pipeline terminologies

[Mefi01]

Hello Friends,

I am control engineer and currently working in the design of crude oil skids. I have just started the job and I find myself dealing with various terminologies that I do not understand including SS316/304, pressure rating , ANSI rating ( #150,300 etc), pipework standards ( ASMI etc). I am just wondering if there's a guide for engineers like me to get used to these terms and become familiar with their use?

 

[racookpe1978]

Basic information, eh?

All of my references are at home on the shelf, since I'm in the field this month, but ...

Get your Marks Engineering Handbook, open it to "Piping" and read. Every sentence.

I admire your willing attitude to admit you need to learn, but the breadth of your question is near-frightening if you have been tasked with "designing pipe" - even if only" on a skid.

SS316/304. Material classes for stainless steel. There are hundreds of others, you need to recognize all of them, and be familiar with 10-20. Be aware that "Pipe material" and "Pipe fitting material" and "Pipe support (structural) material" and "pipe bolting material" are very, very different.

Pressure ratings and their definitions. Know them. Know those terms Intimately.

ANSI ratings, Pipe Schedules, Pipe classes, Fitting "Class, Rating, and Pressures". Know these terms, their use, their differences.

I am being a bit "pushy" here because by your questions about the "language" involved, you've demonstrated you need to read about these basics much more. Yes, I am deliberately NOT answering your question. You do not yet know enough about this field so that your questions can be answered in enough detail in an open international internet forum to help. In other words, to answer your questions in enough detail so you would be become a safe piping designer, we would in fact and in deed, need to "write the book."

We cannot here teach you "all" of the stuff you have shown you need to know to begin to ask detailed questions.

GET THE BOOKS. Read them.

 

[LittleInch]

You just need to keep asking and looking.

316 / 304 is a type of stainless steel. There are subtle differences between the two, but only materials engineers really know.

It's not ANSI, Its ASME Class ratings. You need to look at ASME B 16.5 to determine the pressure ratings for different materials and different temperatures

Pipework design standards - If you're designing skids it is almost certainly ASME B 31.3.

There might be other company or supplier piping specifications which define things further and pipework and instrument / electrical installation specifications.

But you can't be expected to know this?

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[MJCronin]

Lets see now .... a newbie control engineer assigned to the mechanical/piping design of crude oil skids..

Your questions all relate to piping design 101 ...

You questions are all legitimate, and you probably learn fast, ... but I cant help but wonder, is your boss an MBA ?

Is it true that you have no one in your organization to ask questions ?

Will your boss be asking you to do the structural design of the skid also ? How good are you in reviewing AWS weld procedures ?

Will he be hiring a structural engineer to develop logic and one-line electrical diagrams ?

MJCronin
Sr. Process Engineer

 

[fel3]

Veterans…

Could it be that the OP is working on the controls design on the skids, and is simply asking for help understanding the terminology of the other disciplines involved? The OP did not explicitly state he/she was doing the piping design.

Now, if the OP is tasked with the piping design, I would be every bit as worried as y'all are and for the same reasons. However, at this point, what I see is harsh treatment based on an unsupported assumption.

Fred

==========
"Is it the only lesson of history that mankind is unteachable?"
--Winston S. Churchill

 

[Metalero]

Aquí un glosario corto pero efectivo, para que comiences a familiarizarte.

http://pipingdesigners.com/contents...initions/101-section-1a-piping-terms-glossary

 

[gwalkerb]

fel3's interpretation was the same as mine. It sounds more like this engineer wants to understand the general terminology of the piping systems, even if they're a controls engineer, doing controls engineering.

So I'll respond on that basis.

A very good starting point is ASME B31.3, which as mentioned, is likely the code of construction for your skids. Even if it isn't, understanding B31.3 (and the various other ASME specifications that it references) will give you a good knowledge base to understand piping in general.

Here's a quick list of specs I would recommend being familiar with:

ASME B31.3 - Process Piping
ASME B16.5 - Pipe Flangse and Flanged Fittings (this is where you'll find 'ANSI' ratings. But ANSI hasn't been the governing body for these flange ratings for a long time, referring to them as ASME flanges is the correct designation)
ASME B16.9 - Factory-Made Wrought Buttwelding Fittings (another support spec for B31.3, less important to be completely familar with, but it gives an overview of the standard fittings types)
ASME Section VIII - This ia the big one - the pressure vessel code. I would assume you probably have some pressure vessels on your skids - this isn't a code you can pick up overnight, and it has a lot of sections of varying relevance to your fabrication, but it's referenced quite a bit in the other ASME codes, and is pretty important.