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SS Tubing As Per Refinery Standard

08/27/2011 3:52 AM

Q: As per refinery standard, what is the maximum distance of SS tubing from flow element/Line to Flow Transmitter and Pressure Transmitter ?

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#1

Re: SS Tubing As Per Refinery Standard

08/27/2011 10:29 AM

You should first identify the refinery standard that applies to your location. There are so many different standards out there. They're all are very similar in their specifications but they also differ slightly based on history, bureaucratic laziness, and occasionally sound reasoning for the local. So you must identify the one appropriate standard to your location. You, your school, or your company should then buy a copy of the standard for yourselves. You can now demonstrate your compliance to an authorized standard instead of an amateur's guess. (CR4 has no authority at all.)

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#2

Re: SS Tubing As Per Refinery Standard

08/27/2011 12:04 PM

"what is the maximum distance of SS tubing from flow element/Line to Flow Transmitter and Pressure Transmitter ?"

The maximum distance of SS tubing to flow element is zero. If there were ANY distance between the SS tubing and flow element, all the fluid would leak out onto the floor.

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#3

Re: SS Tubing As Per Refinery Standard

08/27/2011 12:37 PM

I doubt that any national standard makes a declaration relating to application specific installations.

Here is API's Recommended Practice (RP) 551
Process Measurement Instrumentation (1993)

2.2.8 PIPING
Process connections to the instruments should be furnished and installed in accordance with applicable piping and material specifications. All pipe should be deburred after cutting and blown clean of cuttings and other foreign material before assembly. As an alternative to pipe, tubing of suitable material may be used. This subject is covered in general by the project piping specification.
--------------------------------

I doubt that the project piping spec covers maximum length, either. It's possible that a specific refinery might have such a specification, but I know what does cover impulse tubing installation is a variety of good practice recommendations.

Published recommended practice uses terminology like:
"Keep impulse piping as short as possible and free from bends, turns, and high and low points" (avoid trapping gas in liquid or liquid in gas).

See the paper here for a thorough discussion of impulse tubing:
http://www.idc-online.com/technical_references/pdfs/instrumentation/Differential%20pressure%20meters_nel.pdf

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#4

Re: SS Tubing As Per Refinery Standard

08/29/2011 5:07 AM

There is no specification which can answer such a general question reliably, unless your refinery works to it's own in-house rules. Everything depends on the application.

Firstly, I assume you refer to a petroleum refinery, and the run limits you need to quantify are realistic...

Flow: measuring differential pressure across the flow element the transmitter is generally mounted below the elevation of the flow element. If both impulse lines to the transmitter are filled with a viscuous fluid that is not going to change state or density over the run length due to temperature change, there is no theoretical limit. The differential will remain constant irrespective of run-length. However, always note the transmitter manufacturer's recommendations.

Other applications, where the impulse lines require to be filled with a sealing fluid, or must be heat-traced, should be kept as short as practically possible for obvious reasons.

Pressure: Again, the properties of the process fluid defines what is practical. In this case there is a static head of liquid at the transmitter, equal to the pressure contained in the process piping, which should not decay in pressure over the run-length, unless ridiculous extremes are resorted to.

What you need to adhere to is common engineering sense. 1. Keep the length as short as other practical considerations will allow 2. where the application dictates a fall in the tubing run, ensure that the fall is constant, and 3. use as few bends and fittings as may be practical.

Hope this is of some use...

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#5

Re: SS Tubing As Per Refinery Standard

09/03/2011 12:12 AM

Stick to API RP 551 and keep impulse line as short as possible. Sometimes this proves to be a challenge since accessibility and visibility can be an issue but there is always a solution, it may be expensive but it exists.

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