Case Study: RISE Structural Design achieves 10× faster coupling analysis and reduced design costs with Bentley AutoPIPE & STAAD

RISE Structural Design Uses Innovative Technology for Methanol Plant’s Pipe Stress and Structural Analysis

RISE Structural Design, Inc., a Tokyo-based firm specializing in structural and piping analysis, was contracted to perform pipe stress analysis for a methanol plant’s furnace-area piping that operates at 300–900°C. The main challenge was ensuring safe, flexible piping (including spring supports) and synchronizing multi-discipline structural and piping models to avoid delays—traditional, disconnected workflows made 3D coupling analysis impractical. To meet these needs RISE employed Bentley solutions, using AutoPIPE Advanced and STAAD with pipelink integration.

Using Bentley’s AutoPIPE and STAAD (and Bentley’s ISM integration), RISE created conjoined piping–framework models that handled thousands of nodes and automatically joined beams at supports, enabling faster, more accurate coupling analyses and seamless transfer of piping loads to structural models. Bentley’s tools cut coupling-analysis effort by roughly 10× versus other software, reduced inefficient processes and design costs, enabled analysis of more complex models in less time, and helped RISE keep the project on schedule while improving overall design safety and economy.

RISE Structural Design

Nobuaki Koremoto

Technical Consultant