Variable and Constant Spring Supports

Introduction
Pipe Supports: Pipe is held either from above by hangers or supports of various types on which it rests.Hangers are also referred to as supports. There are a number of typical pipe supports that can be installed to support dead weight loads, and restrain the pipe for thermal and dynamic loads. The designs are only limited by the imagination of the engineer and designer, as literally thousands of different designs have been used for special purposes. Pipe is rested on or secured to a support member usually of a standard structural shape (I-beam, wide flange beam, angle, channel etc.). The pipe may be secured to this member with a pipe support. Pipe supports and hangers are devices which transfer the loads from the pipe or the structural attachment to the supporting structure or e uipment. They include rod hangers, spring hangers, sway braces, turnbuc!les, struts, anchors, saddles, rollers, brac!ets, and sliding supports. "tructural attachments are elements that are welded, bolted, or clamped to the pipe, such as clips, lugs, clamps, clevises, and stops. The correct and economical selection of the supports for any piping system usually presents difficulties of varying degrees, some relatively minor and others of a more critical nature. Proper support selection should be the ob#ective of all phases of design and construction.

Pipe Supports standards

The code $"%& ' ().( specifies under clause (*).).) the ayout and design of piping and its supporting elements shall be directed toward preventing the following+

Piping stresses in e,cess of those permitted in the -ode .ea!age at #oints &,cessive thrusts and moments on connected e uipment (such as pumps and turbines) &,cessive stresses in the supporting (or restraining) elements /esonance with imposed or fluid-induced vibrations &,cessive interference with thermal e,pansion and contraction in piping which is otherwise ade uately fle,ible 0nintentional disengagement of piping from its supports &,cessive piping sag in piping re uiring drainage slope
1

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

&,cessive distortion or sag of piping (e.g., thermoplastics) sub#ect to creep under conditions of repeated thermal cycling &,cessive heat flow, e,posing supporting elements to temperature e,tremes outside their design limits

1ther support standards

$"%& ().) 2 ().( ie Power Piping 2 Process Piping %"" "P-34 Pipe Hangers and "upports - %aterials, 5esign, and %anufacture %"" "P-67 $8"I9%"" &dition Pipe Hangers and "upports - "election and $pplication %"" "P-:: ;uidelines for Pipe "upport -ontractual /elationships %"" "P-47 Pipe Hangers and "upports -<abrication and Installation Practices %"" "P-7= ;uidelines on Terminology for Pipe Hangers and "upports

Types of piping supports+ /igid supports $nchor ;uide /est .ine stops

"pring supports >ariable spring supports -onstant spring supports 'ig ton springs "way braces
2

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

"nubbers

Determination of Support locations

"upport locations are dependent on many considerations, such as pipe si?e, piping configuration, the location of heavy >alves and fittings, and the structure that is available for support. <ollowing rules of thumb will help when doing the fle,ibility analysis and operation and maintenance+

$s much as possible, attach supports to straight pipe rather than elbows, other fittings, >alves, flanges or instruments, but provide supports near instruments, and other devices that are li!ely to be removed for maintenance.

Provide space for adding loops to piping near load sensitive e uipment, e.g. in pump suction lines.

-onsider the need to add friction reducing slides between the piping and support steel.

"upport piping such that spools to be removed for e uipment maintenace can be removed without adding temporary supports.

%inimi?e the use of spring hangers.

Determination of Loads and Movements:

3

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

The anticipated movement at each support point dictates the basic type of support re uired. &ach type of support selected must be capable of accommodating movements. It is a good practice to select first the most simple or basic rigid support type and to add to the comple,ity only as conditions warrant. 8o advantage will be reali?ed in upgrading a support when a simpler, more economical type can be shown to satisfy all the design re uirements. 'oth vertical and hori?ontal movement must be evaluated. @hen piping vertical movement is small, the use of simple rod hangers should be ade uate. @ith small vertical movement and significant hori?ontal movement, the simple rod hanger will still suffice, provided the overall length is sufficient to !eep the angular swing of the rod within reasonable limits-normally accepted as being AB from the vertical. @hen one is calculating the total movement e,perienced by the support, both hori?ontal displacements and the vertical displacement must be combined and normali?ed to the a,is of the support. -onsideration should be given to relocating the upper connection some percentage (usually two-thirds) of the total movement as a means for reducing the angularity in the hot position. <or piping supported from below, some form of slide must be incorporated to provide for the hori?ontal movementC or, in the case of ensured longitudinal movement, a pipe roll may be used. /ollers are usually only used on long runs of piping supported on rac!s such as found in refinery piping. "uspended hangers with considerable hori?ontal movement and low headroom will re uire either single- or doubledirection trolleys or rollers. @here both longitudinal and lateral movements are large, consideration may be given to the use of a single-direction trolley oriented on the resultant movement vector.

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

Spring supports
Why spring hangers are used? $ny line operating at high temperature moves upwards9downwards (depending on the pipe configuration) due to thermal e,pansion. $ny rigid support provided on such a line tends to lift pipe up9down and hence remain inactive during operating conditions. In such a case a fle,ible support (springs) is provided which is capable of ta!ing the load in all the operating and cold conditions. The spring supports provides continuous support during e,pansion or contraction of the pipe. The spring support basically employs a spring element, which can get compressed or stretch-out depending upon the thermal movement of pipe and the corresponding loads.
5

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

Varia le spring supports:

$ helical coil that supports dead weight load. The support load changes as the spring moves through its range at a specified spring rate. This support can be a hanger above the pipe, or a floor support below the pipe. To prevent constraints in the system, thermal e,pansion in the piping and other piping components must not be hindered. The piping must therefore be supported in a correspondingly elastic manner. To compensate for slight vertical displacements in the piping, spring components are used as supports. The functioning of these components is based on preset helical coil springs which e,ert a variable supporting load over the whole range of movement corresponding to the given spring characteristics. .oad variations resulting from this are limited through corresponding specifications based on stress calculations for the piping - this depends on the sensitivity of the system. >ariable constant springs are generally recommended for non critical lines. "upporting force varies with the spring deflection and spring scale. >ariation in supporting force is e ual to the product of the amount of vertical e,pansion and spring scale. >ariation in supporting force results in additional stresses in piping system $ccepted amount of variation as per the codes is D *3E. >ariable springs are available in different si?es , different configuration and in different types they are as follows+ Si!e
6

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

o *( standard si?es o 3= to 3==== lb load Types o Type $,' and o Type 5 and & o Type ; "onfiguration o "hort o "tandard o 5ouble o Triple o Fuadruple o

Types of varia le spring hangers:

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

"onfigurations of Varia le Spring Supports:

V#$I#%L& SP$I'( S)PP*$TS: L*#D #'D T$#V&L T#%L&

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

Selection of varia le spring support:

). *. (. 5etermine the re uired effort 2 pipe movement (up or down) from installed to operating condition. "elect the smallest spring si?e from the vendor catalogue which has the operating load within the wor!ing travel. &nsure the spring selected can accommodate the preset to operating travel within the wor!ing range. This is done by moving up 2 down the chart from the operating load by the amount of travel. A. 3. If the spring selected cannot accommodate the movement try a larger spring si?e or the ne,t travel range. -hec! the variation in supporting effort for the selected spring.

10

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

6. :. 4.

If this e,ceeds the allowable variation then choose the ne,t travel range and go bac! to "tep ( above. If the variation is less than half of the allowable then a smaller travel range may be acceptable. -hoose a smaller travel range and go bac! to step A. If the variation e,ceeds the allowable selection then a constant effort support is re uired or possibility of routing changes to be studied.

&,ample+ "elect a variable spring for the following conditions+ Hot load G (=: lbs, movement G HI up, variability G *=E ma,imum ). -alculate spring rate. "pring rate G hot load , variability 9 movement G =.*=J(=:9=.3 G )**.4 lbs per inch *. <ind the spring si?e column on the si?e and series selection chart where the hot load is (=: lbs. ($ si?e 3 series fig.4* fits the criteria) (. -alculate the cold load.

-old load G (=: K (6( , =.3=) G ((7 lbs. A. 8ow chec! to see if the hot load and cold load fit in the wor!ing range of si?e 3 series. If so, you have selected the proper unit.

11

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

"onstant Load +anger:

12

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

$ specially engineered hanger that is designed to travel through many inches of vertical travel with a minimal change in support load. There are different styles and types depending on the manufacturers. Per %"" "P-34 a constant support hanger can be within specification and still have a load variation of plus minus 6E through the travel range. "ome suppliers claim a tighter tolerance on the load variation. -onstant hangers and constant supports are used for piping and related components where higher levels of vertical travel occur. Their #ob is to transfer the wor!ing load over the whole travel area while maintaining constancy, i.e., without any considerable deviations. The functional precision of the constant hanger is decisive for the favorable long term behaviour of the components concerned. -onstant hangers compensate for vertical movement caused by thermal e,pansion. >ia constant hangers, the respective piping loads are constantly absorbed and transferred with no significant deviation over the whole range of movement. "ignificant deviations would act as harmful and uncontrolled e,tra loads in the system.

Mechanism of "onstant Spring +anger

-onsist of helical coil spring and bell cran! lever. "pring force , distance from pivot -ounter balancing of load and G pipe load , distance from pivot spring movement is

obtained which results in contant supporting force.

13

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

@henever load variation e,ceeds *3E or e,ceeds the specified ma,imum load variation percentage in a variable hanger, then a -onstant &ffort "pring is selected. In -&" the load remains constant when the pipe moves from its cold position to hot position. Thus irrespective of travel the load remains constant over complete range of movement. The pipe is supported by a drop rod connected via turnbuc!le to the end of the lever arm. The spring coil applies a force to the trunnion arm of the lever which tends to pull the lever-arm 0P against the load of the pipe. The geometry of the lever arm provides a balance btw the pipe load 2 spring force. The pipe may therefore move due to thermal e,pansion while being supported with a nominally constant force through this travel range.

+ori!ontal and Vertical constant spring +angers

14

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

Selection of "onstant Spring +anger:

5etermine the load to be supported by hanger as well as the actual travel, ie. The actual vertical movement of the pipe at the point of hanger location, refer load-travel table. The total travel for constant supports should be e ual to Lactual travelI plus )I or *=E whichever is greater. $fter determining the si?e, consideration of available room for suspending the pipe and hanger will indicate whether a vertical or hori?ontal hanger is desirable. $fter hanger si?e 2 design are determined, the type of constant support to be used depends upon the physical installation re uired by the suspension problem. &,ample+ Total travel G A L and *:3= lbs Hanger si?e would be (A
15

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

(eneral notes and guidelines:

$ny re-ad#ustment of spring element shall be carried out only when the line is full with the fluid or its e uivalent in density to balance the weight of piping and the preset load of spring.

The ad#ustment of hanger type spring element is done by rotating turn buc!le or ad#ustment nuts provided in the hanger rod.

5uring hydraulic testing, flushing or chemical cleaning of the pipeline, the spring must be !ept under loc!ed condition or protected against overloading due to weight of testing 9 flushing fluid, by providing temporary.

$fter re-ad#ustment it is important to chec! whether sufficient range is available on scale for re uired movement of the pipe during operation.

Points to remem er

5esign spring based on the installation load (operating load). -ompactness of the units. Installation heights designed to a minimum. 5uring occasional case the pipe may move more than the operating movement. In such a case, if we choose ma,imum deflection range the spring cannot get further movement and thus the spring fails. To overcome such a problem provides L-ushion /angeI means even if in occasional cases the spring may get compressed, so choose always L%I5-/$8;&I.

Initial design itself the spring cannot be designed for occasional loads (e.g. "eismic, wind etc.) 2 movement then it may be an over design.

<or hanging spring support the lateral movements (rod swing) should not e,ceed A degree.
16

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

<or bottom type supports, where hori?ontal movement of more than HI is envisaged, Teflon covered load pads should be specified.

$lways mention the hydro test load, while ordering a spring. This will help the spring vendor in designing the spring loc!ing arrangement.

"tandard inventory finish+ Hot dip galvani?ed. -oils come with a protective coating +

Protects from a wide range of corrosives. 5oes not affect the fle, life of the spring.

"upports are fitted with nameplates mar!ed with the installation and operating load, support reference mar!, type and uni ue serial number.

*ffshore applications:

<low arm lines (MNmas tree to the production9 test manifolds). -ompressors. @H/0 (@aste Heat /ecovery 0nits).

Spring vendors:

"arathi -arpenter and paterson .td .isega $nvil 'ergen power

17

Variable and Constant Spring Supports

Pipe support .td

18