Piping

High-frequency acoustic excitation—Part 1

Datta, A. K., Process Consultant

Failure of a piping section at the outlet of pressure safety valves (PSVs) and control valves—where significant differential pressure exists (particularly in gas processing industries)—is a common problem in industries.

Stress qualifications for standard and nonstandard valves in piping systems

Various types of valves are used in refineries, petrochemical plants, fertilizer plants and utilities.

Engineering Case Histories: Case 110: A checklist for vibration analysis

Sofronas, A., Consulting Engineer

Periodically, I receive questions from engineers around the world on why a piece of critical machinery is vibrating excessively.

Safety: Addressing corrosion at petrochemical plants starts with carbon

Dalton, B., Thermo Fisher Scientific

Maintaining the structural integrity of a pipeline is a significant investment of time and resources for organizations in the oil and gas industry.

Mitigate transient/hydraulic surge in liquid pipelines with nozzle check valves

Khiani, G. N., GAPV Inc.

Liquid pipelines often come across hydraulic transients, which can damage pipelines and associated equipment (i.e., pumps, valves, stations, etc.).

Supply Chain: How to reduce piping inventory

Abid, J., Consulting Engineer

Piping represents a significant part of the plant cost, ranging from 15%–25%.1 Materials stored in warehouses or storage facilities cost companies in terms of personnel, materials, time, space, insurance, risk, etc. This article proposes cost-saving strategies for inventory reduction. Further, it emphasizes consistent naming conventions to avoid creating duplicate/redundant items.

Piping and instrument diagrams (P&IDs): Part 2—Causes and management of change

Shah B., Process Engineering Consultant

It is difficult to categorize or group the many reasons for routine or late changes to a P&ID. Some causes are listed here.

Causes of reduced or stopped flow in controlled-volume pumps

Controlled-volume (CV) pumps, also known as metering or dosing pumps, are designed to deliver a small quantity of fluid at a precise rate with relatively high pressure.

Refinery tower inspections: Discovering problems and preventing malfunctions

Cardoso, R., Phillips 66; Kister H. Z., Fluor Corp.

A previous survey identified installation mishaps to be one of the top five causes of tower malfunctions.

Demineralized water system design: Considerations for the petrochemical industry—Part 1

Fan, J., Ananthanarayan, S., Hodgkinson, A., Advisian, a Worley Company

Site utility leads, engineers and other professionals in the hydrocarbon/chemical processing industries (HPI/CPI) are facing a perfect storm of increasing demineralized water demand, end of life of existing demineralized water plant equipment, changing source water quality, corporate directives to diversify water sources, and pressure from regulators and community stakeholders to minimize the volume of waste generated from water treatment.