PIPING SUPPORTS

Purpose
Pipe Span
Type of Supports
- Details
- Application

Prepared by R. Thiagarajan Page 1

PURPOSE

Requirements of supports in piping system are:

To carry the weight of the pipe, fittings, valves with / without
insulation, with operating / test fluid.
To provide adequate stiffness to the piping against external loads
such as wind load, ice, snow, seismic load etc.
To avoid overstressing of the piping material.
To avoid of sagging of pipe which creates draining problem.
To control the thermal expansion / contraction in desired manner
To withstand and dampen vibration produced by connected
equipment such as pump, compressor etc.

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 Pipe Span
Typically piping is supported at regular intervals on steel supports embedded in
concrete foundation or directly on steel structure. The distance between supports is the
span. In Fluor, we calculate the support span considering pipe with one end simply
supported and other end is fixed.

Calculation of Max. span:

There are four main factors which affects the support span.
Stress
Deflection
Natural Frequency

By relating natural frequency and deflection limitation, the allowable span can be
determined as the minimum of the calculated support spacing based on stress and
deflection.

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 Pipe Span based on Stress

The stresses are acting through the pipe wall at supports due to sustained load.

1. Pressure stress
2. Bending stress due to weight
3. Local stresses at the point of support attachment
PD M D - Pipe OD t - Corroded wall thickness P - Max Pressure
Sh M - Bending Moment Z - Section Modulus Sh - Hot Allowable stress
4t Z
l - Pipe Span w - Unit weight of the pipe
wl 2 w
M For simply supported end M M
8
connection l
wl 2 w
M For fixed end connection
12 M M
5wl 2 l
M For connection having one end simply supported &
48 other end fixed, average of above two equations
PD 5wl 2
The Maximum span (based on Stress) is calculated using the equation Sh
4t 48Z

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 Pipe Span based on Deflection

This is one of the key criteria for fixing the span.

By considering the simply supported beam with uniform load,

5wl 4

384 EI
By considering the fixed end beam with uniform load,

wl 4

384 EI
In pipe analysis, we assume that the pipe is neither simply supported nor fixed but it is in between these
cases. So, the average of the above deflection is:

wl 4

128 EI
Normally, it is a practice to allow deflection at the mid span. Hence using this as , we can calculate the
piping span.

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 Pipe Span based on Natural Frequency

This is one of the key criteria for fixing the span for Two-Phase lines

We know the Natural Frequency of a system,

1 g
f
2
Considering Natural frequency as 4 Hz (Refer Project Specification for the exact value),

0.6"
By substituting the above in the following equation, we can calculate the span.

wl 4

128 EI

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Pipe Span Chart - Fluor Practice

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Pipe Span Chart - Fluor Practice

Allowable pipe span is based on insulated pipe filled with water, 12.5% mill tolerance and 1/16
corrosion allowance for carbon steel pipe (A 53 Gr. B) at 650F

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Type of Supports

Supports

Hanger / Support Restraint Vibration Absorbers

To sustain the dead To restrict the movement To restrict the movement

weight of the piping due to thermal / dynamic due to vibration caused by
system. loading wind, earthquake, fluid flow.
Types Types Types
Rigid Hanger Anchor Snubbers
Spring Hanger Guide Sway Brace
Variable Directional Anchor
Hold down
Constant U Clamps
Shoes Struts
Trunnions

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Hangers / Supports

Hangers / Supports are used to carry the dead weight of the piping system along
with its contents. The primary difference between a hanger and a support is that
the hanger sustains the dead weight in tension, while the support sustains it in
compression. Consequently, hanger supports the piping system from top, while
supports are placed below the piping. The type of support / hanger assemblies
from which the piping engineer selects the appropriate kind of support are
generally classified as follows:

1. Rigid Hangers
2. Shoes
3. Trunnion
4. Flexible Hangers (Variable, Constant)

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Hangers / Supports - Rigid Hanger

Rigid Hangers:

Rigid hangers are normally used at locations where no vertical

movement of the pipe occurs. The design considerations for a rigid
hanger are pipe temperature for selection of pipe clamp material
and the load for the selection of components suitable for the pipe
weight involved.
Although these hangers prevent vertical movement of the piping
system in many cases, they allow little horizontal movement at the
point of their attachment such that the inclination from the vertical
direction is limited to 4. The compressive force imposed on the
hanger due to thermal expansion of piping needs to be controlled to
avoid buckling of the hanger rod.
The main advantage of rigid hangers over Shoe/Trunnion is that it
does not provide any frictional resistance for thermal growth.
However, it is expensive and it does not dampen the vibration.

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Hangers / Supports - Rigid Hanger

Constant (Counter) Weight Hanger:

In this type of support, weight of the piping & contents (bearing

load) is balanced by a counter weight. To reduce the size of counter
weight, it is often the practice to apply the principles of pulley or
lever & fulcrum mechanism as shown in the Figure.

When the piping system moves up / down due to thermal growth,

the balancing force on the piping remains constant. Hence this is
advantageous over Rigid hanger where lift off is restricted.

E.g Supporting of Radiant Header in Fired Heaters

However, these hangers require the entire support to be larger since

either the counterweight should be heavier or the pulley / lever &
fulcrum should be larger requiring more space as the bearing load
increases.

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Hangers / Supports - Shoes

Shoes:

Shoes are commonly used for carrying weight of the piping &
contents where the system is insulated to prevent heat loss.

Shoes have the advantage of occupying less space than the rigid
hangers. However, they provide friction against the horizontal
movement which may be reduced by the use of rollers or Slide
Plate Assemblies.

While using shoes, care has to be taken that pipe is not lifting off
from rest position due to thermal expansion in which case,
supporting function is not achieved at all.

It is recommended to check the local stress at support location for

piping system having higher corrosion allowance (>1/8) or wall
thickness lesser than STD wt while using single web shoes.

Local Stress Calculation

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Hangers / Supports - Trunnions

Trunnions:

Trunnion / Dummy supports are generally used in vertical run as

well as when the clearance between the BOP and Grade is higher.
Dummy supports are suitable for supporting a piping system from
an Elbow

While using dummy supports, care has to be taken that pipe is not
lifting off from rest position due to thermal expansion in which
case, supporting function is not achieved at all.

It is recommended to check the local stress at support location as

well as strength of the dummy pipe.

Local Stress Calculation

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 Hangers / Supports - Flexible Hangers

Flexible Hanger:

When the piping system moves up or down due to thermal expansion, conventional rigid support is not
feasible, as it may not take load at all or it may act as a pivot. Under such condition, it is recommended to
use flexible support such as spring hangers. These spring hangers sustain the primary load by their
resistance against compression while allowing for free thermal expansion.

Flexible hangers are of two types:

1. Variable Spring Hangers

2. Constant Spring Hangers

Variable Spring Hangers:

This is used to support the piping subjected to vertical movement where constant supports are not
required. The inherent characteristic of a variable spring hanger is that its supporting force varies with the
spring deflection as explained here.

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 Hangers / Supports - Flexible Hanger - Variability

The pipe weight is balanced by the spring resistance which is equal to the spring rate multiplied by the
amount of compression the spring undergoes due to the pipe weight. During thermal expansion, the
vertical movement of the pipe tends to reduce the compression on spring, thereby reducing its supporting
force on the pipe also. Since the pipe weight is same during any condition, cold or operating, the variation
in supporting force results in pipe weight transfer to the adjacent supports and / or equipment nozzles and
consequently additional stresses in the system. When variable spring hangers are used, the effect of this
variation must be considered. To quantify this variation, a factor called Variability Factor is introduced
which is defined as,

Variability = (Hot load - Cold load)/Hot load * 100

Accepted practice is to limit the variability upto 25% for critical system applications. Variable spring
hangers are recommended for general use on non-critical piping systems and where vertical movement is
of small magnitude on critical systems.

The main advantage due to pre-compression of the spring hangers is that the head room required at
installed condition for the spring hanger will be less.

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Hangers / Supports - Variable Spring Hanger - Types

Type A

This arrangement is useful when the head room

clearance available is more.

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Hangers / Supports - Variable Spring Hanger - Types

Type B

This arrangement is normally used when the head room

clearance available is not higher.

Type C

Identical to Type B except that Lug (steel attachment)

will take lesser load than that of Type B

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 Hangers / Supports - Variable Spring Hanger - Types

Type D

Normally used whether Head room clearance available is too

less to accommodate can. Load adjustment is done from the
top with the help of adjusting nut

Type E

Identical to type D except that adjustment is done

from below using turn buckle but also can be done
from above the piping
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 Hangers / Supports - Variable Spring Hanger - Types

Type F

Designed to support piping from a base below or from the

bottom. The base flange being fastened to the floor or to
the supporting beams. This is not to be used for excessive
horizontal movement.

Type G
Made up of two standard spring units welded to
the end of a single or pair of channels. Suitable
for excess loads or low head room clearance.
Each spring is carrying one half of the total load.

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 Hangers / Supports - Variable Spring Hanger - Selection

1 Calculate the Piping load to be carried by the spring (Hot load).

2 Calculate the thermal movement & its direction at that location
3 In the load table, locate the hot load. Identify the spring suitable for the thermal movement.
4 Calculate the installed load = Hot load (Thermal movement * Spring rate)
5 If Cold load is also in the same column in which Hot load is located, then calculate the variability
6 If variability is within the project specification, then selected spring is OK
7 Else move to adjacent column in which Cold load as well as Hot load can be located within the
working range.
8 Repeat step 3 to 7
9 From Dimension table, find out the length of the spring assemblies.
10 Compare the same with the available clearance
11 If found OK, design is OK otherwise repeat step 3 to 10

Spring Selection
Catalogue
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Page 22
 Hanger / Support - Constant Effort Springs

Constant effort hangers provide constant supporting force in both cold and operating conditions. When
piping stresses and reactions are known to be close to allowable, most economical type of flexible support
is constant support hanger. For critical, high temperature piping, at hanger location where the vertical
movement of piping is high or the variation in support force is to be controlled within 6%, constant effort
hangers are recommended. .

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Hangers / Supports - Constant Effort Spring

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 Restraints

Anchor: An anchor is a mechanical connection (welded and/or bolted) between a

pipe (or exchanger, etc.) and a structure. The structure must be strong enough so
that it cannot bend excessively under large forces. Anchors do not allow the
movement or rotation of support points and completely fix the line in its place.
Equipment nozzles are also Anchors.

Directional Anchor: DA stops movement parallel to the center-line of the pipe,

but permits sideways pipe motion.

Guides: A guide stops sideways movement of a pipe, but permits movement

parallel to the pipe's centerline.

U - Clamps: It is acting as guide / anchor as per the installation. Normally used in

small bore piping.

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 Restraints - Sway Struts

Sway Struts are used to restrain movement of piping in one direction while providing for
movement due to thermal expansion or contraction in another direction.

Features:
- Preferred where conventional Guide/DA are not feasible due to non availability of steel
structure.
- Preferred when effect of friction is to be minimized in the system.
- Effective under either tensile or compressive force.
- Provides 2 - 4 field adjustment on either side at the time of installation
- Allows angular motion or misalignment of 5.

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 Vibration Absorbers

Besides thermal expansion, pipelines in a plant may suffer from vibrations caused by various
sources such as:

1. Mechanical vibrations transmitted through pumps, compressors, turbines and rotating and
reciprocating machinery.
2. Impact and vibrations due to the sudden opening / closing of valves.
3. Surging of compressed gas or two phase fluid.
4. Periodic wind forces against the outdoor pipe lines.
5. Earthquakes.

The best and fundamental way to resolve the problems associated with vibrations is to find
out the sources of vibration in the particular pipe line and then to remove them away or
reduce them acceptable levels. There are various kinds of supports in use in the industry for
mitigating the effects of vibrations like Sway Braces, Vibration Dampers, Snubbers.

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 Vibration Absorbers - Snubbers

The requirement of a snubber is to provide little resistance to the movement associated with the
thermal expansion of the piping, while providing stiff supporting reaction against the vibratory motion
associated with dynamic loading such as earthquake load. Snubber goes to restraint mode based on a
particular velocity or acceleration of motion depending on its design concept and is known as
activation level.

Typically Snubbers are located where:

1. Large concentrated loads such as valves, large components, flanges and other components that are
not anchored.
2. Changes in piping direction
3. Within long vertical risers
4. On long straight pipe runs

Snubbers are basically of two types:

1. Hydraulic Snubber
2. Mechanical Snubber

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 Vibration Absorbers - Hydraulic Snubbers

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Reference: Lisega Catalog Shock Absorber - Type 31
 Vibration Absorbers - Hydraulic Snubbers

Hydraulic snubber consists of a Double acting cylinder with piston assembly (A), Flow control devices (B) &
Reservoir (C). The flow control device permits the fluid to flow at a predetermined rate.

During normal thermal growth, (piston movement <= 2 mm/sec), the valves (flow control devices) are kept
open by helical coil spring, thereby allowing free flow of fluid from one side of the cylinder to the other side.
This term is called FREE FLOW CONDITION.

During sudden vibration (piston movement > 2 mm/sec), the fluid pressure on the valve plate which is
higher than the spring stiffness closes the valve. Thus fluid flow is stopped and movement is blocked. This
term is called LOCKED CONDITION.

The Reservoir is fitted with a spring which applies internal pressure inside the cylinder. The positive internal
pressure ensures that no air can be drawn into hydraulic circuit during operation.

Features:

Allows angular motion or misalignment of 5.

Limitations:

The unit is not effective against low amplitude, high frequency movement

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Vibration Absorbers - Mechanical Snubbers

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Reference: NHK Pipe Supports Catalog PH-82A
Vibration Absorbers - Mechanical Snubbers

In general, Snubbers are required to restrain undesirable displacement of piping systems or components
when they are about to oscillate due to seismic or other types of dynamic loading, while, to allow their free
movement during the thermal displacement mode. Mechanical snubber is designed to provide such
essential two - way functions by means of a rotary inertia mass, which inherently generates a resistance
force against a quick input movement, in combination with a ball screw assembly, which transforms
reciprocal linear motions to rotary motions.

Design principle of Mechanical Snubber is a utilization of an inertia mass, which generates different
magnitude of resistance force against the input load in proportion to its acceleration level.
Namely, M = F (where: M = Mass, = acceleration, F = force generated)

Low input acceleration generates a negligible level of resistance force allowing the free movement of
piping, while high acceleration assumes sufficient resistance force to completely restrain the vibration of
piping.

The one end of Mechanical Snubber is connected with a structural member through extension
attachments, and the other end is pin-connected to the piping or component. It is also a dominant design
feature in Mechanical Snubber that an efficient built - in braking mechanism enhances the function of the
inertia mass reducing its size, while developing a clear acceleration threshold in its performance.

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Vibration Absorbers - Mechanical Snubbers

1. When dynamic (vibration) or gradual (Thermal) displacements are developed in the piping system or
component, they are instantaneously transferred to the snubber unit, and give telescoping motions to be
ball nut.

2. The nut, when pushed or pulled, causes rotary motions of the ball screw shaft.

3. The rotary motions of ball screw shaft give integral motions to the inertia mass as it is solidly assembled
with the shaft. So far as the input displacement is relatively slow, the inertia mass rotates without assuming
any significant inertial force, thus allows the displacement as if the snubber does not exist.

4. When a quick displacement takes place, the mass functions to prevent the screw shaft from rotation
because of its inherent inertial force, thus suppressing the dynamic displacement of the system.

Advantage

Mechanical snubbers are preferable over Hydraulic snubbers wherein make up for leakage of oil, periodical
change of oil are required.

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 SWAY BRACE

Application

Controlling vibration
Absorbing shock loading
Guiding or restraining the movement of pipe resulting from thermal expansion
Bracing a pipeline against sway

Selection Criteria

The amount of force needed to control piping should be in proportion to the mass, amplitude of movement,
and nature of disturbing forces acting on the pipe.

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Reference: Carpentor & Paterson Catalog
 SWAY BRACE

Working Principle:

The unit comprises a pre - loaded spring, which can be extended or compressed in order to give increasing
resistance in both directions. This increase in resistance overcomes the dynamic forces generated by the
equipment thereby damping vibrations, opposing sway and absorbing shock forces.

Installation:

Connect coupling to pipe attachment and turn coupling so that spring is compressed in direction opposite
to and by approximate amount of piping thermal movement. When correct tension adjustments are
completed, the brace exerts no force on the pipe in its operating position.

Final adjustment should be made with the pipe in its hot or operating position. Turn the coupling until both
spring plates are in contact with the end plates of the Sway Brace. This is called neutral position.

Under shutdown conditions, the brace allows the pipe to assume its cold position. It exerts a nominal cold
strain force equal to the pre-load force plus the amount of travel from the hot to cold position, times the
spring scale of the particular size of the Vibration Control and Sway Brace.

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Familiarization with Stress symbols:

Rest Axial stop/Directional Stop Anchor

Spring Hanger Y
Rest

Resting and Guide

Z
X
Global Co-ordinate System

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Page 37
Heaters- Radiant Section Tube Supports
FLOATING COILS-
COUNTER WEIGHTS

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