A-1. CAEPIPE is the pioneering, premier software for performing linear and non-linear static and dynamic piping stress analyses. A piping engineer can check the piping system for compliance with a host of piping codes (ANSI, ASME, B31, International) and guidelines (NEMA, API). It contains its own geometric modeler with an analyzer. Results can be viewed and printed right within the software with interactive graphics (that includes the industry standard OpenGL (R)). Clear, formatted reports are the hallmark of CAEPIPE. For more details, please go to the software description page).

A-2. The Evaluation version of CAEPIPE pipe stress analysis software lets you work with any pipe size and allows you to model up to 20 rows for a limited time period. If your piping systems are small, the Evaluation version is all you need; Use it FREE with our compliments. If your piping systems exceed 20 rows, use the complimentary 20 rows Evaluation version to learn the software, and then use a licensed CAEPIPE's fully-scaled version to rapidly design and analyze piping systems of practically any size or complexity with the least effort.

A-3. Sometimes the printing problem could be in data transmission from your computer to the printer. Please check to see 1. if your cables are ok, or 2. if there are printer settings that are incorrect, or 3. Check under Printer properties for incorrect settings, 4. Or some other setting in your system that may require a change (such as converting to a parallel transmission if you are using serial), etc.

A-4. Caution: This operation, if done incorrectly, can disable your computer. Please exercise utmost care. Preferably, have your System Administrator do it. Note: When you do this, you will lose Caepipe settings (printer, options, preferences, window positions etc.). No model data will be lost or affected. Open the registry editor (Start menu, Run, regedit.exe). Search for the key "SST Systems". It should be expandable (that is, have a plus sign). When you expand it, you should see Caepipe. When you expand Caepipe, you shoud see Graphics Printer, Options, etc. Delete the key (SST Systems) on the left. Close editor and reboot system. Now, in CAEPIPE, attempt to change printer setting.

A-5. The issue might be related to a graphics driver. To troubleshoot, please follow these steps:

1. Disable Graphics Driver: Disable the Inbuilt Graphics Card, if you have additional GPU and check. Please see the attached video for details.

2. Rollback Graphics Driver: If the issue persists after disabling the Inbuilt Graphics card, try rolling back the graphics driver (both on board and dedicated GPU) to a previous version.

3. Adjust PhySx Settings: Change the "PhySx" setting in the Graphics Control Panel to use the dedicated graphics card instead of "Auto-select." If you are using an NVIDIA card, you can adjust this setting through the NVIDIA Control Panel.

A-6. The moment you save a new revision to the model in input, the old results file immediately becomes invalid! Hence, the old results file is deleted to avoid confusion. Every model input file can be associated with one output file. The moment the input is changed and SAVED, the old results file is deleted. If you have to hold on to the old one, you will need to save the model to another name using "Save As" command under the File menu.

A-7. When a model contains no non-linearities (such as rod hangers, friction, support gaps, or similar effects), the analysis results are linear, and the forces, moments and displacements are additive. In this case, the operating condition can be obtained by adding the sustained and thermal load cases (i.e., Operating = Sustained + Thermal).

However, when the model includes any non-linearity, the results are no longer additive. Instead, the thermal load case is applied sequentially to the sustained condition. For example, the operating condition (W + P + T1) is obtained by applying the thermal load (T1) to the sustained state (W + P) rather than by simply adding the separate sustained and thermal results.

A-8. CAEPIPE can read older version model files only. It is assumed that the model will be reanalyzed once it is converted to the new version (necessitated by inclusion of new features and/or bugfixes). Just as the existing results file is deleted once you save the model, same way, CAEPIPE deletes any existing older results file after conversion since it is the same as saving a model.

Starting CAEPIPE v6.10, two or more models can be merged. Please see the section titled “Merge” in CAEPIPE User’s Manual for further details.

A-10. Closely examine your model. This message is generated when you have designated node(s) as a (Welding) Tee, whereas, physically, they are NOT tees (meaning less than three pipes meet at that node number). For example, in B31.3 piping code, CAEPIPE needs three (3) nodes to find the in-plane and out-of-plane for further use. But less than three nodes are found. You need to replace these (Welding) tees with an equivalent User-SIF (this can be calculated from the guidelines given in Appendix D of the code book or or ASME B31J) and model should be reanalyzed. Or, add another pipe to make a complete tee.