply not necessary that it does.