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Pipestress 1: Expansion, flexibility and support design

Pipe stress is a specialised discipline, but a sound basic understanding already makes a real difference in practice. With Pipe Stress 1: Thermal Expansion, Flexibility and Supports, you build a solid foundation for understanding the behaviour of piping systems. This training course covers the basic principles of pipe stress and helps you account for stresses, displacements and supports at an early design stage. This helps prevent issues later in the project and enables you to work more effectively with specialists.

Course type

Technical Modules

Teaching location

Rotterdam

Course days

4 avonden

Start date

22-09-2026

Related module Pipestress 2: Calculation of Piping Systems According to Various Standards
Related module Pipestress 3: Calculations of Pressure Retaining Components

Course programme

The training Pipe Stress 1: Expansion, Flexibility & Piping Supports covers the fundamentals of pipe stress in industrial piping systems. Across four sessions, participants learn how stresses, forces, moments and deformations occur as a result of temperature changes, internal pressure, dead weight, pipe supports and displacements of connected equipment.

The training starts with the principles of flexibility analysis: which data is required, how to assess the configuration of a piping system and which loads need to be considered. The programme then covers thermal expansion, anchor forces, DLT formulas, the L-bend nomogram, the Kellogg formula, pipe supports, spring hangers, expansion joints and wall thickness calculations.

The focus is on technical understanding and practical assessment. Participants do not only learn how to perform calculations, but also why pipe stress occurs and which design choices affect the reliability of a piping system. With this knowledge, they are better able to assess piping routes, support concepts and design assumptions, and to work more effectively with piping engineers, stress engineers, mechanical engineers and project teams.

Evening 1: Introduction to Pipe Stress & Flexibility Analysis
  • Introduction to pipe stress, expansion and flexibility analysis
  • Purpose of flexibility analysis: assessing forces, moments, stresses and deformations
  • Preventing excessive material stresses, leakage, deformation and overloading of equipment
  • Configuration of piping systems: two-dimensional and three-dimensional systems
  • Loads on piping systems, such as pressure, dead weight, temperature, external forces and vibration
  • Required data for a stress check, such as P&IDs, line lists, routing layouts, piping specifications and equipment data
  • Symbols used for piping isometrics and stress isometrics
  • Basic principles of thermal expansion and calculation of pipe elongation
  • Introduction to anchor forces, modulus of elasticity and forces in a restrained pipe
Evening 2: Flexibility Checks & Expansion Calculations
  • Review of flexibility analysis, thermal expansion and anchor forces
  • Flexibility calculations using DLT formulas
  • Application of L-, Z- and U-shaped piping configurations
  • Assessment of expansion loops and compensating pipe lengths
  • Working with corrected lengths, pipe diameters and moments of inertia
  • Use of the L-bend nomogram according to EN 13480
  • Introduction to the Kellogg formula for flexibility checks
  • Assessment of whether a piping system has sufficient flexibility in relation to temperature, diameter, length and anchor points
  • Causes and consequences of pipe stress, such as poor design choices, incorrect installation, corrosion, maintenance issues and settlement
  • Introduction to pipe supports and their influence on forces, moments, displacements and sagging
Evening 3: Pipe Supports, Loads & Expansion Components
  • Further application of the Kellogg formula
  • Calculation of anchor forces caused by thermal expansion
  • Forces and moments caused by weight loads
  • Loads on sensitive equipment, such as pumps, compressors and turbines
  • Loads on other equipment, such as vessels, columns and reactors
  • Displacements caused by dead weight and thermal expansion
  • Sagging, spans and support distances
  • Influence of supports on deformations and stresses
  • Friction forces at supports
  • Different types of supports, such as resting supports, lateral restraints, axial restraints, anchors and three-way stops
  • Spring hangers and spring supports, including variable and constant load spring hangers
  • Application, points of attention, design types and service life of expansion joints
Evening 4: Wall Thickness Calculations & Design Verification
  • Wall thickness calculation for pipes under internal pressure
  • Stresses in the pipe wall: hoop, tangential, longitudinal, axial and radial stresses
  • Influence of ovality, bending stress, wind, snow and other external factors
  • Basis of wall thickness calculation using the closed-cylinder approach
  • Conditions for applying the calculation formulas
  • Determining the design stress based on yield strength or tensile strength
  • Weakening factors caused by welds, openings and structural influences
  • Influence of pressure, temperature, medium, corrosion and erosion on material selection and wall thickness
  • Calculations including corrosion allowance, tolerance allowance and manufacturing allowance
  • Practical calculation exercises for wall thickness and pipe size selection
The target audience

Who is this training course for?

Pipe Stress 1 is intended for piping designers and engineers who want to deepen their basic knowledge. The training is a logical next step for professionals with several years of experience and forms a strong follow up to the Piping Design & Engineering programme. Start with a short refresher course and build towards a higher level of insight and application.

De duration and fee of the programme

Practical information

The Pipe Stress 1 training course consists of 4 evening sessions from 17:30 to 22:00. A hot evening meal, study materials and a certificate of participation are included.
The fee is €1,207 per person, excluding VAT.

Current and former participants of our Piping Design & Engineering programme can take part at a reduced rate.

Fee: €1,207 excluding VAT
Duration: 4 evenings

Pipe Stress 1 as part of the pipe stress training track
Pipe Stress 1 forms the foundation of the full pipe stress training track. Pipe Stress 2 and Pipe Stress 3 build further on calculations according to standards and on pressure bearing components. By following multiple modules, you gradually expand your knowledge and understanding of pipe stress.
After successfully completing Pipe Stress 1, 2 and 3, you receive the Pipe Stress diploma. A combination rate applies when registering for all three modules.

Starting dates

Time - hrs
Location Rotterdam
Trainers
Language Dutch

The trainer

The location

  • Rotterdam

    The Mark Offices Fascinatio Boulevard 256 3036 WB Rotterdam Nederland
  • Incompany

    Training delivered at your location

  • On location

    Together, we determine the right location for the training.

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The benefits

Why choose Dosign Academy for Pipe Stress 1?

Pipe stress requires technical insight and a strong feel for practical application. At Dosign Academy, we combine theory with recognisable practical situations, so you understand how pipe stress issues occur in real projects. Pipe Stress 1 was developed to give engineers and designers a shared foundation and to improve collaboration within projects.

Personal advice and guidance
We help you determine whether Pipe Stress 1 fits your experience and role. This way, you follow a training course that matches your current knowledge level and develop insight that can be applied directly.

Experienced trainers from industry
Our trainers have extensive experience with piping engineering and piping systems. They share practical examples and key points of attention, so you learn how pipe stress can be taken into account from the design stage.

Practice based pipe stress training
The focus is on insight and applicability. You do not learn to calculate for the sake of calculation, but to understand why certain design and support choices matter.

Start with Pipe Stress 1 at Dosign Academy

The importance of thermal expansion, flexibility and pipe supports

Thermal expansion, flexibility and pipe supports largely determine how a piping system behaves. Insufficient attention to these aspects can lead to excessive stresses, unwanted forces and additional correction rounds during later project phases. With Pipe Stress 1, you develop the insight to recognise these effects early and include them in the design of piping systems.

Do you want to build a solid foundation in pipe stress and account for stresses and supports during design? Choose Pipe Stress 1: Thermal Expansion, Flexibility and Supports at Dosign Academy and develop insight that directly contributes to more efficient and better substantiated designs.