Chapter 5

PIPING PLAN
&
PIPE RACK
Piping
89

5.1 PIPING PLAN DEVELOPMENT.
Normally piping layout is developed in two stages
Piping study plan
Final piping plan.
Piping study plan: - It is basically a conceptual routing of pipelines based on P&ID. All the
condition laid down in P&ID is fulfilled. Routing is represented in plan views
sometime section is shown wherever it!s re"uired. Piping layout shows all
lines #$ & above sometime critical small bore lines can be shown. %tudy
layout starts with routing of critical lines first. &ritical lines are those which are
either having large diameter high temperature or gravity flow
Final piping plan: - Piping study plan along with the isometric is discussed with other
department in order to get their comments. Now their comments are incorporated to free'e
the piping study layout to be called as final piping plan. (his document is used for
construction.
INPUTS REQUIRED FOR PIPING LAYOUT
P&ID
PFD
)endor drawing*catalogue information for e"uipments
Piping specification.
Plot plan
+"uipment layout.
Design guide line * %tandards.
Instrument hoo,-up drawing
GUIDE LINES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PIPING LAYOUT.
Process re"uirements indicated in P& ID should be meet.
(he lines should be routed in orderly manner. .ine should be grouped in bunch &
run together where ever possible for the ease of supporting.
/nly the standard Pipe fittings special parts mentioned in pipe specification should
be used for routing. Anything outside the %pec is not permitted.
/ver head piping should have clear headroom for man ways & movement of
cranes truc,s where applicable.
Piping on the grade level should be minimi'ed as it bloc,s the free movement.
(he piping component that re"uires fre"uent maintenance should be easily
accessible from grade or platform & should have ade"uate clear wor,ing space.
Piping should be routed so as to allow removal & lifting of e"uipment with minimum
pipe dismantling.
Piping
90

Poc,et should be avoided especially in relief & steam lines.
0ot lines should be routed to have some fle1ibility in the form loops.
All critical lines should be stress analy'ed.
5.2 PIPING FOR INSTRUMENTS.
i. Orifice Flange2-
It is located at a convenient place which could be accessible by temporary
ladder.
/rifice is always preferred in the hori'ontal run.
(apping for instrument connection is usually at 34 either at top or bottom.
For li"uid service (apping is downward direction.
For 5aseous service tapping is upward direction.
6se of valve & fittings ma,es the flow more turbulent which affect the
measurement accuracy hence straight run are recommended upstream &
down stream of orifice. (his straight run is e1pressed in terms of pipe dia. For
e.g. 78D #8D. (his straight run is indicated in the P&ID else it can be
obtained from process department.
ii. Control valves:-
5enerally control valve assembly shall be located on the grade level
Preferably control valve should be on hori'ontal run.
&ontrol valve placed on vertical run re"uire proper support for its
actuator.
9y-pass line routed over control valve should have proper clearance
over the actuator.
iii. Thermo wells:-
(hermo well are used to measure temperature of fluid service either by locally
mounted indicator or through transmitters
(hermo well can either be located on the elbow or on the straight run pipe.
(o mount thermo well on elbow. (he minimum si'e of elbow should not be
less than :$ & orientation shall be in the opposite direction of flow.
Piping
91

(o mount thermo well on straight pipe minimum pipe si'e should be at least
3$. %ome licenser consider it ;$ or <$. It depends on the si'e of instrument
filament.
&orrect no''le pro=ection from /.D of pipe is very important so that the
correct portion of filament comes in contact with the fluid. Normally it should
me 748mm for the bare pipe. &onsider the insulation thic,ness for insulated
lines.
iv. Safety valves:-
%afety valve should be easily accessible.
%afety valve inlet piping should be ,ept as short as possible.
%afety valve outlet piping should be self draining to relief header.
>hen %afety )alves discharge vapors to the atmosphere the outlet pipe
should terminate at least : meters above e"uipment or any service platform
located within a radius of 74 meters of the valve. A :*<$ dia weep hole for
drainage at low point of line should be provided. Also the top open end should
either be provided with a rain hood or with a 34 degree elbow and open end
cut vertically.
Provision of lifting devices such as davit chain pulley bloc, should be made
for all relief valves weighing more than 34 ?gs.
Relief header shall not have poc,et. >here this re"uirement cannot be met.
Process engineer should be consulted for ma,ing provision of a ,noc, out
pot.
%afety )ales invariably re"uire strong and sturdy special supports in order to
absorb thrust. Also the branches for inlet to %afety )alves are usually
reinforced. Normally a fi1ed type of support is provided close to %afety )alve
and with this in mind main line should be routed in such a way so as to have
enough fle1ibility.
5.3 ARRANGEMENT OF VALVES.
All valves should be located at easily accessible position for the ease of operation &
maintenance.
Piping
92

Preferably valve should be located with the stem in vertical position for the ease of
maintenance & minimum bloc,age of operating area.
)alves located on the hori'ontal run can have stem rotated to hori'ontal position but
preferably should not be lower than hori'ontal.
)alve si'e greater than 7#$ is normally gear operator.
&are must be given while locating gear operated valve. 0and wheel should be on
operator side. chec, for the interference of gear bo1 with other pipe or structure.
&are must be given while locating motor operated valve. 0and wheel should be on
operator side. chec, for the interference of actuator assembly with other pipe or
structure.
All valves located above #.#@ should be chain operated. For chain operation valve
stem shall be in hori'ontal position.
)alves located below the grade level due to process consideration are usually
provided with e1tended spindle for operation.
.ocation of chec, valve in hori'ontal or vertical depends upon its internal
construction. Swing !"# can be either in hori'ontal or vertical. Li$ !"# can only be
in hori'ontal position.
Piping
93

Figure 4.7 Arrangement of valve
5.% ARRANGEMENT OF STRAINERS.
or T Type strainer:- (his is located in the hori'ontal run of pipe. As the name
suggest the shape of strainer is in the form of A & ( respectively. It contains a
removable screen from the bottom hence it is rotated to 34 or sometime B8 to
facilitate easy removal of screen.
Conical strainer:- For installation of conical strainer a spool piece e"ual to the
length of conical screen is re"uired
!as"et type strainer:- 6sually this type of strainer is big in si'e & screen is
removed from the top hence sufficient clearance should be ,ept above it.
Piping
94

ARRANGEMENT OF REDUCER.
(he choice of eccentric or concentric reducers should be made correctly. In order to
simplify the situation following is recommended.
All reducers located in vertical run should be &oncentric reducer.
All reducers located in hori'ontal run should be +ccentric.
+ccentric reducers depending upon the position can be placed with flat side either
on top or bottom.
6sually at all pump suctions eccentric reducers have flat sides on top e1cept for
pumps handling slurry where eccentric reducers are placed with flat sides on bottom.
At all pipe rac, locations eccentric reducers are used with flat sides on bottom in
order to ,eep 9/P same.
At control valve assemblies eccentric reducers can be placed with flat sides on
bottom.
NOTES.
.ine routed on grade level should have common 9/P which is governed by no''le
elevation of the e"uipments & the drain re"uirement. (here should be 748mm
clearance between the drain valve & paving.
For the steam header lines on pipe rac, steam trap is provided for every :8meters of
straight run. 6sually they are located near the rac, column for the ease of supporting
small bore lines connected to steam trap.
%team lines should be provided with low point drain & high point vent.
+1pansion bellows are installed in piping where it is not possible to have in built
fle1ibility due to process reasons.
&ondensate discharge piping for a closed system should have minimum number of
bends. (his is to avoid high bac, pressure acting on traps.
5.5 PIPING LAYOUT DRA&ING.
Piping layout is generally generated on A8 paper si'e with the scale of 7 2 ::.::.
A good piping layout drawing shall contain the following information in addition to what
discussed in e"uipment layout. &hapter.
Piping
95

.ines below ;$ is indicated by single line .line si'e <$ & above is indicated by double
lines.
+ach line should be designated with complete line no as in line list.
All piping components & special items should be represented by its (ag no.
.ine is generally represented by center line elevation. .ines on rac, or sleeper are
represented by (/%* 9/P.
%pec brea, should be clearly shown.
+very line should have flow direction .
All valves and piping should be represented by proper symbol.
)alve center line elevation & orientations should be clearly mentioned.
All lines should be fully dimensioned.
All primary & secondary support should be clearly mar,ed up.
9attery limit & match line shall be shown clearly
5.' PIPE RACK
(he pipe way conveys all main process lines connecting distant pieces of
e"uipment relief and blowdown headers all lines leaving and entering the plant utility
lines supplying steam air cooling water and inert gas to the plant. +lectrical and
instrument cable trays are usually routed in the pipe way. Pipe ways are classified by their
relative elevation to grade.
PIP+ RA&?
/verhead piping supported on steel or concrete columns.
PIP+ (RA&?
Above ground piping supported on concrete sleepers at grade level. C/ff site areas where
e"uipment is well spaced outD
INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR DEVELOPING PIPERACK
7D #O! SP$C%F%C&T%O' 2-9asically it is the design criteria agreed between company
& client.
9attery limit valving and spade re"uirements.
Piping
96

&atwal, platform and ladder access to valves and relief valves in pipe rac,.
@inimum headroom and clearances under overhead piping or supporting steel
within areas
Pipe ways and secondary access ways
@ain access roads
Rail roads
%tandard to be used for minimum spacing of lines in paperac,s
0andling and headroom re"uirements for e"uipment positioned under pipe rac,s
/perating and safety re"uirements affecting pipe rac, and structure design
.ocation of cooling water lines underground or above ground
() P*OC$SS F+O, -%&.*&/ :( Process flow diagrams show main process
lines and lines interconnecting process e"uipment.
3) P%P%'. 0 %'ST*1/$'T -%&.*&/:- +ngineering flow diagrams are developed
from process flow diagrams and show2
Pipe si'es. Pipe classes and line number.
)alving.
@anifolding.
All instrumentation.
+"uipment and lines re"uiring services i.e. water steam air nitrogen etc.
2) 1'%T P+OT P+&'3 O4$*&++ P+OT P+&'
5) 1T%+%T F+O, -%&.*&/:-
6tility flow diagrams show the re"uired services2
%team
&ondensate
>ater
Air
5as
5.* STEPS TO RACK PIPING
i. (he first step in the development of any pipe rac, is the generation of a line-
routing diagram. A line routing diagram is a schematic representation of all
process & utility piping systems drawn on a copy of pipe rac, general
arrangement drawing * or on the unit plot plan. 9ased on the information
available on the first issue of P&I Diagram * Process flow diagram
Piping
97

ii. /nce the routing diagram is complete the development of rac, width
structural column spacing and road crossing span numbers of levels and
their elevations should be started.
iii. Pipe rac, column spacing shall be decided based on the economics of the
pipe span as well as the truss arrangement to accommodate double the span
for road crossing or avoiding underground obstructions.
iv. (he pipe rac, width can now be wor,ed out with a typical cross-section of the
rac, with the levels.
v. Normally pipe rac, carry process lines on the lower level or levels and the
utility lines on the top level. Instrument and electrical trays are integrated on
the utility level if space permits or on a separate level above all pipe levels.
vi. Any pipe rac, design should provide provision for future growth to the e1tent
of #4 to :8E on the rac, clear width.
vii. >hen flanges or flanged valves are re"uired on two ad=acent lines the
flanges are to be staggered.
viii. (hermal e1pansion or contraction must be accommodated by ,eeping
sufficient clearance at the location where the movements will occur.
i1. (he clearance of the first line from the structural pipe rac, column is to be
established based on the si'es furnished by the civil * structural engineers.
1. After analy'ing all the re"uirements and arrangements the dimensions are to
be rounded off to the ne1t whole number. 9ased on the economics the width
and the number levels e.g. two tier of :8 ft. wide or three tier of #8 ft. wide
rac, will be decided.
1i. (he gap between the tiers shall be decided on the basis of the largest
diameter pipeline and it!s branching. (he difference between the bottom line
of pipe in the rac, and the bottom of a branch as it leaves the rac, shall be
decided carefully to avoid any interference due to support insulation si'e of
branch etc. All branch lines from the main lines on pipe rac, shall be ta,en
aesthetically on a common top of steel C(/%D. >ith the above considerations
the conceptual arrangement of pipe rac, are to be finali'ed.
PIPE RACK &IDT+ CALCULATION
(he width of pipe rac, is influenced by 2
Piping
98

(he number of lines
+lectrical*instrument cable trays.
%pace for future lines.
(he width of a pipe rac, may be calculated using the following method 2 First estimate
number of lines as described. Add up the number of lines up to 7<$ diameter in the densest
section of the pipe rac,.
(he total width in meters C>D will be 2
> F C f 1 N 1 % D G A meters
>here f safety factor F 7.4 if the lines have been laid out as described in initial evaluation.
>here f safety factor F 7.# if the lines have been laid out as described under
development.
N F number of lines below 7<$ diameter
% F average estimated spacing between lines in millimeters.
6sually - % F :88 mm
6sually - % F #:8 mm C if lines in pipe rac, are smaller than 78$ D
A F additional width re"uired meters for 2
.ines larger than 7<$.
Future lines.
Instrument and electrical cable trays.
Any slot for pump discharge lines 488 mm - 7 meter.
(he total width is thus obtained. If > is bigger than B@ usually two pipe rac, levels will be
re"uired.
NOTE,
At the beginning of a =ob H>H should usually include :8 - 38E of clear space for future
lines.
(he width of the pipe rac, may be increased or determined by the space re"uirement
and*or access to e"uipment arranged under the pipe rac,.
PIPERACK -ENTS SPACING
A pipe bent consist of vertical column & hori'ontal structural member that carry
piping system.
Normal spacing between pipe rac, bents varies between 3.;@ to ;@.
(his may be increased to a ma1imum of <@ consideration must be given to 2
%maller lines which must be supported more fre"uently
.i"uid filled lines re"uiring shorter span than gas filled lines
0ot lines which span shorter distances than cold lines of the same si'e and wall
thic,ness
Insulated linesI small bore cold - insulated lines due to weight of insulation must be
supported at relatively short intervals
Piping
99

%pace re"uirements of e"uipment at grade can sometimes influence pipe rac, bent
spacing.

(able 4.7 PIP+ %6PP/R( %PAN &0AR(
Piping
100


(able 4.# Pipe-rac, bents spacing
5.. PIPE RACK ELEVATION
Pipe rac, elevation is determined by the highest re"uirement of the following 2
0eadroom over main road
0eadroom for access to e"uipment under the pipe rac,
0eadroom under lines interconnecting the pipe rac, and e"uipment located outside.
Rac, ta,e -offs & change of direction will generally be e1ecuted by change of
elevation.
(he gap between the tiers shall be decided on the basis of the largest diameter
pipeline and it!s branching. (he difference between the bottom line of pipe in the
rac, and the bottom of a branch as it leaves the rac, shall be decided carefully to
avoid any interference due to support insulation si'e of branch etc. All branch lines
from the main lines on pipe rac, shall be ta,en aesthetically on a common top of
steel C(/%D.
Piping
101

.IN+ ID+NDIFI&A(I/N2
Pipelines in the pipe rac, are classified as
i. process lines
ii. relief-line headers
iii. utility headers.
iv. Instrument & cable tray
.IN+ ./&A(I/N IN PIP+ RA&?%
.argest & heaviest line to the outside.
6sually utility lines at the top tier process lines at the lower tier.
.argest & hottest line at the rac, edge.
5roup hot lines together that re"uire e1pansion loops.
.arge bore cooling water lines at the bottom lines as most users will be at
grade level.
%hort distance process line will occupy lower level longer distance the middle
& top.
(hose process lines which interconnect e"uipment on the same side of the
rac, should be near the edges of the rac,.
.ines which interconnect e"uipment located on both sides of the yard can be
placed either side of the yard.
.ine to be positioned according to approved line spacing chart
&able trays to be located on top level of pipe rac, & isolated from dense pipe
routing.
A general se"uence of lines is also shown on the s,etch below
Piping
102

Figure 4.# %e"uence of .ines
Piping
103

Figure 4.: Arrangement of .ines
Piping
104

Figure 4.3 Arrangement of .ines
Piping
105

5./ FLARE +EADER
Following special consideration must be given to Flare 0eader .ine.
Flare line must not be poc,eted.
It must be sloped 72#88 in the direction of ,noc,-out drum.
It must be located at the edge of rac, to accommodate any flat e1pansion loop
re"uired.
It should be run at a height such that the safety valve can be ,ept as low as possible
for access but still with sufficient elevation for it to self-drain into ,noc,-out drum.
&onnection into header can be at laterally at 34 if pressure drop is critical.
Figure 4.4 Flare 0eader .ines
Piping
106

.ine crossing the battery limits will normally be valve & blinded & will conse"uently
re"uire access.
)alve will be staggered either side of wal,way to provide ma1imum clearance & be
provided with e1tension spindles to hand wheels are re"uired.
>here lines are to cross battery limit at grade valve will be brought down for
access.
Figure 4.; Plan2 Flare 0eader .ines
Piping
107