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In this page I will talk about the pipe rack design philosophy. Pipe rack is
the main artery of any plant. This carries the pipes and cable trays
(raceways) from one equipment to equipment within a process unit (called
ISBL pipe rack) or carries the pipe and cable trays from one unit to another
unit (called OSBL pipe rack). Sometimes you will also find the AIR
COOLED HEAT EXCHANGERS on the pipe rack.
There are different types of pipe rack:
Continuous Pipe racks (conventional pipe rack) system
Non-continuous Piperacks system
Modular Pipe rack
Conventional / Continuous Pipe rack
Continuous Pipe racks (conventional pipe rack) system: This is essentially
a system where multiple 2-dimensional (2D) frame assemblies (commonly
called bents), comprised of two or more columns with transverse beams,
are tied together in the longitudinal direction utilizing beam struts (for
support of transverse pipe and raceway elements and for longitudinal
stability of the system) and vertical bracing to form a 3D space frame
arrangement. Piperacks supporting equipment such as air-cooled heat
exchangers must utilize the continuous system approach.
Step-1: Data collection for pipe rack design:
Due to the fast track nature associated with most of the projects, often the
final piping, raceway, and equipment information is not available at initiation
of the piperack design. Therefore, as a Civil/Structural Engineer, you
should coordinate with the Piping group, Electrical, Control Systems, and
Mechanical groups to obtain as much preliminary information as possible.
When received, all design information should be documented for future
reference and verification. In the initial design, the Engineer should use
judgement when applying or allowing for loads that are not known, justifying
them in the design basis under "Design Philosophy" (a part of your
calculation)
The following should be reviewed for design information:
Plot plans and equipment location plans
3D model showing piping layout, cable tray layout, Piperack bent
spacing and elevation of support levels in the transverse direction ,
Elevation of longitudinal beam struts and locations of vertical bracing.
and location of pipe bridge, if any.
Piping orthographic drawings.
Vendor prints of equipment located on the rack, e.g., air coolers and
exchangers.The vendor prints should include the equipment layout,
mounting locations and details, access and maintenance
requirements, and the magnitude and direction of loads being
transmitted to the piperack.
Electrical and control systems drawings showing the routing and
location of electrical and instrumentation raceways and/or supports.
Underground drawings that show the locations of buried
pipes,concrete structures and foundations, duct banks, etc. in the
area of the piperack.
Pipe rack construction material (Steel, Cast-in-situ concrete, Pre-cast
concrete) shall be as per project design criteria.
Please note that, Unless specifically explained in the project design
criteria, no allowance or provisions should be made for future additions for
pipe or raceway space and related loading.
Step-2: Design loads consideration:
weights. Pipes must be evaluated for seismic loads under both full and
empty conditions and then combined with the corresponding gravity loads.
Friction Loading (Tf): Friction forces caused by hot lines sliding across the
pipe support during startup and shutdown are assumed to be partially
resisted through friction by nearby cold lines. Therefore, in order to provide
for a nominal unbalance of friction forces acting on a pipe support, a
resultant longitudinal friction force equal to 7.5% of the total pipe weight or
30% of any one or more lines known to act simultaneously in the same
direction, whichever is larger, is assumed for piperack design. Friction
between piping and supporting steel should not be relied upon to resist
wind or seismic loads.
Anchor and Guide Loads (Ta): Piperacks should be checked for anchor
and guide loads as determined by the Pipe Stress Group. It may be
necessary to use horizontal bracing if large anchor forces are encountered.
For conventional pipe rack systems, it is normally preferred to either have
the anchors staggered along the piperack so that each support has only
one or two anchors, or to anchor most pipes on one braced support. For
initial design, when anchor and guide loads are not known, use a
longitudinal anchor force of 5.0 kN acting at midspan of each bent
transverse beam (refer project design criteria). Guide loads are usually
small and may be ignored until they are defined by the Pipe Stress
Engineer. For non-continuous pipe rack systems, piping may be
transversely guided or anchored at both cantilever frames and anchor
bays. Longitudinal anchors may be located only at anchor bays.
Please note that, all friction forces and anchor forces with less magnitude,
(say ~ 5.0 kN), applied to the top flange of the beam, may be considered as
resisted by the total beam section. When anchor loads have large
magnitude and are applied to the top flange of the beam, the effect of
torsion must be addressed.If the beam section is inadequate to take care of
this torsional force, alternatives to be considered, such as provide
horizontal bracings at the load locations.
D
D + L + SL + Tf + Ta
D + Tf + Ta
D + 1.3W + Ta
D + L + 0.5SL + 1.3W +Ta
D + L + S +0.65W + Ta
0.9De + 1.3W + Ta
D + E/1.4 + Ta
D + 0.2S + E/1.4 + Ta
0.9De + E/1.4 + Ta
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
1.4D
1.4D + 1.7L +1.7S
1.4D + 1.4Tf +1.4Ta
0.75 (1.4D + 1.7L + 1.7S + 1.4Tf + 1.4Ta)
0.75 (1.4D + 1.7L + 1.7S + 1.4Ta) + 1.6W
1.2D + 0.2S + 1.0E + 1.2Ta
0.9De + 1.6W + 1.2Ta
0.9De + 1.0E + 1.2Ta
1.4D
1.2D + 1.6L + 0.5S + 1.2Tf + 1.2Ta
1.2D + 1.6S + 0.5L + 1.2Tf + 1.2Ta
1.2D + 1.6S + 0.8W + 1.2Ta
1.2D + 1.6W + 0.5L + 0.5S + 1.2Ta
1.2D + 1.0E + 0.5L + 0.2S + 1.2Ta
0.9De + 1.6W + 1.2Ta
0.9De + 1.0E + 1.2Ta
frame system. The analysis model must reflect the appropriate beam end
conditions. In the design of beams, consideration should be given to
Large pipes that are to be hydro-tested.
Anchor and friction load with large magnitude (see step-2, anchor
and friction load)
Central Spine:
For steel piperacks with spans of more than 6 m, a center spine consisting
of a system of horizontal braces and struts located at midspan of each level
of piping should be considered . This additional light horizontal framing
greatly increases the capacity of the transverse pipe support beams to
resist friction and anchor forces, and also serves to reduce the unbraced
length of the beam compression flange in flexure and to reduce the
unbraced length of the beam about the weak-axis in axial compression.
This concept reduces the required beam sizes and provides a mechanism
for eliminating or minimizing design, fabrication, or field modifications that
could otherwise be required due to late receipt of unanticipated large pipe
anchor forces.
Longitudinal Beam Strut
For typical continuous piperack systems, the longitudinal beam struts
should be designed as axially loaded members that are provided for
longitudinal loads and stability. Additionally, the longitudinal beam struts
that support piping or raceway should be designed for 50% of the gravity
loading assumed for the transverse pipe or raceway support beams, unless
unusual loading is encountered. This 50% gravity loading will account for
the usual piping and raceway take-offs. Normally, the gravity loading
carried by the beam struts should not be added to the design loads for the
columns or footings since pipes or raceway contributing to the load on the
beam struts would be relieving an equivalent load on the transverse
beams. Concentrated loads for large pipes may be treated as in step-2.
For any continuous piperack system where the anticipated piping and
raceway take-offs are minimal or none, the 50% loading criteria does not
apply. In such cases, the beam struts should be designed primarily as
axially loaded members. Do not provide beam struts if they are not needed
for piping or raceway support, or for system stability. Conversely, the 3D
model should be checked to verify that beam struts subjected to unusually
large loads (such as at expansion loops) have been given special
consideration. All longitudinal beam struts, including connections, should
be designed to resist the axial loads produced by the longitudinal forces.
When designing the longitudinal beam struts for flexural loads, the full
length of the beam should be considered as the unbraced length for the
compression flange.
Vertical Bracing
When moment-resisting frame design is not used in the longitudinal
direction, vertical bracing should be used to transmit the longitudinal forces
from the beam struts to the foundations. Knee-bracing or K-bracing is most
often used for this purpose. Unless precluded by equipment arrangement
or interferences, bracing should be placed equidistant between two
expansion joints. Design calculations and drawings must reflect a break in
the beam strut continuity between adjacent braced sections through the
use of slotted connections or by eliminating the beam struts in the bays
designated as free bays. The maximum length of a braced section should
be limited to 48m to 50m. If the braced bay is not located equidistant from
the free bays, the maximum distance from the braced bay to a free bay
should be limited such that the maximum total longitudinal growth or
shrinkage of the unrestrained segment does not exceed 40 mm.
Column
The columns must be capable of resisting all loads, moments, and shears
produced by the load combinations.A moment-resisting frame analysis
should normally be used to determine the axial load, moment, and shear at
In this page I will talk about the Non-continuous piperack system. I hope
you have read the Conventional pipe rack system design philosophy. If not,
please read that section before.
Non- Continuous Pipe rack:
This is a system comprised of independent cantilevered, freestanding 2D
frames not dependent on longitudinal beam struts for system stability. This
system, where feasible, should result in lower total installed cost (TIC).
Step-1: Data collection for pipe rack design:
Method of Data collections is same as continuous pipe rack. Please look
into 3D model and collect all the data as required.
Step-2: Design loads consideration:
Following loads are to be considered for the non-conventional pipe rack
design:
Gravity load (D): For Gravity load calculation, refer Conventional pipe rack
system
Wind Load (W): For Wind load calculation, refer Conventional pipe rack
system,
Earthquake Loads (E): For Earth quake load calculation,
refer Conventional pipe rack system. Longitudinal seismic will be applied on
anchor bay only.
Friction Loading (Tf): Friction forces caused by hot lines sliding across the
pipe support during startup and shutdown do not apply on individual frame,
as frame will deflect along the pipe direction. Therefore, this force will be
considered on anchor bay only.
Anchor and Guide Loads (Ta): For Anchor and Guide load calculation,
refer Conventional pipe rack system,
Step - 3: Load Combinations and allowable deflection of pipe rack:
For Load combinations and allowable deflection of non-conventional pipe
rack, refer Conventional pipe rack system,
Conventional Pipe
rack
Modular Pipe rack
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. Please do not print or copy of
this page or any part of this page without written permission from
Subhro Roy.
Disclaimer: This page is prepared based on experience on Civil
Engineering Design. All definitions and most of the explanations
are taken from different text books and international design
codes, which are referenced in the contents. Any similarity of the
content or part of with any company document is simply a
coincidence. Subhro Roy is not responsible for that.
n this page I will talk about the Modular piperack system. I hope you have
read the Conventional pipe rack systemdesign philosophy. If not, please
read that section before.
Modular Pipe rack
Sometimes clients look for modular pieprack / modular structure for their
plants. But do you know what is a module?Module is a series of standard
units that function together. Examples are:
Building modules: Structural Frames completely fitted with Miscllaneous
equipment and architectural finishes.
Above load combinations are for reference only. You need to follow
your project design criteria for the pipe-rack analysis and design.
Step - 4: Frames of Modularl pipe rack:
Conventional Pipe
rack
n-conventional Pipe rack
No