JITENDRA SURVE PIPING GUIDE 03/04/03
STRUCTURES
• Used in most industrial facilities to accommodate equipment and
associated components to suit specific process, real estate, climatic
and client requirements.
• A structure can be designed to support one or two pieces of equipment
or an entire process plant and can be open or enclosed.
• The principal objective in layout of structures are to optimize all
available space and to support safety, maintenance, operation, cost
and constructability.
DESIGN FEATURES
• Many design features must be considered before a structure layout is
begun, including:-
1. Steel or concrete design.
2. Open or enclosed structure.
3. Siding requirements.
4. Type of flooring.
5. Access.
6. Braced or rigid frame.
7. Fireproofing requirements.
8. Equipment maintenance.
9. Type of roof.
• After these basic parameters have been established, the layout may
proceed.
• Besides real estate restrictions, allowable pressure drop, gravity flow
conditions, and NPSH requirements may require equipment to be
elevated; however each piece of equipment must be set as close to
grade as possible to minimize the overall height of the structure.
• If the structure is to be elevated, the following points must be
considered:
1. Handrails are required around all operation and maintenance
platform.
2. Structures that contain equipment that does not need daily
operator attention can be serviced by ladders.
3. Equipment requiring regular operator attendance is serviced by
stairways.
4. Service to large structures may require an elevator or traveling
belt lift.
5. Because equipment may need to be removed for major
maintenance (e.g. exchanger bundles) structural members or
handrail sections may need to be removable.
6. Monorails or hitch points may be required for maintenance.
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JITENDRA SURVE PIPING GUIDE 03/04/03
7. Main structures of concrete do not use bracing but should be
constructed with a rigid frame design.
8. When fireproofed steel construction is used, pipe support steel
must be installed before the steel columns, beams and braces
are fireproofed.
9. Otherwise the fireproofing must be chipped away down to the
steel member. This chipping is costly and should be avoided.
STRUCTURAL TERMS
Braced or Rigid Frame
• The design of any elevated structure must take into account the size
and weight of the equipment to be supported and operation and
maintenance requirements as well as wind load and earthquake zone
considerations.
• Of these points, operation and maintenance play a large role in
determining a rigid or braced frame.
• A rigid frame requires no additional horizontal or vertical cross bracing,
permitting maximum access to equipment and piping.
• The plant layout designer must recognize frame requirements early in
the development of a structure and consult with the structural
engineer before proceeding with the design.
Equipment Load
• This is the weight of the equipment with all dead load attachments.
Dead Load
• Dead load is weight of all structural members within the structure,
including the fireproofing.
Live Load
• This comprises the superimposed load on platforms or floors as a result
of operation and maintenance.
• It is usually minimum of 50 Lb per square foot.
• Live load does not include the weight of equipment, piping or storage
of materials.
Pipe Load
• Pipe load refers to the weight of all piping, valves, fittings and
insulation, including the weight of contents during test or regular
operation, whichever is greater.
Earthquake load
• This is the specific seismic data for a particular site.
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JITENDRA SURVE PIPING GUIDE 03/04/03
Wind Load
• Measured in miles per hour, wind load is the force applied to a
structure at a given site.
Exchanger Bundle Removal Load
• This is half the weight of the tube bundle.
Thermal Expansion Load
• The effects of thermal expansion must be accommodated by
equipment support structures and elements.
Pipe Anchor Load
• The force calculated to resist loading in anchored piping system, the
pipe anchor load is added to the thermal expansion loads of the
equipment.
Dynamic Loading
• This is the response of structures and their components to the cyclical
loading produced by rotating or reciprocating equipment.
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