Piping Order Validation in Plant Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current design assist systems for piping in plant design do not effectively verify the restriction of piping order, leading to difficulties in ensuring that main and branched pipes are arranged correctly, especially in complex setups like steam turbine plants, where manual checks are cumbersome and not well-established.
Innovation Solution
A design assist device with a storage unit, arrangement possible/impossible determination part, and display creation part that verifies the piping order by using a main-branched pipe relationship database to determine if the arrangement of each pipe is possible based on its position relative to main and branched pipes, and displays this information for user feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual checking of piping order is performed, then verification of piping arrangement can be conducted, but the process becomes too difficult and time-consuming as the number of pipes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical checking with an automated computer-based verification system. The verification unit automatically checks piping order restrictions by comparing the arranged pipe list against predefined main-branched pipe relationships, eliminating the need for manual verification and handling complexity regardless of the number of pipes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service verification where the computer automatically performs the checking function without requiring manual intervention. The verification unit independently validates piping arrangements against stored relationship data, allowing the system to self-verify compliance with piping order restrictions.
2Productivity
If automated verification of piping order is implemented, then checking efficiency is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The verification system is segmented into distinct functional units: a verification unit that performs the actual checking, a storage unit that holds main-branched pipe relationship data, and an arrangement management unit. This modular segmentation improves verification efficiency while managing system complexity through clear functional separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary verification unit that mediates between the pipe arrangement process and the piping order restrictions. This verification unit acts as a buffer, automatically comparing arrangements against stored relationships and providing feedback, thereby improving efficiency without directly complicating the core arrangement process.
3Productivity
If piping arrangement is performed without verifying piping order, then arrangement speed is improved, but the correctness of main-branched pipe relationships cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-storing main-branched pipe relationship data in the storage unit before the actual arrangement process. This predefined relationship data enables rapid verification during arrangement without compromising speed, as the verification unit can quickly check against pre-established criteria.
Solution Approach 2:
The verification unit provides immediate feedback on piping order compliance during the arrangement process. By continuously checking arrangements against stored relationships and reporting violations, the system maintains arrangement speed while ensuring correctness through real-time feedback mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
An arrangement possible/impossible determination part of a piping order edit device: refers a pipe constituting a pipe list as a pipe subjected to determination; searches a main-branched pipe relationship database for a given pipe using identification information on the pipe subjected to determination as a search key; acquires a main pipe and a branched pipe corresponding to the searched given pipe; and, if there is a branched pipe positioned before the pipe subjected to determination in the pipe list or if there is a main pipe positioned after the pipe subjected to determination in the pipe list, the “arrangement possible/impossible” of the pipe subjected to determination is set at “impossible”.