Valve Flange Database - CAESAR II - Help

CAESAR II Users Guide

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CAESAR II
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CAESAR II Version
12

Piping Input menu: Model > Valve

Input Tools toolbar: Valve Flange Database

Shortcut key: CTRL+V

Provides access to the CADWorx valve and flange databases. This command displays the Valve and Flange Database: <database name> dialog box.

Valve and Flange Database Dialog Box

Add an Element from the Valve Flange Database

  1. Type the node numbers for the rigid element in the From and To boxes on the Classic Piping Input dialog box.

  2. Click Valve/Flange on the toolbar, or click Model > Valve from the menu.

  3. Highlight blocks to select the fitting.

  4. Select where to insert the new element.

    Clicking the Flange Valve Flange check box enables CAESAR II to generate three RIGID elements whose length and weight are automatically populated with data from the Valve/Flange database.

  5. Click OK to accept the selection.

    If the selection is valid for the current line size, CAESAR II displays the length of the element in the DX, DY, and DZ boxes, designates the element as RIGID, and inserts the weight in the appropriate slot in the Auxiliary box.

The assumed orientation of the rigid is taken from the preceding element. CAESAR II is doing a table lookup based on line-size and is inserting the selected table values into the dialog box. If the line size later changes, you must come back and ask CAESAR II to perform another table look-up for the new size.

Use of the CADWorx Plant database offers several benefits over the use of other databases:

  • The CADWorx Plant database provides more accurate component lengths and weights than those typically available in the GENERIC database.

  • Using the same component data for CAESAR II and CADWorx Plant modeling promotes the efficiency of the bi-directional interface between them. Total sharing of data files and specifications between CAESAR II and CADWorx Plant occurs when the CADWorx installation option is saved in the registry. In that case, you should edit the third line of the CADWORX.VHD file to name the actual CADWorx specifications. These specifications are in the CADWORX\SPEC subfolder. For more information on editing this file, see below.

  • You can more easily modify the CADWorx Plant Valve and Flange database, because the specification files and component data files are ASCII text files. This process, which involves possibly editing the CADWORX.VHD, specification, and data files, is described below.

The CADWORX.VHD ASCII text file is structured as follows:

  • The first line must read CADWORX.DAT. It must not be changed.

  • The second line is editable. It must begin with a zero. The second number on the line designates the number of specifications to make available. It can be a maximum of 7.

  • The third line is editable. It lists the available specifications. Each specification name must consist of 8 characters, padded by blanks on the right. The specification names designate files with extension .SPC, located in the SPEC subfolder of the CAESAR II or the CADWorx Plant specification folder (if the CADWORX option is set in the registry).

  • The fourth line is editable. It designates whether each specification uses English or Metric nominal pipe sizes. Seven blanks followed by a 1 indicate an English nominal, while seven blanks followed by a 2 indicate a metric nominal.

  • The last five lines are not editable.

The specification files are in the SPEC subfolder of the CAESAR installation folder. They are designated by the extension .SPC. The specification files correlate pipe size and component with the appropriate data file. Individual lines in the file list the library subfolder to the LIB_I or LIB_M folder, depending on whether English or Metric units are in effect), file name (with an extension equal to the library name), range of nominal pipe sizes for which the specified data file applies. You can edit any of these items. The last item on the line is the component type number and should not be changed. Other items in the file pertain to CADWorx Plant and are not significant to CAESAR II.

The data files hold the dimensional and weight values. Data files for different types of components hold different types of data. The data columns are labeled. The only data with significance to CAESAR II involves the weight and lengths. You can change these values. The following is a typical component data file for weld neck flanges:

You can find more extensive information on editing these files in the CADWorx Plant User Manual. For information on editing ASCII text, see ASCII Text File Rules.