Steel structure calculations for plants and packages
Pipe racks, skids, platforms, stair towers and equipment supports — designed with the piping loads they actually receive.
Steel structures in a plant are loaded by the piping they carry: friction, anchor forces, spring loads, slug and relief thrust. When the structure and the piping are calculated by different people with different assumptions, either the structure is oversized or the supports fail. Working on both sides of the interface is one of the strengths of the studio.
Calculations follow the limit-state method of the Eurocodes and national annexes (or AISC where required), including seismic design, lifting and transport conditions for skids and modules, and local checks of connections and base plates.
What the package covers
- Pipe racks and sleepers, with piping loads taken from the stress analysis.
- Skids and modules: in-place, lifting, transport and sea-fastening conditions.
- Platforms, stair towers, walkways, service structures for vessels, spheres and reactors.
- Tank roofs and reinforcement of existing structures.
- Connections, base plates and anchor bolts (EN 1993-1-8).
- Seismic analysis to EN 1998 and local structural-integrity checks offshore.
Typical deliverables
- Structural model and calculation report.
- Member and connection checks.
- Foundation and anchor-bolt loads.
- Lifting plan calculations where required.
Steel-structure references
12 documented assignments in this field. All references →
| Project | Contract chain | Country | Calculation scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panigaglia tanks S1/S2 Steel structures | Paresa / GNL Italia | Italy | Global calculation of external tank-roof reinforcement (carbon fibre). |
| BAPCO tank roof Steel structures | Paresa / BAPCO | Bahrain | API 620 tank-roof structural calculations. |
| Sphere service structure Steel structures | Paresa / CB&I / NIS | International | Steel service-structure calculations for spheres. |
| Boosting Phase III Steel structures | UNIDRO / JGC / Sonatrach | Algeria | Skid calculations and lifting-trunnion FEA. |
| ALBA Power Station 5 structures Steel structures | GEA / GE-GAMA | Bahrain | Skid and pipe-rack structural calculations. |
| Vessel service structures Steel structures | Walter Tosto / INA | Europe | Access and service-structure calculations for process vessels. |
| OHCl reactors Steel structures | Walter Tosto / Shin-Etsu | USA | Service-structure calculations for process reactors. |
| Industrial platforms Steel structures | Paresa / various operators | International | Platforms, stair towers, walkways and construction structures. |
Frequently asked questions
Do you design to Italian NTC as well as Eurocodes?
Yes. For Italian sites the NTC 2018 is applied; elsewhere the Eurocodes with the relevant national annex, or AISC when the project specification requires it.
Can you design the structure together with the piping?
Yes, and it avoids the classic interface errors: support loads from the stress analysis go straight into the structural model.
Do you produce fabrication drawings?
Calculation is the core service; general arrangement sketches are included, detailed fabrication drawings only when agreed.
Need a stress analysis, a calculation package or a second opinion?
Send the line list, isometrics or model and the applicable code: you receive a defined scope and a fixed-price proposal.