The Pipe Support Blog

Constants For Constricted Areas of a Chemical Processing Plant

Piping Technology & Products, Inc. custom designed and fabricated 200-C type constants to suit constricted areas of a chemical processing plant in Texas.

Short distances between the pipe and the supporting beam necessitated a custom design. Two designs were needed one was for a 230 lb. load with 11"down travel, while the other was for a 260 lb. load with 13-1/2" down travel. The PT&P standard design for these constants has Take-Out values of 19-9/16" and 21-9/16", respectively. However, the available space permitted no more than 9-1/2".

Compare the final design, shown on the left to the standard design, shown on the right. Note that the lower part of the frame has been cut away, permitting the pipe to move nearer to the constants' supporting lugs.

PT&P's system of stock pipe and spring supports, allowed engineers and workers to fabricate these constants within a short amount of time.

Find out more information about constants in our webinar archives!

Cylinder Pipe Guides

Piping Technology & Products, Inc. designed and manufactured cylinder pipe guides for an energy center in Canada.

These guides, which are frequently referred to as spider guides, are designed to control lateral pipe movement and maintain the alignment of the piping through its axial and contraction cycles. A single piping run uses spider guides in number to avoid a fulcrum or an imposed lateral deflection on critical components.

These spider guides were designed for pipes ranging from 1" to 20" diameter with 1" to 4" of insulation. The components include carbon steel plates, stock clamps, angles and green-primer coated pipes. The outer shields have diameters ranging of approximately 6" to 29-1/2" with a bottom-of-angle to center-of-pipe dimensions of 3-1/8" to 15-3/4". The maximum design temperature for the spider guides is 750°F.

Cylinder Pipe Guides for a Power Plant

If you need cylinder pipe guides for an upcoming project, request a quote today and receive a response within 48 hours!

40 Clamp Attachments for a Petrochemical Plant

The pipe clamp attachments shown are used for supporting vertical pipe sections to vessel clip anchors. These braces are designed for a maximum horizontal moment of 15,000 ft-lb at the vessel clip. All the clamps provided were made of carbon steel with a hot-dip-galvanized finish. The pipe hanger assembly lengths were fabricated per specifications provided by the client.

The pipe clamp components were designed and fabricated for non-standard pipe diameters (i.e. 13-3/4", 16-1/2") so that they could be used on insulated or finned pipelines.

Are you in need of pipe clamp attachments? Request a quote today and receive a response within 48 hours!

C-Type Constants

Piping Technology & Products, Inc. designed and manufactured 70 horizontal, C-type constants for a furnace application located in Venezuela.

The sizes of the Figure 200 constants ranged from 32 to 64, with a total travel of 4.5 to 10.5, and loads varying from 1,149 to 5,149 pounds. The constants are provided with a custom designed PT&P Figure 270, which consists of a double lug horizontal traveler versus a single lug. Within the horizontal travel, the constants are designed to handle 8 of horizontal movement and support a rod that remains vertical throughout pipe movement.

Learn about other types of constants by visiting our webinar archives!

Special Vertical Type E Constant Spring Supports

Piping Technology & Products, Inc. designed and manufactured special vertical type E constant spring supports for a power plant. These were designed and installed as pairs in a configuration similar to the typical G type constants. The advantage of using a pair of the special E rather than the conventional G type is that the total width is smaller as can be seen in the photo above.

The constants were designed to support loads from 5,730 lbs to 10,690 lbs. They were fabricated from A36 Carbon steel. The dimensions of the individual constants are 60" high, 16 1/2" long, and 14" in wide. The size of the supported pipe determined the width of the assembly. As with all constants built by PT&P, they were tested to verify that standard specifications for variation of load over the full range of travel were met.

Do you need constant spring supports for an upcoming project? Request a quote today!

PTFE, 25% Glass Filled, Slide Plate Material Cut and Bonded to a Polyslinger

Piping Technology & Products, Inc. cut and bonded a PTFE, 25% glass filled, ring (see photo above) to a polyslinger which will be utilized at a Chemical plant in Texas.

The polyslinger was a total weight of 33 lbs and its lip measured at 26" O.D. The PT&P worker cut the PTFE, 25% glass filled, at 24" I.D. with a thickness of 3/32" and then bonded it to the lip of the polyslinger with an epoxy resin adhesive. PTFE, 25% glass filled, is used as padding, intended for reducing metal-to-metal friction.

Are polyslingers a necessity for you? Get pricing on one today!

24", Chrome-Moly, Three-Bolt Clamps with Stanchions

Piping Technology & Products, Inc. designed and fabricated 24", chrome-moly, three-bolt clamps with horizontal guide stanchions for a 765 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle facility in Mexico. These clamps, in conjunction with variable springs, will allow for vertical and axial pipe movement while restricting lateral movements. They were made for 24" OD pipe from 1-1/2 x 9" stock material. Based upon design considerations, the clamp "E" dimension, from pipe centerline to outer load bolt, was 25". The clamps were designed for operation at 1065°F and per customer-supplied information, the vertical design load was 1,848 lbs and the maximum lateral load was 19,207 lbs. The clamp plates are made of A387 GR. 22 plate material, stanchion pieces of A335 GR.22 pipe and the side stop plates of carbon steel.

Want more information on three-bolt clamps? Learn more about them in our webinar archives!

Pipe Shoes with Loads up to 75,000 lb.

Piping Technology & Products, Inc. designed and fabricated several pipe shoes with loads up to 75,000 lbs. respectively, for a 750MW power plant in Alabama.

The shoes are to support the cooling towers' circulatory water system at the power plant. The majority of the shoes were designed for a 60" line and 50,000 lb. load, and the remaining few were designed for a 78" line and 75,000 lbs. of load. After extensive engineering hours and structure analysis, PT&P's engineering department was able to produce a detailed design and 3-D model for the supports that would allow them to run electronic interface checks.

Do you need pipe shoes? Get pricing today!

20" Stainless Steel Suction Strainer

Sweco Fab, the ASME fabrication shop of Piping Technology & Products, Inc., specially designed and manufactured two 20" OD x 36" long, suction strainers for a chemical plant in Louisiana.

The strainers, which were fabricated from SS32, each weigh 1,300 pounds. They were designed at 300 psig and 600° F and built to ASME code. In order to insure quality of the welds, PT&P's Q.C. inspectors 100% x-ray tested butt welds of longitudinal seams and circumference seams, head to shell. Other pressure containment welds were dye penetrant examined. The unit, as a whole, was hydrotested at 390 PSIG.

Learn more about other Sweco Fab Inc. products in our webinar archives.

Constant Spring Hangers with Loads up to 105,000 Lbs.

Piping Technology & Products, Inc., custom designed and fabricated a collection of constants for an oil refinery in New Jersey. This application required the use of suspended constants, 100-C and base constants, 200-F.

In order to support the lines at the oil refinery, PT&P designed the 100-C constant spring hangers (vertical constants suspended from beams) at two different loads and total travels. The 100-C constant with a load of 105,000-lbs. and total travel of 6" (figure 1) is set to travel 1-3/4" down and 1-15/16" up. It is 38-3/8" in width, 79-1/4" in height and furnished with a double lug suspension to allow it to hang from a double point suspension beam.

In comparison to the aforementioned constant, this particular 100-C constant spring hanger (figure 2) has a load of 33,000 lbs. and a total travel of 4-1/2", 3/8" up and 1-1/2" down. This specific constant is 24-1/4" in width, 71" in height and also furnished with a double lug suspension to suspend from a double point suspension beam. Although the dimensions of these two constants are similar, the size of the springs and cams are very different.

Opposed to the 100-C constant, the 200-F constant spring hanger is a horizontal constant used to support piping from below. These 200-F constant spring hangers were designed with loads of 40,750 lbs. and total travels of 4-1/2", 3/8" up and 1-3/4" down. These constants will be used in conjunction with sway struts to support pipelines at the oil refinery.

Learn more about constants spring hangers by visiting our website archives!