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:
- Standard Pipe Support,
- 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:
- Vertical Loads due to Pipe Weight and Insulation
- Forces acting from the lateral direction of the pipe.
- 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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