Underground vs. Underground?

[shahyar]

How can we decide if a pipe should be U/G or A/G?
As far as I know, A/G is the default because is cheaper. But for some specific reasons, it is better to do U/G. One of these reasons could be "protection", like fire water or potable water. Is that correct?

Regards

 

[rmw]

You must live in a warm climate to even think to have a choice. Where I live and from here to the north, water pipelines have to be buried for freeze protection. Just a days drive to the south into Mexico however and from there toward the equator, it is not uncommon at all to see water pipe laid A/G.

In Iraq, if all those petroleum pipelines had been buried, it would have been much more difficult to have sabatoged them during the recent times of turmoil.

So the reasons for burying lines can vary from freeze protection to damage protection and pilfering protection although there are stories of people digging down into the ground to gasoline pipelines in California and tapping into them and stealing gasoline so who knows?

rmw

 

[devaxrayz]

Access is may be one reason... Fire water ring for example. it usually designed to surround your equipment. If it installed above ground, it may block operating or maintenance access to the equipments

-rayz-

 

[BigInch]

Burial is no great obstacle for sabotage. A couple blocks of just about anything detonated on the surface will make a crater big enough to collapse a pipeline 1 meter below, but it does stop the odd bullet impact.

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[786392]

Sometimes burial of Fire water pipeline in close vicinity of the protected equipment becomes necessary to safeguard and protect Firewater against radiant heat; changing possibly into steam if exposure is inevitable.
But the repair& maintenance/Healthy keep-up becomes fairly difficult as well as costly.

In certain areas of relatively minor level sabotage/temper risks 1 meter underground does prove sufficient deterrent in general.



Best Regards
Qalander(Chem)

 

[BigInch]

innocent tampering yes, clueless backhoe operators and sabotage ... no way.

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[tickle]

There are so many factors involved in the choice of AG / UG.

Materials of construction, impact resistance, access, safety, contents, location, pipe supports, expansion (both facilities and pipe expansion).

It is usually cheaper to go above ground on brown field sites.