Piping
The discipline Piping together with Mechanical and Civil Engineering is responsible for the engineering and design of the mechanical engineering parts of an installation. The Piping Department deals with the following main topics:
- Plant layout; location of various installations; fire protection and fire-fighting systems;
- The pipeline routes between the installations.
Piping is responsible for a large part of the plant design process. The Piping Department converts the information received from Process and Mechanical into a digital computer model. This model forms the basis for the physical design of the plant.
In the model, Piping takes into account, among other things, the following issues which determine layout:
- Absorption of distortions in pipe system due to temperature;
- Crane accessibility to replace parts of the plant;
- Reservation and safekeeping of escape routes;
- Ensuring the accessibility of apparatus and instruments.
Piping also specifies the pipe materials, taking into account the requirements of the customer and the applicable design standards, laws and standards in the country of implementation. The pipe wall thicknesses are calculated and the total pipeline system is looked over and checked for thermal and dynamic loads. Piping technically evaluates the quotes from the suppliers.
Finally, Piping is often responsible for installing a fire protection and fire-fighting system. These systems serve to limit the size of the fire while awaiting the arrival of a fire department. Piping specifies and calculates the required systems and extinguishing methods according to the requirements of the customer and government agencies. These systems are also incorporated in the model.
Software packages used
Piping functions
