So, we are in the early stage of the EPC Gas Plant for a client. The piping designer has completed the piping layout of one piping from exit nozzle of heat exchanger connecting to the pressure vessel located at the other side of the Plant. The preliminary pipe support has been identified, sitting on the pipe rack, while remaining overhung until reaching the nozzle. It is now the job of piping stress engineer to make sure that the piping system has adequate and sufficient flexibility while the forces imposed to the nozzle will be kept minimal to meet the Allowable Load from the manufacturer.

It is also to check whether the piping materials commensurate with the intended service, temperatures, pressures, and anticipated loadings and most importantly that the loads imposed will not cause harm and nor causing damage to the nozzle equipment. The relationship between piping stress analysis with piping design group and the pipe support are highly interrelated and therefore very close. The piping layout can be iterated until a satisfactory balance between stresses and layout efficiency is achieved, the pipe support location has been properly identified and analyzed to satisfy all of stress requirement and the piping allowable loads at nozzle equipment are met. Once it’s done, then proper pipe supports for identified location are then designed based on the selection locations, types, and the applied loads.

This Course discusses the basic theory of piping stress analysis for piping system in Oil and Gas facilities such as Refinery Plant, Gas Plant, Petrochemical Plant, Geothermal Plant. Although we all aware that most of the stress analysis for critical lines will be done using computer program, but it is crucial to have a better understanding about the basic theory of piping stress analysis which will make the job much easier and proper knowledge when evaluating the output of the calculation as well as providing the solution to the problems we light have such as overstress or overload at the nozzle of equipment.

Pipe support is one of the important and an integral part in the piping system which have the main job to control the weight effect of the piping system and make sure that the piping system will be properly supported for the entire its operation at any condition in order to avoid a mechanical failure of the metal due to excessive stress in pipe supporting elements. Pipe support must be placed in a location that allows it to be properly installed, such as not too close to the valves, avoid near the weld joint, and as much as possible near the structure to provide logical and convenient point of support, anchorage, guidance, limit stop, restraint, with adequate space available at such point for the use of a proper pipe support component.

It is also important to note here that the involvement of piping stress engineer at the early stage of the project, such as during FEED and early detail design is crucial by working works together with piping designer to locate and identify pipe support type and location for lines connected to compressors, gas turbine, and other critical lines and critical equipment.

Pipe Support can be categorized into two main groups, namely:

1. Standard Pipe Support,
2. Special Pipe Support.

Standard Pipe Support is basically the type of pipe support which has been standardized/grouped for specific used based on the pipe sizes, vertical and horizontal load, and been given the specific naming/identification which therefore can be used at several pipe support locations, without having to perform the stress and strength calculation. On the other hand, Special Pipe Support is the type of pipe support which need to be designed for specific loads and for specific pipe support location, which normally having the loads beyond the standard loads and also the location of pipe to be supported away from the existing structure/concrete.

In general, there are three types of loads normally occur at the point of support:

1. Vertical Loads due to Pipe Weight and Insulation
2. Forces acting from the lateral direction of the pipe.
3. The force acting in the direction of the pipe or axial axis or also called the longitudinal direction.

In this course we will be learning about the type of standard pipe support normally used for Oil and Gas Application and will also be showing some of example for specific project. Before that, we will discuss about the codes and standards available for the pipe support, the terminology, the functions and the allowable span calculation.

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Piping has played a major role in our life since ages ago. History showed us that the people from Indus Valley had been used piping system to deliver water into their houses. In Oil and Gas, piping is widely used to distribute oil from the wells into the manifold and further to the processing facilities before sending to customer for their daily use. Crucially and importantly, piping plays major role in protecting life and property as fire protection piping networks in residential, commercial, industrial, and other buildings. If to the bodies they carry blood, then to modern civilization, the piping system carry life blood.

In this course, we will be learning about the piping material which normally used at Oil and Gas facilities. The piping material can be categorized into two big group:

1. Metallic Pipe,
2. Non-Metallic Pipe.

Each of them can be further grouped as follows:

A Piping system consists of a combination of pipes, pipe components, flanges, gasket, bolts, valves, which they are interconnecting to form a piping system, while pipe support will make the piping system a complete system which can deliver the fluid from point A to point B. In this course, we will be learning about pipe and its component starting with the lesson about pipe, followed by pipe components, pipe flanges and then closing with the bolts and gaskets.

By definition, Pipe is a tube with round cross section with having Outside Diameter, pipe wall thickness, and subsequently Inside Diameter, as we can see from the picture below using pipe size of 6 inches as an example.

The pipe size, wall thickness, pipe weight/masses, will be conforming to the dimensional requirements of:

1. ASME B36.10 – 2022: Welded and Seamless Wrought Steel Pipe
2. ASME B36.19 – 2022: Welded and Seamless Wrought Stainless Steel Pipe

The course we will be delivered into 5 lessons: