Optimum Design of Cryogenic Pipe Supports

Hyun-Joo, Chang General Manager Seung-Nam, Shin Piping Stress Engineer Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd Abstract Cold insulation pipe supports have been widely used in a number of chemical plants including LNG receiving terminal. This paper presents a theoretical and practical study of optimum design of cryogenic pipe supports required to design LNG receiving terminal. A solution for optimum design of cryogenic pipe supports is obtained and practical results are presented. It is shown that when we design cryogenic pipe supports, we have to consider structural characteristics, design load, requirement from the owner and economic aspect for each type of supports such as shoe, guide, stop and trunnion. So, it is very important to clarify the behavior of cryogenic piping system including pipe support during normal operation of LNG receiving terminal. For this purpose, not only theoretical but also practical approaches have been used to clarify the behavior of cryogenic piping system during normal operation and initial start-up. This design of cryogenic pipe supports has been validated by comparison with other type of cryogenic pipe supports, and confirmed by applying to Inchon LNG receiving terminal. It is noted that this design is efficient and applicable to future LNG receiving terminal project. The following issues are presented in this paper. z z z z Behavior of cryogenic piping system during initial start-up Behavior of cryogenic piping system during normal operation Characteristics of cryogenic piping system and pipe supports Requirements for cryogenic pipe supports

z z z

Optimization of cryogenic pipe supports Comparison with other type of cryogenic pipe supports Confirmation of cryogenic pipe supports

1. Introduction LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) has been widely used as a clean energy nowadays, and there are so many large LNG receiving terminals under construction accordingly. Among these large LNG receiving terminals, Inchon LNG terminal in Korea is one of the largest LNG receiving terminals. We, Hyundai Engineering Company, participated in design of Inchon LNG terminal over 10 years. We have much experience in designing cryogenic piping, and we would like to share this experience on this subject. As a matter of fact, since the boiling point of LNG is such a low temperature, what is so called cryogenic, as under -162 that extremely superior insulation property, durability and also stable function are required for supporting devices such as shoe, stop, and anchor to be used at LNG receiving terminal. The problems encountered in cryogenic piping system are as follows; embrittlement of materials, icing around/between the cryogenic pipe support, pipe insulation and steelwork, large displacements (due to the thermal expansion and contraction), rapid change of phase due to large heat fluxes (big delta T), and small latent heats of the fluids involved. Thus, extremely high reliability is required to design cryogenic pipe support system. From the general point of view, supports must be designed to meet all static as well as dynamic operational conditions to which the piping may be subjected. The support system must provide for and control, subject to the requirements of the piping configuration, the movement due to the thermal expansion and contraction of the piping and the connected equipment. Furthermore, the correct and economical selection of the pipe supports for cryogenic piping system usually presents difficulties of varying degree, some relatively minor and others of a more critical nature. Proper selection of cryogenic pipe support should be the objective of this paper. A good pipe support design begins with
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good piping design and layout. That means many pipe support problems may be minimized or avoided if proper attention is given to the means of support during the piping layout design phase. Therefore, behavior and requirements of cryogenic piping system during normal operation and initial start-up are presented here. This paper also provides guidelines for the design and layout of cryogenic piping and pipe supports found in LNG receiving terminal and related processing plant.

2. Features of Cryogenic Piping System Heat is continuously entering the piping through the insulation and supports. This heat will make the liquid contents boil. For this reason heat leak must be minimized. From an economic point of view, the thermal efficiency of the piping system must be carefully considered since the heat addition to the system will ordinarily result in loss of product. So there must be the need for understanding cryogenic piping system. In order to obtain a better appreciation of the special consideration involved in cryogenic pipe support system application, it was felt that it would be necessary to review the behavior of materials at cryogenic temperature and the physical and thermodynamic property of cryogenic piping and pipe support system. These considerations are presented in this section.

2.1 Materials used in Cryogenic Piping Systems Important consideration in the selection of materials for cryogenic piping systems include suitable mechanical and physical properties, compatibility with process fluids, fabricability, cost, and compliance with regulatory codes such as ASME B31.3. It is recognized that certain materials tend to become brittle at low temperature and maybe subject to failure which would not usually occur at normal temperature or at elevated temperature. The transition temperature at which certain materials become brittle is not well defined. Some ferrous materials may pass through the transition range at normal temperature, while others may not become brittle until it reaches low temperatures. Because of
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embrittlement of materials, carbon steel can not be used for cryogenic piping systems. Therefore, we have to use ferrous alloys. Table 1 - Typical Ferrous Alloys used in Cryogenic piping Minimum Temperature -46 -73 -101 -196 -254 -254 -196 -196 -254 ASME Designation A 333 Gr.1 A 333 Gr.7 A 333 Gr.3 A 333 Gr.8 A312 A312 A312 A312 A312

Alloy C-Mn steel 2 1/4% Ni steel 3 1/2% Ni steel 9% Ni steel 304 steel 304L steel 316 steel 316L steel 347 steel Stainless Stainless Stainless Stainless Stainless

Remark

Ferrous alloys most often encountered in cryogenic piping applications are usually classified as ferritic or austenitic types. (Please refer to Table 1.) The terms austenitic and ferritic refer to the predominant crystallographic phases ferrite or austenitic, which are body centered cubic (BCC) and face centered cubic (FCC), respectively. Most of the austenitic alloy steels used in cryogenic piping are chromium-nickel stainless steels of the AISI 300 type, such as 304, 304L, 316, and 316L. Other stainless steels classified as martensitic, duplex, and precipitation hardening also exists; however, the preceding alloys are most commonly used in cryogenic piping for LNG receiving terminal and distribution applications. Of the 300 Series alloys, the AISI 304 composition is the most popular as measure by tonnage.
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As can be seen in Table 2, thermal expansion for austenitic alloy steels used in cryogenic piping is much larger than that of carbon steel. This large thermal expansion makes large displacements (expansion and contraction) of material. This makes it more difficult to design cryogenic piping system than to design hot insulated piping system.

Table 2 - Typical mechanical and Physical properties of Ferritic Alloys used in Cryogenic piping
0.2% Offset yield strength (MPa) 207 241 276 517 586 621 931 262 483 255 469 262 448 262 469 483 Thermal Conductivity ) (W/mK) 52 36 27 13 15 0 Same as 304 Same as 304 15 0 Same as 316 Same as 316 14 0

Alloy C-Mn steel 2 /4% Ni steel 3 /2% Ni steel 9% Ni steel 304 Stainless steel 304L Stainless steel 316 Stainless steel 316L Stainless steel 347 Stainless steel
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ASME spec. A 333 Grade 1 A 333 Grade 7 A 333 Grade 3 A 333 Grade 8 A 312 TP304 A 312 TP304L A 312 TP316 A 312 TP316L A 312 TP347

Temp. ( ) RT -46 RT -73 RT -101 RT -196 RT -254 RT -254 RT -198 RT -196 RT -254

Ultimate Tensile Strength (MPa) 379 448 517 689 11379 793 1172 586 1724 552 1551 600 1358 586 621 1586

% Elong. in 5.1cm (%) 21 18 18 25 27 45 3 45 31 45 56 45 50 38

Charpy Impact Strength (Joules) 95 68 79 27 130 30 64 34 156 102 81 81 81 61

Thermal Expansion (m/m/K x 10 11.7 5.4 10.4 8.6 10.4 8.6 16.2 2.1 Same as 304 Same as 304 16.2 12.4 Same as 316 Same as 316 15.6 12.9
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2.2 Insulation for Piping System Most piping in liquid cryogenic service is insulated. The reasons a line would not be insulated are that (1) its use is very infrequent and brief; (2) it is a temporary installation;or (3) the refrigeration losses are inconsequential. The type of insulation used for cryogenic piping includes (1) expanded foams such as polyurethane and foamglass, (2) powder insulations such as perlite, and (3) vacuum-insulated pipe. For an insulation system to remain effective, the vapor barrier system must keep atmospheric moisture from entering the insulation space and freezing against the cryogenic line. When this occurs, the ice that is formed will degrade or destroy the insulation system. When the cryogenic liquid is colder than the boiling point of oxygen (-297 or

-183 ), oxygen can condensate out of the air and collect in the insulation space. For this situation, the insulation system should be noncombustible in the presence of oxygen. Heat leak by conduction and radiation is reduced by the laminar radiation shielding. The heat leak by convection is reduced by the vacuum. When cold insulation is required, the entire system shall be fully insulated, including all piping components, piping/tubing of insulated instruments, drains, equipment nozzles and supports. And all metal parts which protrude through the insulation shall be insulated. The typical values for thermal conductivity are shown in Table 3. The expanded foam insulation uses a covering to provide the vapour barrier protection. The initial capital cost is usually lower than the other system, but more frequent maintenance is required to maintain a tight vapour barrier. Table 3 - Thermal Conductivity of Pipe Insulation Materials at Insulation Mean Temperature of -100

Insulation Urethane Foam Foamglass Perlite (at atmospheric pressure) Perlite (vacuum at 1m) Laminar shielding (vacuum at 1m) radiation

Thermal conductivity [Btu/(hft )] 0.012 0.024 0.018 7.9 x 10 4 2.1 x 10 5

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Thermal conductivity W/(mK) .021 .042 .031 1.37 x 10 3 3.63 x 10 5

2.3 Flexibility Analysis for Cryogenic Piping System Piping flexibility analysis is an important design consideration because the large difference between ambient and cryogenic temperatures will result in significant thermal contraction. Moreover this piping flexibility analysis should be carried out before cryogenic pipe support design. When the amount of pipe movement exceeds the capacity of a pipe support system, a fixed support and more expansion loops should be designed in order to reduce the amount of pipe movement. The flexibility analysis of the cryogenic piping must consider the full temperature range as well as any other conditions with severe temperature difference which may occur during upset, thaw, or cool-down. And cryogenic pipe support must be designed accordingly. The analysis methods used are similar to those required for conventional piping system. The one difference is that piping in cryogenic services contracts rather than expands as it is the case with high temperature services. However, since the analyst can calculate the resulting contraction, the analysis method becomes identical to those used for conventional piping systems. For safe design, flexibility analysis for cryogenic piping system is usually
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carried out to meet the engineering requirements of ASME B31.3, Process Piping Code.

2.4 Requirements for Cryogenic Pipe Supports When an un-insulated cryogenic piping is supported, a portion of the pipe support will be at cryogenic temperature. Low temperature should be considered when selecting the materials for the pipe support and its hardware. For low temperature service, in addition to heat loss and gain, the problem of atmospheric condensation must be considered, and such lines are usually insulated with a material that has an outer covering or seal called a vapour barrier. This barrier prevents the insulation from absorbing moisture. For this reason it is not permissible to penetrate the insulation with load-carrying members such as the legs of a conventional high-temperature shoe/saddle or a pipe clamp. Since most low-temperature insulation has low compressive strength, it is necessary to provide shields to the line the piping insulation and to spread out the bearing area sufficiently to prevent crushing of the insulation. Such shields should fit the outer diameter of the insulation and cover 180 degree of arc. For cryogenic piping system, pipe support must be outside the insulation, withstand loads from the insulation material, must be ductile at cryogenic temperature, and has a relatively low thermal conductivity. And the vapour barrier must be left undisturbed. Therefore, cryogenic pipe supports shall meet the following requirements as a minimum. a. Supports shall be lighter in weight when compared with wooden block. b. High reliability in water and resistance to oil and corrosion Supports shall not need and preservative treatment such as creosote impregnation. c. High weather tightness Supports resist weathering and corrosion in long term outdoor use. d. Supports shall exceed in physical strength against compression, bending and shearing. e. Supports shall be suitable for mass production.
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f.

Forming incorporated with other material shall be possible. obtained in large quantity at the same time.

g. Free of grains, homogeneous and standard quality cradles shall be h. Low water absorption Supports shall not incur cracks from icing during storage or operation. i. Heat and Flame resistance Flammability of material shall be self-extinguished in accordance with ASTM D1692.

2.5 Consideration of Cryogenic Pipe Supports High density cradle type of cryogenic pipe supports shall incorporate a molded heavy density layer bonded with a stainless steel weather shield and assembled with a steel cradle. The high density layers shall be stepped and, together with the metal jacketing, sufficiently extended to facilitate incorporation within the adjacent insulation system. All Joints between supports and insulation shall be tightly fitted together and staggered with as few voids as possible in order to avoid icing due to heat leakage. Cryogenic pipe supports shall meet the design requirements in respect of compressive strength under sustained load, thermal conductivity, coefficient of friction, service temperature and flammability.

3. Optimization of Cryogenic Pipe Support As reviewed in the previous section, an extremely high degree of reliability is required in recent days in the field of pipe supporting system design such as LNG receiving terminal. Conventionally, wooden heat insulators have been used for piping system supports in these plants. However, these materials involve difficulties of availability and unstable quality. Furthermore, this material is very heavy and expensive. And often delivery is very long. Therefore, this kind of wooden block can not meet the requirements mentioned above. So we have to find and develop a better one. Urethane block made of high density polyurethane foam which has low thermal conductivity is a better cryogenic pipe support among
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various kinds of materials. They have been already used, and well received in various plants. And we are going to present optimized cryogenic pipe supports made of high density polyurethane foam.

3.1 Polyurethane Cradle Supports Shoe type of support mainly consists of polyurethane cradle and a steel load-bearing plate. It is used for sliding supports, guide supports, hanger supports, stanchion, trunnion and etc to avoid the condensate and formation of ice, around each support, which would restrict free movement of the piping. Additionally, under certain thermal conditions, direct contact between the pipe and the structure could produce local brittleness of the structure itself. Figure 1 shows typical cryogenic pipe support detail drawing, where B is cold insulation thickness.

Fig. 1 Cryogenic Pipe Support Detail Drawing Cradles shall be high density polyurethane foam which shall possess a unique
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cellular structure. And each cold insulated pipe supports shall have a vapour barrier. Easy assembling and finishing polyurethane cradle to the pipe line is also required. Design strength shall be based on ultimate compressive strength with a minimum safety factor of 5, or that which results in a 1% deflection, whichever is less, and shall have the following properties; a. Polyurethane foam shall satisfy the flame spread requirements of UL94. The minimum percentage of weight retention of the foam when tested in accordance with ASTM D3014 shall be 75%. b. Average density of PUF cradle shall be verified by dividing the weight of the cradle by its volume. Average density shall be within 5% of the specified density, for both 224kg/m3 and for 320kg/m3 PUF cradles. Average density for 160kg/m3 shall be within -0% and +10%. c. Minimum value for the ultimate compressive strength for samples taken from the core i.e., within the middle 60% of the thickness for all densities shall be within 10% of the specified values. d. The thermal conductivity of the polyurethane foam at -160 , in accordance with ASTM C177, shall be within +/-5% of the values specified in Table 4. Samples shall be taken from the core within the middle 60% of thickness, where it is practical. Table 4. Mechanical Characteristics of High density Polyurethane Minimum Compressive Strength 18.5 kg/cm2 70.4 kg/cm2 Thermal Conductivity (W/mk) 0.022 0.032

Pipe Size

Core Density 160 kg/m3 320 kg/m3

Stress at 1% deflection 3.2 kg/cm2 12.8 kg/cm2

1/2 to 8 10 to 72 Finish

Cradle ; Protective coating Bearing Plate and Shoe ; Painted after pickling or hot dip galvanized Masking ; The bore of the cradle is completely covered with masking tape
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Bonding ; The bearing plate is bonded to the cradle at the shop and the cradle is bonded to the pipe by field fabricator. Service Temperature Limit ; -196 to 80 Size Range ; 1/2 through 72 pipe size

Pipe support type varies in accordance with insulation thickness. Figure 2 shows type selection for pipe according to insulation thickness which has been adopted for Inchon LNG receiving terminal in Korea.

Fig. 2 Type Selection for Pipe and Insulation Thickness

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3.2 Bearing Plate The material for the bearing plate which prevents crushing of the insulation shall be carbon steel (ASTM A36 or equivalent) fully killed open-hearth, electric furnace, or basic-oxygen steels. Steel band strapping seals are to be pusher type seal.

3.3 Adhesive, Protective Coating and Seal The adhesive shall be applied to a thickness of 0.015inch (0.38mm) when Fosters 81-84 is used. Sufficient adhesive shall be used to fill any gaps or voids in the surfaces to be bonded. The bond adhesive shall be allowed to cure overnight at room temperature. If the adhesive material recommended by the PUF manufacturer is other than the specified one, the substituted adhesive material and applied thickness must be properly tested prior to being used. All surfaces of the polyurethane which requires adhesive bonding, protective coating of seal shall provide an appropriate anchor profile. Any waxy, smooth surfaces such as mold release film must be removed prior to the application of adhesive or protective coating. a. Adhesive The polyurethane cradles shall be bonded to the bearing plate/bearing plate assemblies by the polyurethane foam (PUF) manufacturer. Multilayer cradles are also bonded together by the polyurethane foam (PUF) manufacturer. The adhesive for the above bonding is normally Fosters 81-84, manufactured by the Foster Products Division of the H.B. Fuller Co. b. Protective Coating Monolar mastic 60-91 (gray) adhesive/coating available from the Foster products Division of H.B. Fuller Co. and H.B. Fuller licensees to be applied to a dry thickness of 0.034 inch (0.86mm). The manufacturer shall supply approximately 10% of the quantity of protective coating used in the shop fabrication of cold insulated pipe shoe for field repair of minor breaks in the protective seal.
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c. Seal The interface joints between the cradle and bearing plate shall be completely sealed with Butyl rubber sealant, to prevent water ingress. Sealant is normally Childers CP-76, Childers Products Company, Fosters 95044 (Fuller Company, Foster Products Division) or equivalent. The interface surfaces between upper and lower cradles shall be completely sealed with Childers CP-76, Foster 95-44 or an equal sealant. d. Masking Tape The inside radius surfaces of the cradle shall be completely covered with masking tape.

3.4 Beam Width and Allowable Moving The anticipated movement at each support point dictates the basic type of support required. Each type of support selected must be capable of accommodating movements obtained by piping flexibility analysis. Both longitudinal and horizontal movement must be evaluated. Because of large displacements (expansion and contraction) of material used for cryogenic piping system, displacement control becomes very important. These displacements due to thermal contraction can be predicted by piping flexibility analysis. For this reason supporting one line from another is forbidden for cryogenic piping. The Figure 3 shows recommended beam width and its allowable moving, which has been adopted for Inchon LNG receiving terminal in Korea. Therefore, detail design should be applied in consideration of pipe temperature under contraction and distance from anchor point. And special length support is available upon request for need or more allowable moving.

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Fig. 3 Beam Width and Allowable Movement In addition to displacement control, the cryogenic pipe supports has to slide smoothly in order to avoid icing around/between the cryogenic pipe support and pipe insulation. Thus PTFE sliding plate shall be used to minimize horizontal forces caused by frictional resistance for cryogenic piping system.

3.5 Field installation Check Point Based on the experience, we have the field installation check point as follows; a. As soon as the package is opened, check the support assembly if there is any damage. And if the damage is small such as coming off of coating, the damage should be repaired at the field. b. Clean the surface of pipe to remove all the foreign objectives adhered such as rust, vapour, oil, dust and etc. c. As the supports are installed at the center of existing beam or at off-set position depending on the requirement, the installation position shall be determined and clearly marked.
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d. Remove the masking tape which is adhered on the cradle bore. e. Apply the adhesive uniformly on the cradle bore, then, press the support assembly against the pipe and fasten firmly together by using the steel band until the adhesive harden. f. The time to release the steel band is depended on the open air temperature. When the temperature is over 18 , the steel band may be released after 12 hour duration. g. Touch up the portion with protective coating agent where the protective coating is come off.

3.6 Thermal Bowing owing to Two Phase Flow Consideration of the cryogenic fluid properties has an effect on the piping arrangement. Because the cryogenic fluid is colder than ambient air, the continuous heat leak from ambient air to the piping system is a design consideration. Because of rapid change of phase due to large heat fluxes caused by this kind of heat leakage, there is the temperature difference between top and bottom of the pipe cross section and two phase flow. The effect of two phase flow is much more complicated than that of single phase flow. This is attributed to the fluctuations of flow rate, density and pressure gradients, as well as oscillations due to compressibility of the partial gas fluid. This continuous heat leakage also causes thermal bowing, which should be avoided. When a cryogenic liquid line is initially put in service, the warm piping will cause liquid flash-off, which could restrict the flow during the two-phase flow transient period. When it is possible to pre-cool the lines, the piping can be sized for liquid phase flow, which will result in small piping. If rapid cool-down is required, the piping must be sized for two-phase flow. This rapid cool-down also causes thermal bowing. Undesirable heat transfer and heat loss is therefore reduced. Considering unexpected thermal bowing and fluctuations of flow rate, pipe support span for cryogenic piping shall be much shorter than that of hot-insulated piping. When practical, a support should be located immediately
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adjacent to any change in direction of the piping.

4. Conclusions This paper has shown in such a way as to ensure proper support under all operating and environmental conditions and to provide for expansion / contraction, PTFE sliding plate, thermal bowing, and insulation protection for cryogenic piping system. In conclusion, it appears that the following points represent a reasonable point of cryogenic pipe support design from the theoretical and practical study and by applying to Inchon LNG receiving terminal 1. Cryogenic pipe supports shall be designed to minimize thermal conduction which could adversely affect the fluid in the pipe and/or the surrounding structure. 2. Cryogenic supports shall be designed taking into account warm-up and cool-down conditions. So piping flexibility analysis is necessary before cryogenic pipe support design. Adequate systems shall be used in order not to induce additional stresses on insulation material. 3. At support location, insulation material shall be high density foam (160kg/m3 or higher), and a maximum deflection of 1% on insulation cradle shall be respected. 4. Because of large displacements (expansion and contraction) of material used for cryogenic piping system, supports selected must be capable of accommodating movements. 5. 6. PTFE sliding plate shall be used to minimize horizontal forces caused by frictional resistance for cryogenic piping system. Considering unexpected thermal bowing and fluctuations of flow rate, pipe support span for cryogenic piping shall be much shorter than that of hot-insulated piping. All of the foregoing topics are very important and must be studied to design cryogenic piping system from the support point of view and to provide a general understanding and the basis for cryogenic pipe support design guide.
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Further work on this topic includes cryogenic pipe support subject to surge force and steady state vibration like pulsation. REFERENCE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Paul R. Smith and Thomas J. Van Laan ; Piping and Pipe Support Systems, Design and Engineering, McGraw-Hill Book Company Piping Design and Engineering, ITT Grinnell Industrial Piping, Inc. Ernest Holmes ; Handbook of Industrial Pipework Engineering, McGraw-Hill Book Company MSS SP-58, Materials and Design of Pipe Supports MSS SP-69, Selection and Application of Pipe Supports MSS SP-89, Fabrication and Installation of pipe Supports BS 3974, Specification for Pipe Supports, Part 1, 2 and 3 ASME B31.3, Process Piping M. W. Kellogg, Pipe Support Components and Fabricated Assemblies M.W. Kellogg Type 11. Mohinder L. Nayyar ; Piping Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Company

10. N.H.K Spring Co., Ltd, Inspection Report for Cryogenic Pipe Support,

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