DesignCalcs 2020.0 Release Notes

Build 2020.0.0.3979

Release status was January 9th, 2020

If an issue occurs during the install, when trying to lay down the Sentinel Run-Time Environment Installer, please cancel the install and install Sentinel directly from the link below. Use the Sentinel HASP/LDK - Windows GUI Run-time Installer. Once this has completed, run the DesignCalcs install again:

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New Features

The 2019 code changes for ASME Section VIII, Division 1 - Appendix A are now covered in the software. This includes the ability to calculate interface pressures, Po and PT, the consideration of the weld efficiency fr(b), and the limit on Lmax to the strength to the tube itself. With these changes came a redesign of the Appendix A inputs on the fixed and floating tubesheet Tube/TS Joints tab. DC-4519
- “Use qualification test efficiency” has been replaced with “fr Basis”. The new options are “Test”, “No Test”, and “Custom”. If “Test” or “No Test” are selected, the design calculations will use the values provided in Table A-2 for fr. A value of zero will be used if the Type Joint is b-1 and the “fr Basis” is “No Test”. If the basis selection is “Custom”, the the value of fr used in the design calculations will be the user input value “fr Custom”. New designs will have this set to “No Test” by default. Designs created before 2020.0 and patched to the current release, will have this field set to “Custom”.
- "Joint Efficiency Factor (fr)" has replaced with "fr Custom". This value must be 0 or greater and anything over 1 will be reduced to 1 in the design calculations. The value of fr in the design calculations will be set to this value set to “fr Custom” if the “fr Basis” selection is “Custom”; otherwise this field is ignored in the calculations. New designs will have this set to 0 by default. Designs created before 2020.0 and patched to the current release, will have this field set to the “Joint Efficiency Factor (fr)” value from the older version.
- "fr(b)" is a new field. Patched and new designs will have this set to 0. This value must be 0 or greater and anything over 1 will be reduced to 1 in the design calculations. This value is only used in design calculations for joint types of f, g or h for Code Years 2019 and later; otherwise the value is ignored.
- "Use Calculated Po and PT Values" is a new checkbox. New designs will have this checked by default. Designs created before 2020.0 and patched to the current release, will have this unchecked. If this is checked, the software will use the equations for Po and PT introduced in the 2019 version of Appendix A, otherwise it will use the custom input values “Po Custom” and “PT Custom”. Po and PT are only used for joint types i, j, k for all code years and f, g and h for the 2019 and later code years.
- "Interface pressure after expanding (Po)" has been replaced with "Po Custom". Po is only used for joint types i, j, k for all code years and f, g and h for the 2019 and later code years. Po will only be set to this value in the design calculations in one of these cases when "Use Calculated Po and PT Values" is checked; otherwise this value is ignored. New designs will have this value set to 1. Designs created before 2020.0 and patched to the current release will have this value set to "Interface pressure after expanding (Po)" from the older version, unless both Po and PT are zero, then the patch will set it to 1.
- "Interface pressure due to thermal growth (Pt)" has been replaced with "PT Custom". PT is only used joint types i, j, k for all code years and f, g and h for the 2019 and later code years. PT will only be set to this value in the design calculations in one of these cases when "Use Calculated Po and PT Values" is checked; otherwise this value is ignored. New designs will have this value set to -1. Designs created before 2020.0 and patched to the current release will have this value set to "Interface pressure due to thermal growth (Pt)" from the older version, unless both Po and PT are zero, then the patch will set it to -1.

Issues Resolved

An issue was resolved with the selection of materials that had external pressure charts added in 2017. The reason the issue just came to light is that the external pressure charts in question did not have a material associated with them, that was accepted for S8D1 use, until the 2019 edition. Users may have seen the error with SA-240 S31266 that was recently added to DesignCalcs. DC-4977
An issue was resolved on the external pressure tab for conical reducers and toriconical heads where the “Nominal Factor A” field was always available for input even if the “Skip Factor A Input” check box was checked in Tools - Defaults - General. DC-2820

Misc

The default code year for new vessels is now 2019. DC-4781
The about screen was updated to say "through 2019 Edition". DC-5004
Selecting the 2019 code year no longer requires a confirm from the user or makes a statement about the year being in active development. DC-3199