EQUIPMENT & PIPING LAYOUT

T.N. Gopinath

 It is very appropriate to say that the Equipment and

Piping layout design is an ART and not a
SCIENCE. There is not a single formula available
for the design of Equipment and Piping layout. The
equipment layout design can be as rational as the
mathematics of fluid flow but with the language of
projective geometry. Mathematics is abstract;
geometry is visual. All engineering courses have
mathematics; few have the subject of projective
geometry but none has layout design

However, systematic methods and procedures can be

developed

from

engineering

principles,

specifications, practical engineering know-how, and

just SIMPLE COMMON SENSE.
During the planning stages, the Piping
Engineer could meet with simple ideas that can effect
substantial cost savings. Let us take a practical
example to it.

Fig.1.1a

Fig. 1.1b

The design must take constructibility, economics,

safety, quality and operation into account. All these
should be achieved within the shortest schedule and
will demonstrate the technical capacity along with
creative talent and common sense approach to problem
solving.
Although the tools to achieve these goals have
changed from pencil and paper to computer
graphics, the responsibilities of the Piping Engineer
remains the same.

Design for Constructibility

Ten Commandments:

Keep It Straight and Simple

Keep Its Structures Simple
Keep Its Specification Simple
Keep It Shop Standard
Keep Its Standard Simple
Keep It Same Size
Keep It Square and Squatty
Keep Its Support Simple
Keep Its Schedule Sacred
Keep Its Site Suitable

The mechanical design and development of the plant

has three major steps viz.
2.1 Equipment layout design
2.2 Conceptual layout design
2.3 Piping layout design
The plant layout can be the biggest cost saver in
chemical plant design next to the Process and
Equipment design. Money wasted or saved can be
substantial between alternate layouts. In addition to
capital cost, the plant layout also influences the
operating and maintenance cost. These are long term
benefits that affect profitability.

Incorrectly established plant layouts can have serious

impact on safety and operability. If the layout do not
have enough room, the plant will be overcrowded, and
unsafe and difficult to operate and maintain. On the
other hand, an overly generous layout results in
unnecessary high capital investment.

UP
UP
UP

LIFT

ROOM
UP

ECP/15

TERRACE
C
T-4107

C-4203

UP
UP

T-4114

ECP/15

UP

DUCT

UP LIFT
3500
1

5000
2

5000
3

5000
4

5000
5

5000
6

5000
7

5000
8

5000
9

4500
10
N

4500 2200
11

12

13

Equipment layout is an extension of the conceptual

layout in more detailed manner. In the same way as
the P&I diagrams are the basic documents of
chemical engineering design, equipment layout is the
basic document of mechanical engineering design.
This is a composite mechanical engineering design,
coordinating the design information to produce
construction drawings.

The essential data required for the

preparation of an Equipment Layout is as
follows:
1.

PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAMS (PFD)/

PIPING AND INSTRUMENT DIAGRAMS
(P &ID)

2.

PROJECT DESIGN DATA

3.

EQUIPMENT SIZES AND BUILINGS

TYPES OF LAYOUTS :
Inline Layout
Similar equipment grouping
Functional equipment grouping

ARRGT-1 :: VERTICAL THERMOSYPHON REBOILER WITH FIXED TUBESHEETS

BOTTOM TRAY OF COLUMN

VAPOUR RETURN CONNECTION

TOP TUBESHEET
SUPPORT LUG

COLUMN

SHELLSIDE INLET

SUPPORT BRACKET
SHELL BELLOWS EXPANSION
JOINT
REBOILER SHELL

LIQUID LEG
SHELLSIDE OUTLET

BOTTOM TUBESHEET

ARRGT-1 :: VERTICAL THERMOSYPHON REBOILER WITH FIXED TUBESHEETS

BOTTOM TRAY OF COLUMN

VAPOUR RETURN CONNECTION

TOP TUBESHEET

COLUMN

SHELLSIDE INLET
COLUMN SHELL

SUPPORT LUG
REBOILER SHELL
BELLOWS EXPANSION JOINT

SHELLSIDE OUTLET

BOTTOM TUBESHEET
SUPPORT BRACKET

ARRGT-3 :: VERTICAL FIXED TUBERSHEET REBOILER WITH INDEPEDENT

SUPPORT STRUCTURE.

VAPOUR RETURN
TOP HEAD
TOP TUBESHEET
SUPPORT LUG

COLUMN

SPRING SUPPORT

REBOILER SUPPORT
STRUCTURE

BELLOWS EXPANSION JOINT

BOTTAM TUBESHEET

BOTTAM HEAD

SKIRT
LIQUID LEG

NEW CONCEPT - COMPARISON OF AREA / VOLUME

The following guidelines and cautions are helpful in
improving the accuracy comparisons.
i)
Make comparison to as similar a plant as
possible.
ii)
Use similar assumptions in analyzing both
existing facilities and new design.
iii)
For outdoor installation, where volume has
less relevance than in and enclosed structure,
rely on the area comparison alone.
iv)
For tank farm, general guidelines dictated for
fire safety reasons or statutory requirements
govern.

EQUIPMENT LAYOUT/UNIT PLOT PLAN

DRAWING GUIDE LINES
The following are the guidelines generally followed while
making an Equipment layout/unit plotplan drawing.
a)

Equipment layout shall be drawn in 1:50 or 1:100

scale.
b)

A0 size drawing sheet should generally be used for

equipment layout. If the area to be covered is small, A1
size can be used.

c)

Place north arrow at the top right hand corner of the

sheet to indicate plant north.

d)

The area above title block to be kept free for general

notes and reference drawings.

e) All equipments are marked with its equipment no.

as appearing in Equipment list & dimensions
(diameter, height/length etc.)
f) All equipments center line are located in plant
building w.r.t. the column grid. For layout of
outdoor plant / offsite facility, the equipment shall
be located by co-ordinates.
g) Conceptual layout, P & ID, vendor/fabricated
equipment drawings are to be used as basic
document for preparing equipment layout
drawing.
h) Walkways, cutouts, piperacks, floor drains, gutter,
trenches, ramp etc. if applicable should be clearly
marked in the drawing.

i)

For in house plant layout, the location of staircases, lift &

other utility areas should be clearly shown.

j)

In equipment layout sectional drawing, for each equipment

its top most or bottom most elevations should be marked.

k)

Orientation of equipment shall be clearly marked for all

the
equipments by orienting one of the major nozzles.
l)

In case of reactors / tanks, the location of manhole /

handhole,
SG/LG,LI etc. shall be at accessible position.
m) Equipment lifting cutout shall be marked clearly in the

n) Equipment planned to be installed in future shall be

shown dotted.
o) For heat exchangers, tube removal / cleaning space
shall be marked.
p) While locating the pumps care shall be taken to ensure
that

the NPSH requirement is met.

q) General notes are written on one of the drawings (first)

and

shall not be repeated on all layouts but reference

shall be

given.

r) Direction of north shall be maintained same for all the

plans for the same plant / project.

s) If more than one drawing is required to cover a

specified
with

area, then the match line shall be indicated clearly

the reference drawings.

t) One of the general notes should specify the

absolute level

of the area covered with respect to the plot.

u) The equipment load, operating or test load

whichever is

maximum shall be considered for design and the

layout should indicate this along with the dynamic factor

wherever applicable. This could also be covered in table as
well.

v) For reactors with agitators, lifting beam shall be provided for

agitator removal.
w) For vendor equipments maintenance space as recommended by
them for maintenance shall be provided.
x) Equipment layout shall also indicated the positions of utility
stations, safety shower and eye wash.
y) Equipment elevation shall be so arranged to ensure gravity
flow
where specified.

In terms of the equipment arrangement,

the equipment layout (unit plot plan) can basically be
divided into two configurations:
a)

b)

The grade mounted horizontal arrangement as

seen in the refineries and petrochemical plants,
and
The vertical arrangement found in many
chemical process industries.

Irrespective of the type of arrangement, there are certain

basic principles to be followed while locating the equipment.

Economic piping

Process requirements

Common Operation

Underground facilities

Climatic conditions

TYPICAL CROSS SECTION OF AN INDOOR

PROCESS PLANT

Fig. 2.2.6a

TYPICAL CROSS SECTION OF INDOOR CHEMICAL PLANT

Fig. 2.2.6b

ACCESS PLATFORMS
The following guidelines shall be followed for providing access
platforms in the layout.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

For all Manholes with centre line elevation above 3500

mm.
For instrument vision. The LG should be viewed while
operating the bypass of the control valve.
At 900 mm - 1500 mm below the Manhole.
A minimum height of 2.5 m to be considered between
platforms to take care of the headroom.
The platform at the top of the tower shall be at 250 to 300
mm above the top dish.

PHILOSOPHY OF IN-PLANT PIPING

o
o

Valve Location

Electrical/Instrument Cable Trays

Statutory requirements

Miscellaneous

YARD PIPING
P & I diagram, equipment layout, piping specifications,
equipment drawing and the vendor requirement for proprietary
equipment form the basis of a piping layout. In areas where
piping is critical, the equipment locations are fixed only after a
piping study is made.
The first step in the development of pipe rack is the generation
of a line routing diagram. A line routing diagram is a
schematic representation of all process and utility piping systems
drawn on a copy of plot plan or it could be planometric
representation of the utility and process line diagrams. Although
it disregards the exact locations, elevations or interferences, it
locates the most congested area.

The pipe rack splits the plant area into convenient parts.
The pipe rack takes various shapes such as straight, L, T, and
C or U. This configuration is based on the overall arrangement
and site conditions. Based on the incoming/outgoing lines and
locations, the pipe rack is laid.

Fig. 2.3.1

Fig. 2.3.2

Fig. 2.3.3

Fig. 2.3.4

Fig. 2.3.5

Fig. 2.3.6

Fig. 2.3.7

The configuration of pipe rack is not determined while doing the

plant layout.
The arrangement results from an overall plant layout, site
conditions, client requirements and above all plant economy.
The width of the pipe rack is estimated as
W = (f x n x s) + A + B
f = Safety factor
= 1.5 if pipes are counted from the PFD
= 1.2 if pipes are counted from P & ID.
n=Number of lines in the densest area upto the size of 450NB
s = 300mm (estimated average spacing)
= 225mm (if lines are smaller than 250 NB)
A = Additional width for
(1) Lines larger than 450 NB
(2) For instrument cable tray/duct
(3) For electrical cable tray
B
=
Future provision
=
20% of (f x n x s) + A

1.5 TO 2M

TYPE 1
5 TO 6M

1TO 1.2M

TYPE 2

Fig. 2.3.8

5 TO 6M

TYPE 3

A pipe bent consists of a vertical column or columns and a horizontal

structural member or members that carries piping system above
headroom.
Spandrels are horizontal structural member located along the
longitudinal centre line that are used for structural stability, pipe support
or intermediate pipe bents.

The Headroom normally provided is as below.

Sr.
Description
Headroom
No.
(mm)
1.
Clear head room under
2200
Structures/pipe lines
inside operating area.
2.
Head room over rail
7000
(from top of rails)
3.
Clear headroom above
7000
crest of road for crane
movement.
4.
Clear headroom above
600
crest of road for truck
movement.
5.
Clear headroom above
4500
crest of road between
process units.

Fig. 2.3.9a

Fig. 2.3.10

Fig. 2.3.11

Fig. 2.3.13

Fig. 2.3.14

Fig. 2.3.15

Fig. 2.3.16

Fig. 2.3.17

Fig. 2.3.18

Fig 2.3.19

Fig 2.3.20

Fig 2.3.21a

Fig 2.3.21b

Fig 2.3.22

2.3.5 PIPING FOR INSTRUMENTS

Instruments,when located on piping ,will need certain
specific requirement for it to perform the duty for which it is
provided. Piping Engineer should be aware of these
requirements and should take care of the same while routing
these pipe lines.
a) Flow measurement instrument need certain straight length
upstream and downstream of the instrument.This is normally
15D on the upstream and 5D on the downstream.
b) The pipe lines in which flow meters such as magnetic
flowmeters ,vortex meters ,turbinemeters etc are located should
be routed in such a way that the line will be full with liquid all
the time.The pipe line should be supported on both sides of
meter.

c) Control valves are located at grade, at about 500mm height to

provide convenient access for operation and maintenance. Block
and bypass valve also form the same criteria. The standard
arrangements followed are as per Fig 2.3.23. If pocketing the
process line is unacceptable, then a permanent or mobile platform
should be planned, as access is very important. Locating control
values on the vertical line should be avoided.If is unavoidable; the
should actuator should be supported properly.The bypass should
be selected for easy operation.
d) Isolation valves for level gauges and pressure gauges shall be
made accessible. Access and space for the removal of level
controllers temperature probes ,conductivity probes,bottom flags
of the control values etc shall be provided. All primary and
secondary indicators of pressure, temperature, flow, level,
positioners etc. should be visible from the operating area.

e) Rotameters shall be placed on vertical line and the inlet

should be from the bottom of the instrument.
f) Thermowell shall be located on the pipe line of required
size.Instrument hook up shall be reffered for the requirement.
g) Enough operating and maintance access shall be considered
while locating any instrument.

Fig. 2.3.23

Fig. 2.3.24

The Considerations to arrive at an economical rack desging

are
1. Very large diameter lines or large lines full of liquid are
placed nearer to the supporting columns to reduce
the bending moment on the crossbeams.
2. The hot lines that require expansion loops are grouped to
have the most economical support.
3. The anchor points on the hot lines are located together to
have optimum design of the columns.
4. In an indoor plant the personnel facilities such as
mechanical room, control room, locker room, laboratory,
offices, storage room etc. shall be grouped so that the pipe
rack length could be curtailed.

The requirement as per the following shall be

adhered to
a)

The Factories Act 1948.

b)

The Petroleum Act 1934 & The

rules 1976.

c)

The Static and Mobile Pressure Vessels

(unfired) Rules 1981.

d)

The Gas Cylinders Rules 1981.

e)

The Indian Boiler Regulations 1951.

f)

Development control rules by the State

Industrial Development Corporation.

Petroleum

S TE A M TO P R O C E S S

BFW

BFW
TA N K

C O N SU M ER

M A N IF O L D
ST

ST

E C O N O M IS E R

Y
TO A TM O S .
(TY P )

PI

H P D O S IN G

LG

LG

LG

LG

B O IL E R F E E D
W A TE R P U M P
B LO W D O W N
D R A IN

B L O W D O W N TA N K

D O S IN G TA N K
D O S IN G P U M P

N O TE : P IP E L IN E S TH E P U R V IE W O F IB R S H O W N W ITH TH IC H L IN E S .
IB R S C O P E

IB R S C O P E

2.3.8 CRITICAL EXAMINATION TECHINIQUE

The quality of the equipment and piping layout can be
established by the Critical Examination Technique where you
ensure that all the following parameters are well addressed
a) It is process adequate?
b) It is operator friendly?
c)It is construction clear?
d)Has adequate maintenance access provided?
e)How to evacuate in case of emergency?
f)Has safe fire fighting access provided?
g)Standard practices where applicable has been adopted?
h)Is the piping arrangement aesthetic ?
i)Is supporting arrangement adequate and aesthetic ?
j) Is piping adequately flexible ?

EQUIPMENT AND PIPING LAYOUT - PUMPS

Pumps rarely influences the plant layout except where a

common standby for two services or multiple duty pumps
might dictate the process equipment arrangement. But the
pumps can never be treated as an independent entity, but to be
treated as part of the piping system which affects the
performance even if the basic selection is faultless.

The design of equipment and piping configuration

affect the energy used and capital cost of pumps. Hence,
economy of piping and structures along with ease of
operation and maintenance are the principal aim while
arranging the pumps.

The primary goal in locating the pump is to minimize the

piping configuration while satisfying the performance and
flexibility requirements as well as allowable loads that may
be subjected to the nozzles.

Mechanical or Chemical Engineers can no longer

consider the pump as an independent entity, but to be treated
as a part of the Piping System.

Q
2 PUMPS IN PARALLEL OPERATION Q2<2Q1
EACH PUMP OPERATES AT (Q2/2, H2)

Fig. 3.1.1a

Fig. 3.1.1b

Fig. 3.1.2

Fig. 3.1.3

In addition vent connection of pump has to be permanently connected to the

vapour space for balancing and to avoid filling up of pump before starting