Comparison of finite element analysis of a piping tee using NASTRAN and CORTES/SA

A comparison of finite element analyses of a piping tee was made using NASTRAN and CORTES/SA, a modified version of SAP3 having a special purpose input processor for generating geometries for a wide variety of tee joints. Four finite element models were subjected in force, moment, and pressure loadings. Flexibility factors and principal stresses were computed for each model and compared with results obtained experimentally by Combustion Engineering, Inc. Results from the NASTRAN analyses were in good agreement with experimental results for all loadings except internal pressure. The CORTES/SA analyses gave good results for the internal pressure loading, but poorer results for out of plane bending moments or forces resulting in out of plane bending. Two of the basic load cases in CORTES/SA were found to contain errors that could not be easily corrected. COST COMPARison of NASTRAN and CORTES/SA showed NASTRAN to be less expensive to two than CORTES/SA for identical meshes.