3D Pipe Routing Across Rack Tiers in Virtual Plant Layouts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pipe routing systems for large-scale facilities like chemical plants do not effectively support the examination of pipe operations for each tier of a rack, leading to inefficiencies in designing and maintaining complex piping systems.
Innovation Solution
A pipe routing system that includes a terminal device and a server, utilizing a 3D-CAD system to design and route pipes by receiving user inputs for equipment positions and pipe specifications, determining passable layers, and performing pipe routing based on the piping path and positions of equipment, allowing for detailed examination and optimization of pipe arrangements across multiple tiers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If pipe routing is performed in a stage of designing a plant using conventional techniques, then various types of design operations can be assisted, but the system does not support examination of space for each tier of the rack
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the rack space into multiple tiers and allows separate examination of each tier's pipe arrangement space. The routing examination is segmented by tier level, enabling independent analysis of pipe routing feasibility for each rack tier without analyzing the entire rack as a single unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds a vertical dimension (tier level) to the pipe routing examination process. By incorporating tier information into the routing analysis, the system can examine pipe arrangements in three-dimensional space across multiple rack levels, transforming the conventional two-dimensional routing view into a multi-level three-dimensional analysis.
2Productivity
If automatic pipe routing determination is performed using alignment guides, then efficiency of the process is improved, but detailed examination for each rack tier is not possible
Solution Approach 1:
The automatic routing determination process is segmented by rack tier, allowing the system to perform efficient automatic routing calculations for each tier independently while maintaining overall process automation. This enables both high productivity through automation and precise tier-level examination.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enhances the automatic routing process by incorporating tier-level dimensional information, allowing precise measurement and examination of pipe routes at each vertical level while maintaining the efficiency of automated determination algorithms.
3Area of stationary object
If pipe routing examines overall space arrangement, then general layout can be determined, but specific tier space examination is not supported
Solution Approach 1:
The space examination is segmented into tier-specific analyses, where the system calculates and examines the available pipe arrangement space for each individual rack tier. This allows precise measurement of usable space at each level while maintaining awareness of overall rack space utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates vertical tier positioning into the space examination, transforming overall area analysis into multi-level three-dimensional space analysis. This enables precise measurement of pipe arrangement space at each tier level while maintaining comprehensive understanding of total rack space usage.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for designing a plant. The apparatus includes processing circuitry configured to: receive a specification of a position of a rack in a virtual space; receiving a setting of a pipe to be arranged in a layer indicating one of tiers into which the rack is partitioned in a height direction; receive, from a user, an operation of arranging a first object and a second object in the virtual space, the first object being a piece of equipment having a start point, the second object being a piece of equipment having an end point; determine a passable layer based on a type of the pipe and set a piping path through which the pipe is to pass; and perform pipe routing to connect a plurality of the pieces of equipment with the pipe based on the piping path and positions of the start point and the end point.