Piping Maintenance and Repairs

sensitive to additional weight added to piping systems. Subject to

the particular situation, a piping stress analysis may be in order
to check the springs. Variable springs are more 'forgiving than
constant springs, but it is good practice to check the springs if
significant weight is added.
4. Find where the enclosure sections must terminate to ensure that it
encloses the area of the leak or area of concern (thin wall). Also UT
measurements should be made to ensure that there is enough wall
available for welding to sound metal and that there is adequate
distance from the pipe-to-branch welds.
Required End PIate Thickness Without Pressure
Thrust Load
The ASME Section VIII Division 1 Appendix 9 gives a procedure to
calculate the minimum required thickness of flat end plates for an
enclosure. This procedure is appropriate when the pressure thrust load
in the pipe is not a design consideration. The pressure thrust load does
not need to be considered if there is no concern of the following:
Deteriorated pipe enclosed by the enclosure may completely separate
during operation.
Flange bolts may fail when exposed to the process fluid, for example,
if the enclosure completely encloses flanged joints.
If these issues are not a concern, the following procedure can be applied:
1. The minimum required thickness of the flat end plates shall be the
greater of the following:
t
rep
2t
rj
CA in. (mm) Eq. 6-35
Eq. 6-36
where t
rep
minimum required thickness of flat end plate, in. (mm)
t
rj
minimum required thickness of cylindrical enclosure
excluding CA (i.e., t
rj
t CA)
j distance between the OD of the process pipe and the
ID of the enclosure box, in. (mm). The maximum
t
rep
0.707j
P
A
CA in. (mm)
Escoe. Piping and Pipeline Assessment Guide
value for this distance is calculated using the CA and
mill tolerance.
P design pressure of the process pipe, psig (KPa
g
)
A
allowable stress of flat plate material at the design
temperature of the process pipe per the applicable
code (e.g., ASME B31.3), psi (MPag)
CA enclosure allowance of the enclosure-should be the
same as for the process pipe being contained, assuming
comparable metallurgy (strongly recommended)
2. All well sizes should meet the requirements of the ASME Section
VIII Division 1 Appendix 9.
3. The end plate maximum thickness should be limited to two to three
times the thickness of the process pipe being contained, with a
maximum practical limit of approximately 1 in. (25 mm) consider-
ing the field welding case. This is normally not a concern when the
pressure thrust load is not a design parameter.
Required End PIate Thickness Considering Pressure
Thrust Load
The following procedure is derived from the methodology of the ASME
Section VIII Division 1 Appendix 2. This procedure is applied if there
is a concern that the contained pipe sections may separate inside the
enclosure. This phenomenon could be caused by severe circumferential
corrosion or failed bolts in enclosed flanges.
1. Calculate the acting loads and moments using the following
equations:
Eq. 6-37
Eq. 6-38
Eq. 6-39
H
D
h
D
H
D
Eq. 6-40
H
T
W H
D
H
D
B
2
P
4
W
B
2
P
4
Piping Maintenance and Repairs
M
T
h
T
H
T
Eq. 6-41
M
o
M
D
M
T
Eq. 6-42
where B outside diameter of the pipe being enclosed, in. (mm)
D
ic
inside diameter of the enclosure (considering mill toler-
ance and corrosion allowance), in. (mm). If enclosure is
made from pipe, the following should be used: D
ic
pipe OD 2(0.875t
nom
CA).
h
D
radial distance from OD of the pipe being enclosed to the
average diameter of the enclosure (D
ave
), in. (mm) (e.g.,
if enclosure is made from pipe, D
ave
pipe OD t
nom
)
h
T
0.5h
D
, in. (mm)
P design pressure of process pipe being contained, psig
KPa
g
)
2. The minimum required thickness of the flat end plates (t
EP
) is
calculated as
Eq. 6-43
where
A
allowable stress of end plate material at design temper-
ature of the process pipe being contained per the appli-
cable code (e.g., ASME B31.3), psi (MPa)
CA corrosion allowance of enclosure, in. (mm)
Y value obtained from Figure 2-7.1 of Appendix 2 in
the ASME Section VIII Division 1 Appendix 2. This
value can be alternatively computed from the
following:
where
3. Limit the maximum end plate thickness to two to three times the
process pipe thickness, with a maximum practical limit of 1 in.
(25 mm).
K
(Enclosure OD)
(Pipe OD)
Y
1
K 1
0.66845 5.7169
K
2
log
10
K
K
2
1
t
EP
M
o
Y
A
B
CA
Escoe. Piping and Pipeline Assessment Guide
4. If a flat end plate would be too thick, then a pipe cap, reducer, or
conical transition piece may be used for the enclosure. The thick-
ness of the pipe cap or reducer would normally be the same as
that of the enclosure cylinder. However, for pipe caps that have
had holes cut in them to accommodate installation around
thinned wall pipe, branch reinforcement calculations should be
made. Alternatively, as previously discussed, flat end plates
could be designated as an end plate without pressure thrust load,
or a 'strong-back system with tie rods could be designed to
withstand the pressure thrust load, or serrated end plates or shear
pins could be used.
ThermaI Stress Criteria in WeIded EncIosure Designs
Welded enclosures are commonly used with pipelines because they
normally operate at temperatures relatively close to ambient tempera-
tures. For this reason thermal stresses are not a major concern for
using welded enclosures, such as split tees and sleeves, in pipelines.
This fact is not true for in-plant piping, where often piping systems
routinely operate at temperatures far above or below ambient tempera-
tures. Thus, many companies forbid welded enclosures for in-plant
process piping. The term 'ambient temperature can vary considerably
depending where on earth the facility is located. It can range from
many times below zero on the northern slope of Alaska or in Siberia,
Russia, to the highest official recorded temperature on earth, 57.8C
(136F) in Al Azizyah, Libya (south of Tripoli). Ambient is assumed
to be 21C (70F) in the United States and most parts of Europe.
Thermal stresses need to be considered for welded enclosures if the
design temperature of the process pipe is more than approximately
350F (177C).
A classic case of welded attachment failure was a plate ring welded all
around a 20 in. superheated steam line beneath a furnace. The welded
ring plate was used to attach rods for two constant spring hangers
beneath the steam header at several locations. The entire header and sup-
port ring plates were insulated to minimize the differential temperature
between the support ring and steam header. The problem came at shut-
down when saturated steam was shot through the steam header to cool it
down. As the steam header cooled down, the ring plate remained hot and
the differential temperature between the support ring and the steam
header resulted in massive cracking in the welds between the support
ring and steam header. This cracking became worse with each shutdown
until the cracking progressed into the header parent metal, setting up