New at PipingDesign.com: 12 July 2000

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Terms Relating to Instrumentation & Control Institute of Instrumentation and Control Australia Inc

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History of Plumbing in America
PlumbingWorld.com

<<Boring Business: Early settlers knew nothing of lead or iron pipe - they
knew only to build with wood, the country's bounty. Water pipes were made of bored-out logs, preferably felled from hemlock or elm trees. The trees would be cut into 7 ft. to 9 ft. lengths, their trunks around 9-10 inches thick. Wooden pipe laid below ground created several problems, however, especially in larger settlements or towns. Uneven ground below the joists would cause sags in the log where water would stagnate, infest with insects, and generally leave a woody taste. The borers themselves were colorful characters who usually traveled in pairs from town to town bringing news and gossip of the area as they went about their job. With a five-foot steel auger between them, a handle at one end, they would fix the log by eye, size it up with a point of the ax, and drill or bore out the center. Ramming one end to make a conical shape, they would jam the logs together in a series, using a bituminous-like pitch or tar to caulk the joists. Sometimes they would split the log and hollow it out, put it together, connect the logs with iron hoops or get the blacksmith to caulk the logs with lead.>>

Thermomechanically Rolled Flat Products
K. Hulka

  <<Steels for large diameter pipe were for many years the most relevant application of the thermomechanical rolling process and many trends in steel development originated from pipe steel development. The economic transport of liquid or gaseous media in pipelines across remote areas with arctic climates or under water has only become feasible with TM-grades. Table I shows the development since the 1960's where by replacing the normalizing process with thermomechanical rolling, strength, toughness, ductility and weldability have all been improved. Furthermore, the transportation of sour gas containing media has also become possible.>>

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Liquid Nitrogen Disrupts Propylene Unit
Thielsch Engineering, Inc.

<<On June 6, 1995, multiple ruptures occurred in one spool section of a
propylene fractionator reboiler piping system at a Texas chemical facility. Utilizing outside engineering assistance, plant personnel conducted a comprehensive investigation into the piping's history and the events leading up to the failure as well as the metallurgical evaluation of the pipe fragments. The investigation confirmed that the ruptures were caused by the unexpected introduction of liquid nitrogen into the system and helped personnel enact numerous safety measures to eliminate the chance of a recurrence.>>

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Practical Process Piping Fundamentals
The Center for Professional Advancement

<<This course will serve as an introduction to the various aspects of
larger-scale, process plant piping including terminology, functions and applications. The course will encompass piping components and systems, from code discussions to operations, including equipment and instrumentation. Special attention will be given to process plant equipment, its role in the plant, how the various components function and the items the designer must consider as they are being installed. The course is not applicable to small-scale piping as used in laboratories and pilot plants.>>

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Value Engineering: Friend or Foe?
Perma-Pipe

<<One good example of over designing in the piping industry are expansion
loops. Often times, we see jobs engineered with more expansion loops than necessary and we are able to eliminate them to save the customer money. We do this only if it will allow the system design to be within ANSI B31.1. Expansion loops are one of the more misunderstood elements of a piping system. This is where the logic of "a lot is good, more is better, too much is just enough", comes into play. The fact is, the more loops you have, the more welds you have. The more welds you have, the more chances for eventual leaks in the system. When you remove loops, not only are you saving money for the customer, but you are also eliminating some potential maintenance problems.>>

Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams to Control Biotech Projects Big and Small
John Kossik

<<As Biotech firms start moving their products out of the lab into clinical
trials and production, the equipment needed to do this grows quickly. The cost and proper performance of this new equipment are very significant to the success of the product and maybe even the viability of the company as a whole. The major challenges in this transition are making sure that the proper equipment is purchased and installed, and that the overall project costs are controlled. Whether installing a single bioreactor or building a whole mammalian cell culture facility, one of the primary tools used to facilitate this control are Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&ID's).>>

Liquid Flow Technology Operations
John Kossik

<<Liquid flow is one of the more prevalent yet most taken for granted
operations in a Biotech or Pharmaceutical facility. Unfortunately, without properly designed liquid transport systems the proper function of the production process is very difficult. In order to better design and use these systems we must first understand the physical theory behind them.>> Received on Wed Jul 12 15:02:00 2000