Mechanical and Piping Engineering | Capital Project Word of the Week - March 2021

March 22, 2021
Detail Engineering & Design
published by
Jessica Adams, P.E.
Project Manager

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Capital Project Word of the Week - Mechanical and Piping Engineering

Thank you for visiting our Capital Project Word of the Week website feature. Our theme this month is Mechanical and Piping Engineering. We hope this provides you with some meaningful information about our industry and the services we provide. Each week we will be adding a new Word of the Week to the page. Come back frequently to see our new additions!

Week of March 29, 2021

Tie-In List

[ tahy ] [ in ] [ list ]

A Tie-In List is an important document used to communicate the necessary information from an engineering team to the construction contractor. Typically, tie-in lists will state the type of tie-in (flange, hot tap, stub in), where the tie-in is located (coordinates), and any reference drawings (Isometrics, P&IDs, location plan, etc.).

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Week of March 22 , 2021

Plot Plan

[ plot ] [ plan ]

A Plot Plan is a top view scaled drawing of a facility.  An overall plot plan will show major equipment, road/access ways and both true and plant north. Everything will be identified on the plot plan by letters and numbers as per the company nomenclature standards. A detailed plot plan will focus on a given area with more details such as coordinates for each item.  These are used across engineering disciplines and should be consistent across project teams to ensure continuity. This can be used as a basis of design for foundations, fire protection, area class rating, pipe routing, and structural steel - just to name a few. Below is an example of a plot plan.

Example of a Plot Plan

Week of March 15 , 2021

Equipment Data Sheets

[ ih-kwip-muhnt ] [ dey-tuh ] [ sheets ]

Equipment Data Sheets are intended to communicate the design conditions/parameters for a given piece of equipment. This document often begins with Process engineers during the FEED phase of a project. It is then shared with suppliers to get pricing on the equipment and eventually used to purchase the equipment. The datasheet is a good snapshot to understand what equipment is being requested and eventually provided to the end-user. The steps below are a typical lifecycle for a datasheet:

  • Process Equipment Data Sheet (for Design) - Process will fill out a data sheet with the process requirements needed to satisfy the process.
  • Mechanical Equipment Data Sheet (for Inquiry) – Mechanical receives the process information and adds Mechanical specific information such as materials or codes.
  • Mechanical Equipment Data Sheet (for Purchase) – Mechanical will add supplier-specific information on the datasheet.
  • Mechanical Equipment Data Sheet (as-built) – Mechanical will make updates based on the as-built condition of the equipment.

Week of March 8 , 2021

Stress Analysis

[ stres ] [ uh-nal-uh-sis ]

Stress Analysis is used to investigate if there is a possibility of failure in various engineering components. The practice is designed to determine what type and intensity of various external forces a component can handle. The objective of piping stress analysis is to obtain a safe and code-compliant layout for piping elements whilst ensuring that the following is prevented:

  • Pipe stress in excess of those permitted by the referenced Codes and Standards
  • Leakage at joints
  • Excessive forces and moments applied to connected equipment
  • Excessive stresses in the supporting or restraining elements
  • Unintentional disengagement of piping from its supports
  • Interference resulting from thermal expansion or contraction of the piping system of connected equipment
  • Resonance due to externally imposed vibrations or fluid-induced vibrations
  • Excessive sag in piping spans
  • Fatigue failure

Week of March 1 , 2021

Laser Scanning

[ ley-zer ] [ skan-ning ]

Laser scanning is the process of using a laser scanner to gather the physical shape of an area by using a line of laser light, creating “point clouds” of data from the surface of an object along the way. The point clouds collected become a database of connecting points in a 3D coordinate system. Laser scanning allows engineering teams to capture the 3D geometry of the existing infrastructure inside industry complexes.

The scan is then processed, registered on a coordinate system, and loaded into design software. This allows the designer to design around any obstructions, match up to tie-ins with the existing facility, replace equipment or pipe with minimal impact to the existing facility, and many other benefits. This technology lets you capture the existing condition of a site/facility, leading to a higher level of accuracy in terms of the information available to engineering and construction teams.

Follow the link to learn more about The Best Practice of Laser Scanning, a blog by Jessica Adams, P.E.

About the Author
Jessica has 14+ years of industrial EPC experience in the Refining, Petrochemical and LNG industries. She has worked as a lead mechanical, mechanical supervisor and project engineer on multiple projects. Her experience includes both office and field assignments on multiple stages of a project from FEED estimates through construction. Previous experience includes work at CB&I/McDermott.

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