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I'm not sure this belongs in this category, but I sure did learn a lesson. I was the cheap man not giving credence to what a pipe fitter told me. I wasn't paying him the respect he deserved.

 

 

 

I had field sketched an iso for modifications at a small stripping tower to add an exchanger in the feed line. As it sometimes happens, the nozzles weren't on the natural axis, but rotated which made the drawing difficult. When it was done, I was proud of it; a real work of art. I transmitted it to construction with a confidence that wasn't warranted.

 

 

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It was a coal preparation plant being built in the dead of winter in Central Illinois. None of us had ever even seen a coal operation, but we were now experts. After all, it was the early eighties and there wasn't much work around, especially for pipers. The contractor was recently cut from a nuke as construction was stopped and they were hungry too. The owner of the mine was cheap, but not the one who had to pay twice. It was us who paid several times over. But we were working and that made up for it.


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We had to pre-purchase some cement-lined pipe for two slurry lines from a hopper into a receiving tank inside a building. And that meant design early on in the project. We were nervous; it was expensive pipe and it had to be right. All involved agonized over the design, but finally it was issued.


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Written by: Christopher Wright at Piping Design Central


Q: Is there a good, hard place to get a pretty well "set" number on these piping spans? I know spec dictates all this, but I'm looking for a good "nominal" listing, if there is one. All the ones I've found differentiate by like 8-9-10 feet! And it's not like I'm going between Sch.40 and 80 and all that, I'm talking Sch. 40 period. They vary just as much if I look at the Sch. 80's too.


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Written by: Christopher Wright at Piping Design Central


Q: I need some URLs for web sites where I can learn piping stress analysis. A few e-books I can download would be OK, too.


A: It's the easiest thing in the world. Just buy FEA software. It'll do everything you want. Look for the words 'user-friendly' on the box so you don't have to worry about bugs or input checking. Just ask the sales person if you're not sure--they're great guys. Don't worry about accuracy, either--that's what they pay programmers for. FEA makes all that mechanics stuff about stress and strain obsolete, so don't clutter up your desk with a lot of books. If the computer makes the number, it's right. Just remember that the red places on stress plots are bummers, everything else is cool. Make sure you get a big fast computer with a lot of megs and stuff and a large monitor. Size counts and chicks dig guys with big monitors. The faster the computer the more stuff you can run and the less reason you have to waste time with an organized approach. (Hint: Big problems make you look good in front of your boss. If you don't complain about running out of memory every month or so, people think you're not making the models complicated enough and they won't respect you.). And always use animation. Any problem worth solving is worth animating.


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Written by: Richard Beale and Bruce Raymond at Piping Design Central


View explanatory piping sketches


FW = field weld

FFW = field-fit weld


A field-fit weld indicates that the designer has foreseen that the piping may need adjustment in the field so has added an extra length of pipe at a buttweld fitting or flange. The pipe end will be bevelled and welded on site after the installer determines the correct dimensions.


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