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Introduction
Pipe-Rack Considered as Main Artery of a process plant. Basically Overhead piping supported on steel or concrete bents. Located in the central part with branches to the sides. To be Designed, Layed out & Erected first alongwith electrical cable trays, drainage trenches, sewers, & roads. After which the equipments are to be placed. Pipe racks carry process & utility pipings and may include instruments & cable trays also. Piperack structure is a major item and is often fire proofed. It is also an important cost factor. Lot of care, planning & coordination with other groups needed as mistakes can be very costly.
Intro
Pipe racks are tailor-made to a particular plant. Process lines are usually on a lower level, while utility lines are on the top level. Instrument & electrical trays are either with utility level or on a separate topmost level. Many times made of concrete or steel. Pipe ways are classified by their relative elevation to grade.
Types
Pipetracks are Above ground piping supported on concrete sleepers at grade level. (Off site areas where equipment is well spaced out) Trenched Piping are Below ground piping laid in connection trenches. Costly and usually undesirable; unless trenches are wide, shallow and well vented, heavy gases may settle and create a fire hazard through the length of the trench. For these reasons, only pump out lines, chemical sewers or chemical drain collection systems are sometimes placed in trenches and routed to a pit or underground collection tank. Underground Piping : Piping direct buried below ground level. Due to costly maintenance and the usually corrosive nature of soil, this method of routing is generally reserved for sewer and drain lines. In some plants, especially in cold climates, cooling water lines are buried below the frostline. This should be determined at the beginning of a job, is generally a Client request.
Pipe Rack : Concrete Fireproofed steel structure with piping attached for oilfield project.
Inputs :
Plot / Site plan Process Flow, Utility Flow, Engineering flow diagrams and P & I Diagrams Plant layout Specifications Client specs Construction materials Fireproofing requirements Battery limit, valving requirements. Catwalk, platform and ladder access to valves and relief valves in piperack. Minimum headroom and clearances under overhead piping or supporting steel within areas and for equipment positioned under piperacks . Operating and safety requirements affecting piperack and structure design.
Outputs :
Pipe rack width No. of levels & elevations Bent spacing Pipe flexibility, access & maintrnance considerations
Special Considerations
Certain types of piping require special consideration: 4.1 Process Lines Lines interconnecting nozzles on process equipment more than 6M apart Products lines which run from vessels, exchangers or pump to battery / unit limits Crude or other charge lines entering the unit which run along piperack before connecting to process equipment, furnaces, exchangers, holding drums or booster pumps. 4.2 Relief Headers Individual relief lines, blowdown lines and flare lines should be self draining from all relief valve outlets to knock-out drum, flare stack or to a point at the plant limit. To achieve this, lines will connect into the top of the header and at 45 degrees in direction of flow. To eliminate pockets, and obtain required slope to knock-out drum relief headers must be placed above the main piperack. 4.3 Instrument and Electrical Cable Trays Often instrument and electrical cable trays are supported on the piperack track. Space must be allocated to accommodate them from the outset. Due to the possibility of induced current interference instrument and communication cable trays must be located away from electrical and power cable trays. Consult with Instrument /Electrical Department for separation requirements.
figure shows typical piperack bents with tabulated dimensions. Total available piperack width of each type of support is included. This table can be used for selection. The most commonly used piperack supports are types 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Piperack Elevation
Piperack elevation is determined by the highest requirement of the following : Headroom over main road Headroom for access to equipment under the piperack Headroom under lines interconnecting the piperack and equipment located outside. The size of steel or concrete beam supporting overhead piping must be taken into consideration. Elevation at Piperack Intersection Where two two-tier piperacks meet, it is essential that elevations of lateral piperacks slot between elevations of main piperack. Generally, lines running at right angles to main piperack are assigned elevations 500 mm to 1 meter higher or lower (depending on headroom requirements) than lines running in main piperack. 500 mm differential between pipe runs is the absolute minimum.
a piperack intersection where the respective main and lateral piperack elevations do not slot between each other is to be avoided at all costs.
Where a single tier piperack turns through 90, and all lines can be kept in the same sequence in both directions, no elevation difference is necessary. When lines sequence changes, introduce an elevation change at the turn.
Piperack Layout
Piping economy depends primarily on the length of lines routed in the piperack. Fig. shows critical dimensions which influence overall cost. Dimension A, is the total length of piperack and is governed by the number and size of equipment, structures and buildings arranged along both sides of the piperack. On average, 3 meters of piperack length are required per item of process equipment, good layout can reduce piperack length. (Thereby costs).
Equipment in pairs, stacked exchangers supported from towers, two vessels combined into one, closely located towers with common platforms, process equipment located - under piperack - are examples which help shorten piperack length. In a well arranged plant, average length of piperack per item of process equipment can be reduced to 2.1 meters to 2.4 meters. Careful selection of dimensions B and C, below figure will minimize interconnection equipment on opposite sides of piperack. C is normally no more than 1.8 meters to 3 meters. Dimensions D and E, (see below figure), minimize. Overgenerous dimensioning here will increase vertical pipe lengths. Maximize use of available platforms for access to valves.
Plant layout determines the main piperack piping runs. The shape of piperack is the result of plant arrangements, site conditions, Clients requirements and overall plant economy. (Fig.)
Plant layout determines the main piperack piping runs. The shape of piperack is the result of plant arrangement, site conditions, Clients requirements and overall plant economy. (Fig.)
General Points
Initial locations of lines are kept temporary till the layouts are optimized. Dead spaces be avoided on racks as space is limited. If equipments are located below the racks, space needed to maintain or handle them must be provided. Low point / High point pockets to be avoided in certain lines. On hot lines, check shoe requirements and clearances at changes of direction (pipe expansion). Provide vents at high points. Provide drains at low points. Supports : avoid long unsupported overhangs.
Structural Considerations
Supports are needed when line is entering or leaving rack. Spandrels (cross beams) are used for this. Inside face of pipe rack column should line up with that of equipment support column. Fireproofing is needed in most racks. Either upto the lower rack or if equipments are located, upto its support beams. Upto 4in. Thickness.
Other Considerations
Expansion of the pipe rack can be done by adding a cantilever beam on the outside of the column.
Pipetracks (Laid on Grade level) Generally associated with offsite areas where equipment is well spaced out, and land space is not a premium. Generally single tier Pipetrack Width, Spacing of Pipetrack Sleepers, Pipetrack Elevation, Line Location (Line routing is all important. ), Line Spacing , Road Crossings (The standard method is to provide culverts under access roads.), Access Ways , Valves, Expansion Loops all similar to Piperacks, but simpler & less expensive.
Trenched Piping
Trenches are avoided due to problems associated with this type of pipeway: High initial cost Fire hazard Where trenchers are used to route lines such as: Pump out lines Chemical sewers Chemical drains Trenchers must be enough to allow sufficient clearance between trench wall and piping. 150 mm between outside of pipe and inside of wall is the minimum acceptable clearance. This will allow for installation of piping, painting and future maintenance. Most trenches have either a cover of concrete slabs or a grating. Where flammable liquids are carried in trenched lines, a fire break is provided at suitable intervals along a trench and at each intersection. This generally consists of two concrete walls 1 M - 1.25 M apart, with the space in between filled with sand. Where highly flammable gasses are carried, the whole trench, after installation of piping, is back filled with sand.
Keep buried piping to a minimum. Generally only sewer drain lines and fire mains are located below ground. In some cases due to Client or climate requirements, cooling water lines are also buried below the frost line. With future maintenance in mind, buried lines should be located well clear of foundations, and if running side by side, well spaced out. A minimum of 300 mm clearance is necessary between foundations and lines and between the lines themselves. All buried steel pipes should have applied a corrosion resistant coating and wrapping. Deep valve boxes for buried lines should be designed with ample room inside the box for a maintenance man to bend over and use wrenches for tightening flanges of re-packing valves. Consideration should be given to the use of concrete pipe in lieu of square boxes. The criteria for a good underground piping design should be ease of maintenance. Piping should be so spaced as to allow easy digging out and replacement of faulty sections;So, never
Underground Piping