Installation Guidelines for C&I Laying of Impulse Pipe

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General Guidelines on Laying of Impulse Pipe



x The impulse pipe laying is recommended to be limited to a maximum
of 10 metres (each limb) generally, unless otherwise specified, to
have optimum response from the transmitter. However, this will
depend upon plant layout.

x Where the tapping point is subjected to mechanical shift due to
heating / cooling of main equipment, care should be taken to route
the impulse pipe in such a way as to absorb the shift of tapping point
without straining the impulse piping. To accommodate this, sufficient
loop for the impulse pipes can be provided near to the tapping point.

x Alternatively hose assembly - S.S. flexible may be used for connection
between tapping point and impulse pipe.

x The expansion bends are to be avoided as far as possible, as these act
as air / sedimentation traps hampering the system performance.

x Impulse piping shall be arranged as short as possible with a minimum,
of bends.

x Horizontal piping shall be provided with 1/10 slope.

x Pipes shall not be laid parallel to high temperature process piping.

x Pipe joints shall be carried out by sockets and flanges. Union fittings
may be used when pressure is low. In the case of D.P. instruments
both piping on low side and high side shall be maintained at same
length and in the same route.

x The impulse pipes used may be of carbon steel or alloy steel or
stainless steel for C & I application. The thickness of pipes will vary
depending on the schedule of the pipe to proceed with the laying of
impulse pipe following procedure shall be followed.

Installation Guidelines for C&I Laying of Impulse Pipe
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CLEANING OF IMPULSE PIPE

x The impulse pipes which are stored in the site shall not be used
directly, it shall be cleaned first. Initial cleaning of impulse pipe shall
be carried out by passing a waste cloth through the pipe and it shall
be poked with a metal rod. The procedure shall be repeated two or
three times and then compressed air shall be blown.

x Depending on the type of material of impulse pipe, mild acid solution
shall be used for cleaning the tube. Hydrochloric acid 4% shall be
prepared and tube shall be kept for 30 min. Then the tubes has to be
thoroughly cleaned in running water. Finally then shall be cleaned in
DM water and dried.

x Once cleaned the tubes shall be erected immediately. If the tubes are
not erected immediately the tube ends shall be covered and stored.


LAYING OF IMPULSE PIPE

x The impulse pipe laying is recommended to be limited to a maximum
of 10 metres (each limb) from tapping point generally, unless
otherwise specified, to have optimum response from the transmitter.
However, this will depend upon plant layout.

x Where the tapping point is subjected to mechanical shift due to
heating / cooling of main equipment, care should be taken to route
the impulse pipe in such a way as to absorb the shift of tapping point
without straining the impulse piping. To accommodate this, sufficient
loop for the impulse pipes can be provided near to the tapping point.

x Alternatively hose assembly S.S. flexible may be used far
connection between tapping point and impulse pipe.

x The expansion bends are to be avoided as far as possible, as these act
as air / sedimentation traps hampering the system performance.

x Impulse piping shall be arranged as short as possible with a minimum
of bends.

Installation Guidelines for C&I Laying of Impulse Pipe
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x Horizontal piping shall be provided 1/10 slope positive slope for gas /
air service and negative slope for liquid.

x Pipe joints shall be carried out sockets. Union fittings may be used
when pressure is low. In the case of D.P. instruments both piping on
low side and high side shall be maintained at same length and in the
same route.


SUPPORTING OF IMPULSE PIPE

x It should be ensured that the supporting bracket is fixed in such a
way that no undue stress is generated in supporting points and piping
end, and no leakage is produced. Equal angle shall be used for
supporting brackets.

x Impulse piping shall be fixed by U bolts and nuts to the supporting
brackets, as shown in the figure.

x Space between supports shall be less than 2 m. key points such as
bend, round curve, etc. shall also be supported.

x In the case of parallel impulse piping of more than 2 pipes, the
minimum space between pipes shall be arranged such that the space
shall be workable on piping wrench and other tools.

x Impulse pipe shall not be supported with platforms, hand rails,
vibrating structure etc. Angle brackets shall be welded on to the main
structure or to a re-inforcement column or a floor as shown in the
figure.


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IMPULSE PIPE FITTING

x Normally socket welded fittings are recommended for impulse pipe.
Socket welding does not require edge preparation. However, pipe
shall be cleaned and burr should be removed. In view of the above,
fast work progress can be achieved.

x S.S. fittings have been recommended for use with alloy steel pipes for
two reasons:

x It is difficult to get alloy steel forged fittings or required material,
specification from the market whereas S.S. grade forgings are easily
available.

x Welding of alloy steel pipe or alloy steel fitting requires use of alloy
steel electrodes and welding of such a combination requires
preheating and post heating operations and is to be done carefully.

x This is a time consuming process and requires lot of supervision.

x S.S. fitting to alloy steel pipe can be easily welded by arc welding
using S.S. electrodes.

x Since cleaning of impulse pipes does not necessitate opening of the
pipes from the joints and cleaning is accomplished by a process of
blow-back arrangement all fittings have been chosen with welded
type.

x Wherever there is absolute necessity, unions have been
recommended, thereby restricting the use of the fittings to the
bearest minimum.

x The use of fittings may be limited to the minimum unless specifically
required for a particular application, for easy maintenance.


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IMPULSE PIPE CUTTING AND BENDING

Cutting

x Pipe cutter or wheel grinder shall be used for pipe cutting.

x Gas cutting shall be avoided.

x Burr inside the cut end shall be removed.

x The cutting surface shall be as perpendicular to the axis as possible.

Bending

x It is recommended for cold bend for the impulse pipes with the help of
a hydraulic bender machine to achieve a particular shape.

x Use of 450 elbow and 900 bends (ready-made) is restricted to bare
minimum to minimize the number of joints in a system. Hot bending
is not be used as this leads to flattening of pipes at the bends and also
results in thinning of walls, apart from introducing changes in
metallurgical properties of the pipe material.

x Hot bending may be permitted for carbon steel pipe for low pressure
service as instructed by supervisor only when it cannot be avoided.
In the case of 900 bending the radius shall be more than 3 times the
outside diameter of pipe and in the case of U bending, radius of
bending shall be 5 times the outside diameter of pipe. When the
radius of bending becomes small, elbow fitting shall be used.

x Large bending shall be so made as to form smooth curve.


IMPULSE PIPE WELDING

x Generally, welding of impulse pipe and fitting shall be carried out by
arc welding and socket welding is adopted, as shown in the figure.
Welding shall be performed by the qualified welders. Only D.C arc
welding is recommended for impulse pipe. Motor generator is
preferred to rectifier shall be performed on straight portions but not
on bent portions.

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x In order to prevent the cracking of the weld it is recommended to
provide a small gap between the bottom of the socket and pipe end as
shown in the figure.

x Depending on the material type and resource availability different
welding methods are followed.


SHIELDED METAL ARC WELDING PROCESS (SMAW)

x The arc is initiated by momentarily touching the electrode to the base
metal. The heat of the arc melts the surface of the base metal to
form a molten pool at the end of the electrode. The melted electrode
metal is transferred across the arc into the molten pool and becomes
deposited weld metal.

x It has maximum flexibility and can weld many metals in all positions.

x This process can be used to weld socket type weld.

x Min. thickness of base metal is that can be welded is 1.6 mm for a
skilled welder.


GAS TUNGSTEN ARC WELDING PROCESS (GTAW) (TIG)

x The gas tungsten arc welding process utilizes the heat of an arc
between a non-consumable tungsten electrodes and the base metal.
The arc develops intense heat which melts arc surface of the base
metal to form a molten pool. The filler material is externally fed. The
filler material is not transferred across the art but melted by it. The
arc area is protected from atmosphere by inert shielding gas
(normally argon) which flows from the nozzle of the torch. The
shielding gas displaces the air so that the oxygen and the nitrogen of
the arc does not come in contact with molten metal or the hot
tungsten electrode. As the molten metal cools coalescence occurs and
parts are joined.

x GTAW is widely used for joining thin wall tubing and for making root
passes in pipe points.

x Minimum thickness of base metal that can be welded 0.13mm
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Advantages
x High quality welds in all metals and alloy.
x There is no filler material carried across the arc and so no spatter.
x Welding can be prepared in all portions.
x No slag produced.

GAS METAL ARC WELDING (GMAW)

x The gas metal arc welding process utilizes the heat of an arc between
a continually fed consumable electrode and the work to be welded.
The heat of the arc melts the surface of this base metal and the end
of the electrode. The metal melted off the electrode is transferred
through the arc to the work where it becomes the deposited weld
metal. The shielding is obtained from an envelope of gas which may
be an inert gas. The arc is maintained automatically and travel can be
manually or by M/c welding process minor variation in process leads
to spray arc welding pulsed arc welding short circuit metal transfer
welding etc.

x Min. thickness of metal to be welded should be greater than 0.13 mm.

Advantages
x High deposition, rates when related to shielded metal arc welding.
x High operator factor with respect to shielded metal arc welding.
x High utilization of filler material.
x Elimination of slag and flux removal.
x Reduction of smoke and fumes.