General Guidelines of Pump Piping Layout

General Guidelines
Following sketch (sketch-1) shows a portion of a typical plot plan with few Equipment's,
pipe rack etc shown. For equipment spacing pl refer, plant layout and piping specification
number P-GS-PL-003, GE Gap guidelines, and/or OISD 118.

Pump Piping Layout superimposed in a plot plan

Pump location will affect the piping routing and supporting. Pumps carrying
hydrocarbons and materials above 230 degree C shall not be located below pipe

racks, structures, air fin coolers and vessels. Those in non-flammable service may be
located beneath the pipe rack without obstructing the access bay, other maintenance
requirements of the respective process unit.

Pumps shall be located as close to the source of suction in order to minimize pressure
drop in the system. The line size and temperature will be the determining factors in
piping layout.

A preliminary piping layout ( study layout ) shall be made to determine the

requirement of spacing between pumps especially in case of side suction/ side
discharge, top suction/ top discharge pumps where straight length requirement /
platform / CPS requirement etc have to be considered.

Reducers in pump suction lines shall be as close as possible to the pump

suction/discharge nozzles.

Eccentric reducers in pump suction lines shall be flat on top in order to prevent any
entrained vapours in the liquid from accumulating in the high point ( if installed
bottom flat ) and thus causing cavitation in the pump. Pumps in boiler feed water
service operating close to vapour pressure of the liquid are susceptible to this type of
problems.

Reducers in pump discharge should be concentric in most cases. Eccentric reducers

may be used in both suction and discharge piping for top suction/top discharge
pumps in order to obtain clearance between suction and discharge piping.

Consideration must be given to lube oil and seal oil systems and any cooling water
requirements. Care must be exercised not to block access to the pump seals and
bearings when routing these lines.. The pump data sheet should always be reviewed
to make sure these requirements are not missed. For very large pumps these may be
separate on skids.

When developing an equipment layout in pump areas, the layout designer must
envision potential obstructions around the pumps (e.g. large block valves, steam
turbine piping, and tee-type pipe supports from grade). As per Oil Industry Safety
Directorate stipulation ( OISD 118 ) 1 mtr (1000mm ) is the minimum accepted
spacing between pumps.

Auxiliary piping shall be neatly routed along the base-plate and shall not extend
across the operating floor. This piping shall not obstruct inspection covers, bearing
caps, upper halves of casings or any other items which require access for operation or
maintenance. In order to avoid a fire hazard, lubricating oil, control oil and seal oil
pipes shall not be routed in the vicinity of hot process or hot utility pipes.

Typical pump suction piping at vacuum tower

Cooling water pipes to pumps and compressors shall not be less than 20NB. Pipes
25NB or less shall have the take-off connection from the top of the header in order to
prevent plugging during operation.

When flexibility loops are required between pumps, it is necessary to partially run
the lines over the pump and driver. Every effort must be made to minimize
maintenance obstructions by running the piping either outside the area directly over
the pumps or at a high enough elevation to permit the removal of the pump or driver.

The pump shall be placed in such a manner so that the suction nozzle elevation is
always below the vessel/tank nozzle and suction pipe shall be routed so that there is
no pockets.

Pumps in vacuum service present special problems. Since the system operates at a
negative pressure and very high temperature, the pumps must be located very close
to the suction source. This is often directly below the tower or immediately outside
the tower support columns. Pumps located directly beneath the tower can be
mounted on a special spring base as shown in sketch below.

In some rare cases one pump is installed as a common spare between two other
pumps in different services. The pump must be manifolded in such a way to
accomplish this.

Pumps may be single-stage or multi-stage. Multi stage pumps are usually side
suction side discharge. These pumps require significantly more space and faces
layout problems. There is usually a straight run requirement (example, 5 pipe
diameters) between the suction flange and the first elbow as shown in Sketch. Due to

the heavier casing design for high pressures, allowable nozzle loads are often higher
for multi-stage pumps making pipe stress problems somewhat easier to resolve.

Piping Isometric Sketch

The location of valves, strainers, spacers/blinds etc. needs special consideration. The
option of placing the valves at a higher elevation and providing an operating
platform has got its own advantages and disadvantages. If valves are provided at a
higher elevation the accessibility for the pumps is enhanced but the operability of the
valves becomes difficult.

It shall be noted that even if the type of pump is same, different piping layouts may
be followed. So it is not always necessary that same layout shall be followed for same

type of pumps, but is governed by various factors such as temperature, requirement

of vertical strainers etc.

Creep: Time dependent deformation of material that occurs under load at Elevated
temperatures.

Creep range for Low Carbonsteel Material =0.05 to 0.25

Creep range for Medium Carbonsteel Material = 0.25 to 0.5

Creep range for High Carbonsteel Material = >0.5

Jacking oil: In order to prevent the metal to metal contact b/w the journal & bearing shell
during startup & shut down, which is damaging in the long term, an oil pocket is machined
in to the bottom shell of the journal bearing is supplied with oil under high pressure.

Gland Steam Piping: While steam is passing through pipes there is a chance of leakage of
air in to valves which causes a serious damage. In order to prevent this damage. Gland
steam is supplied which pressure is slightly higher than the vacuum pressure.

Extended Gland Packing: It seals without aid of gland steam.

Control Valves: Mainly Control valves are 4 types.

1. Pressure Control Valve (PCV)
2. Temperature Control Valve (TCV)
3. Flow Control Valve ( FCV)
4. Level Control Valve(LCV)

In L.O.Inlet lines PCV & TCV are used.

In Seal Oil over Head Tank & Seal Oil Traps LCVS are used.

Allowable Pressure Drop 1% in 100 mm length.

Allowable Slope 25 mm in 1m.Length.

Pipe size 1 and below we use Socket Weld 800 rating flanges.

For 1 Pipe line we use Piston Lift Non Return Valve generally.

For 2 Pipeline we use Swing Check Non Return Valve.

Bending Radius for 1 pipe = 100mm

Bending Radius for pipe = 75mm

Upto 1 we use generally pipe bends.

1 and above we use elbows.

Connection blocks are used for take connections on casings. Along Connection Block
Metallic Gaskets are used.

Expansion Bellows are generally used in Turbine Inlet & Drain lines.

Velocity of liquid less than that of Gases because liquids adhere to walls of pipe, then
friction is more. Hence velocity is less.

Flanges Withstanding Rating Capacity For Gas Lines:

150RF ------------ Up to 10.5 Ata.

300RF------------ 21 Ata.

600RF------------ 42 Ata.

1500RF------------ 105 Ata.

2500RF------------ 175 Ata.