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Things You Must Know When you do Piping Design

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Tubular products are termed tube or pipe. Tube is customarily specif ied by its outside diameter and wall
thickness, expressed either BWG (Birmingham wire guage) or in inches or in thousands. Pipe is customarily
identif ied by nominal pipe size with wall thickness def ined by schedule number.

Piping mat erials

Carbon steel pipe is strong ,ductile, weldable, machineable, reasonably durable and is nearly always
cheaper than pipe made f rom other materials. If carbon steel pipe can meet the requirements of pressure,
temperature, corrosion resistance and hygiene, it is the natural choice.
Other metals & alloys :- pipe or tube made f rom copper, lead, nickel, brass, aluminium and various stainless
steels can be readily obtained. T hese materials are relatively expensive and are selected usually either
because of their particular corrosion resistance to the process chemicals, their good heat transf er or f or
their tensile strength at high temperatures. Copper and copper alloys are traditional f or instrument lines,
f ood processing and heat transf er equipment, but stainless steels are increasingly being used f or these
purposes.

Met hods f or joining pipe

Butt welded
Socket welded
Screwed
Bolted f lange
Bolted quick coupling

Piping component s
Elbows, Tees, Flanges, Gaskets, Nipples, Unions, Valves, Reducers, Steam traps, Bellows

Elbows or ells :Types of elbows

Long radius elbows:- normally used elbows are long radius with centerline radius of curvature equal to
1 times the nominal pipe size f or inch and large sizes.
Short radius elbows:- SR elbows with centerline radius of curvature equal to the nominal pipe size
Reducing
Elbows :- this elbows have centerline radius of curvature 1 times the nominal size of the pipe to be
attached to the larger end.
Bends :- Are made f rom straight pipe. Common bending radii are 3 and 5 times the pipe size. 3R bends are

available f rom stock. Larger radius can be custom made.

Returns :- It changes direction of f low through 180 degrees, and is used to construct heating coils, vents
and tanks etc.

Piping Design
Piping arrangements:Use standard available items wherever possible.
Do not use miters unless directed to do so.
Do not run piping under f oundation.
Do not run steam lines under oil lines, f ire hazards may occur.
Piping may have to go through concrete f loors or walls. Establish these points of penetration as
early as possible and inf orm the group connected (civil) to avoid cutting existing reinf orcing bars.
Include removable f langed spools to aid maintenance, especially at pumps, turbines, and other
equipment that will have to be removed f or overhaul.
Steam lines, which are below grade in trenches provided with covers or (f or short runs) sleeves.
Take gas and vapor branch lines f rom tops of headers when it is necessary to reduce the chance of
drawing of f condensate or sediment, which may damage rotating equipment.
Maintain vent lines at higher and drain lines at lower elevations.

Clearing and Access:Route piping to obtain adequate clearness f or maintaining and removing equipment.
Locate within reach or make accessible, all equipment subjected to periodic operation or inspection, with
special ref erence to check valves, pressure relief valves, traps, strainers and instruments.
Take care to not obstruct access ways i.e. doorways, truck-ways, walkways, lif ting wells etc.
Elevations of lines are usually changed when changing horizontal directions where lines are grouped
together or are in a congested area, so as not block spaces where f uture lines may have to be routed.
Keep f ield welds and other joints at least 3 inches f rom supporting steel, building siding or other
obstruction. Allow room f or the joint to be made
Allow room f or loops and other pipe arrangements to cope with expansion by early consultation with staf f
concerned with pipe stressing. Notif y the structural group of any additional steel required to support such
loops.

St resses On Piping

T hermal Stresses:- change in temperature of piping due either to changes in temperature of the
environment or of the conveyed f luid, cause changes in temperature in length of the piping. T his expansion
or contraction in turn causes strain in piping, supports and attached equipment.
Settlement Strains:- f oundation of large tanks and heavy equipment may settle or tilt slightly in the
course of time. Connected piping and equipment not on a common f oundation will be stressed by the
displacement.

Flexibilit y in piping
To reduce strains in piping caused by substantial thermal movement, f lexible and expansion joints may be
used. However, the use of these joints may be minimised by arranging piping in a f lexible manner. Pipe can
f lex in a direction perpendicular to its length: thus, the longer an of f set, or the deeper a loop, the more
f lexibility is gained.

Pipe Racks
A pipeway is the space allocated f or routing several parallel adjacent lines. A piperack is a structure in the
pipeway f or carrying pipes and is usually f abricated f rom steel, or concrete and steel. Piperacks f or only
two or three pipes are made f rom T-shaped member, termed Tee-head supports.
Piperacks are expensive, but are necessary f or arranging the main process and service lines around the
plant site. T hey are made use of in secondary ways, principally to provide location f or ancillary equipment.
Pumps, utility stations, manif olds, f ire-f ighting and f irst-aid stations can be located under the piperack.
Lighting and other f ixtures can be f itted to stanchions. Air-cooled heat exchanger can be supported above
the piperack.
T he smallest size of pipe run on a piperack without additional support is usually 2inch. It may be more
economic to change proposed small lines to 2inch pipe, or to suspend them f rom 4inch or larger lines,
instead of providing additional support.

Valves in piping design

Valves are used f or these purposes:1. Process control during operation.
2. Controlling services and utilities steam, water, air, gas and oil.
3. Isolating equipment or instruments, f or maintenance.
4. Discharging gas, vapor or liquid.
5. Draining piping and equipment on shutdown.
6. Emergency shutdown in the event of plant mishap or f ire.

Which size valve t o use:Nearly all valves will be line size- one exception is control valves, which are usually one or two sizes smaller
than line size, never larger.
At control stations and pumps it has been almost traditional to use line-size isolating valves. However,
some companies are now using isolating valves at control stations the same size as the control valve, and
at pumps are using pump size isolating valves at suction and discharge. T he choice is usually an economic

one made by a project engineer.

Where t o place valves

1. Pref erably, place valves in lines f rom headers (on piperacks) in horizontal rather than vertical runs,
so that lines can drain when the valves are closed.(in cold climates, water held in lines f reeze and
rupture the piping such lines should be traced.
2. To avoid spooling unnecessary lengths of pipe, mount valves directly onto f langed equipment, if the
f lange is correctly pressured.
3. A relief valve that discharges into a header should be placed higher than the header in order to drain
into it.
4. Locate heavy valves near suitable support points. Flanges should be not closer than 12 inches to the
nearest support, so that installation is not hampered.
5. For appearance, if practicable, keep centerlines of valves at the same height above f loor, and in-line
on plan view.

Operat ing access t o valves

1. Consider f requency of operation when locating manually-operated valves.
2. Locate f requency-operated valves so they are accessible to an operator f rom grade or platf orm.
Above this height and up to 20f eet, use chain operation or extension stem. Over 20f eet, consider a
platf orm or remote operation.

Valves Operat ing Height s

1. Inf requently used valves can be reached by a ladder but consider alternatives.
2. Do not locate valves on piperacks, unless unavoidable.
3. Group valves which would be out of reach so that all can be operated by providing a plotf orm, if
automatic operators are used.
4. If a chain is used on a horizontally mounted valve, take the bottom of the loop to within 3f eet of
f loor level f or saf ety, and provide a hook near by to hold the chain out of the way.
5. Do not use chain operators on screwed valves, or on any valve 1 inches and smaller
6. With lines handling dangerous materials it is better to place valves at a suitably low level above
grade, f loor, platf orm, etc., so that the operator does not have to reach above head height.

Access t o valve in hazardous valves

1. Locate main isolating valves where they can be reached in an emergency such as an an outbreak of
f ire or a plant mishap. Make sure that personnel will be able to reach valves easily by walkway or
automobile.
2. Locate manually-operated valves at the plant perimeter, or outside hazardous area.
3. Ensure that automatic operators and their control lines will be protected f rom the ef f ect of f ire.
4. Make use of brick or concrete walls as possible f ire shields f or valve stations.
5. Inside a plant, place isolating valves in accessible positions to shut f eed lines f or equipment and
processes having a f ire risk.

6. Consider the use of automatic valves in f ire systems to release water, f oam and other f ire-f ighting
agents, responding to heat-f usible links, smoke detectors, etc., triggered by f ire or undue rise in
temperature advice may be obtained f rom the insurer and the local f ire department.

If t here is no P&ID
1. Provide valves at headers, pumps, equipment, etc., to ensure that the system will be pressure-tight
f or hydrostatic testing, and to allow equipment to be removed f or maintenance without shutting
down the system.
2. Provide isolating valves at all small lines branching f rom header.
3. Provide isolating valves at all instrument pressure points f or removal of instruments under operating
conditions.
4. Provide valved drains on all tanks, vessels, etc., and other equipment which may contain or collect
liquids.
5. Protect sensitive equipment by using a f ast-closing check valve to stop back f low bef ore it can
gather momentum.
6. Consider butt-welding or ring-joint f langed valves f or lines containing hazardous or searching f luids.
Hydrogen is especially liable to leak.
7. Provide suf f icient valves to control f lows.
8. Consider providing a concrete pit (usually about 4f t x 4f t) f or a valve which is to be located below
grade.
9. Consider use of temporary closures f or positive shut-of f .
10. Provide a bypass if necessary f or equipment which may be taken out of service.
11. Provide a bypass around control stations if continuous f low is require. T he bypass should be at
least as large as the control valve, and is usually globe type, unless 6-inch or larger, when a gate
valve is normally used.
12. Provide an upstream isolating valve with a small-valved bypass to equipment, which may be subject
to f racture if heat is too rapidly applied on opening the isolating valve. Typical use is in steam system
to lessen the risk of f racture of such things as castings, vitreous vessels, etc.
13. Consider providing large gate valves with a valved bypass to equalize pressure on either side of the
disc to reduce ef f ort needed to open the valve.
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