Piping for Process Plants, Part 4: Codes and Fabrication

Click here for full pdf version of this article – includes all graphs, charts, tables, and author information   This fourth in a series of articles* on piping for process plants examines two topics that may, at first, seem to fall outside the scope of chemical engineering — piping codes and the pipe fabrication. Obviously chemical engineers will not be welding pipes together, but understanding the benefits and limitations of different types of welding processes, for example, can help the engineer when designing the system that needs to be welded. But before we get into fabrication, a general overview of piping codes is presented in order to answer the following questions: Why is it necessary to comply with piping codes? What is the difference between a code and a concensus standard? Which code should I follow?   PIPING CODE Codes and standards The querry, “Why do we, as a company, need to comply with a piping code?” is actually a trick question. Code, by definition is law with statutory force. Therefore the reason for complying with a code is because you literally have to, or else be penalized for non-compliance. A better question would be, “Why comply with or adopt a piping consensus standard?”…