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Section - III, Pipe Supports

C: SNUBBERS: A GENERA L OVERVIEW

By: Hyder Husain

A rticle courtesy of Piping Technology & Products, www.pipingtech.com

Introduction: PT&P produce s various k inds of snubbe rs. W hy snubbe rs are use d and how the y function are brie fly discusse d he re .

What are they?: Snubbe rs are re straining de vice s use d to control the m ove m e nt of pipe and e quipm e nt during abnorm al dynam ic
conditions such as e arthquak e s, trave ling shock wave s cause d by turbine trips, safe ty/re lie f valve discharge , rapid valve closure or
accide ntal rupture of piping.

Where are they used?: Snubbe rs are e x te nsive ly use d in various applications including che m ical plants, powe r plants (both conve ntional &
nucle ar), re fine rie s, and structure s such as suspe nsion bridge s and tall rise buildings in e arthquak e prone are as.

How do they function?: The de sign of a snubbe r allows fre e the rm al m ove m e nt of com pone nts during norm al ope rating conditions.
Abnorm al conditions activate the snubbe r to be com e m om e ntarily rigid (lock e d condition). W hile lock e d, the snubbe r transm its the
transie nt force to the ground or to a pe rm ane nt structure without causing any dam age to the downstre am com pone nts. As soon as the
transie nt force ce ase s, the snubbe r re sum e s its norm al ope ration.

Types of Snubbers: The re are two type s of snubbe rs: (i) hydraulic and (ii) m e chanical snubbe rs with various type s of de signs. Howe ve r,
the function of any de sign is the sam e to prote ct the downstre am structure from abnorm al shock s. Snubbe rs are de signe d for various
load ratings de pe nding upon the m agnitude of se ism ic activitie s and the criticality of fluid induce d shock s.

Hydraulic Snubbers:

This type consists of e ithe r two conce ntric cylinde rs or two paralle l cylinde rs and the ir
re spe ctive m oving pistons. Both the m ain cylinde r and the com pe nsating cylinde rs are
fille d with fluid. The m ain and the com pe nsating cylinde rs are conne cte d to ve locity
lim iting valve s and a m ain piston which work s in e ithe r a push or pull m ode . Unde r
norm al ope rating conditions, the valve s re m ain ope n and allow the piston to m ove
fre e ly unde r the rm al e x pansion/contraction of the supporte d com pone nt. W he n the
thre shold ve locity (typically 8 in. pe r m inute ) is re ache d, the valve activate s by closing
the flow through the valve (also k nown as valve lock ing) and the flow through the
syste m stops m om e ntarily. At this point, the m ain piston that tak e s the shock load
stops m oving and the load is transm itte d to the ground or to a pe rm ane nt structure ,
thus avoiding any dam age to the structure downstre am of the snubbe r. As soon as the
shock wave passe s, the snubbe r re sum e s norm al ope ration.
 Hydraulic Snubbe rs
Mechanical Snubber:

Sim ilar to hydraulic snubbe rs, this type of snubbe r is com prise d of a m oving cylinde r/rod
arrange m e nt. Unlik e hydraulic snubbe rs howe ve r, m e chanical snubbe rs use m e chanical
m e ans to provide the re straint force .

Me chanical Snubbe rs

MSA Mechanical Snubber:

W ith this type of snubbe r, the line ar m ove m e nt of the rod conne cte d to the piping com pone nt is conve rte d to rotary m otion. W he n the
ce ntrifugal acce le ration e x ce e ds a ce rtain thre shold acce le ration (typically 0.02g), a ce ntrifugal type clutch flare s out and lock s at the
pe riphe ral slot of the cylinde r and re stricts line ar m otion.

A nchor-Darling Mechanical Snubber:

W ith this type of snubbe r, the line ar m otion of the ce ntral rod that is conne cte d to the structural com pone nt is conve rte d to oscillatory
m otion via a ve rge m e chanism . This oscillatory m otion is in turn conve rte d to rotary m otion via a se t of ge ars. As the line ar ve locity
incre ase s, the ine rtia force ge ne rate d in the oscillating ve rge and the train of rotating ge ars incre ase s. The e x te nt of this incre ase
de pe nds upon the am ount of ine rtial m ass and ge ar trains angular ve locitie s the re by lim iting the ve locity of the piping com pone nts within
the safe lim it.

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