Hi

Can anyone guide how to perform "Piping insulation thickness calculation" for process piping. If I can see any sample calculation , it would be great?

The insulation type and thickness are scope of Process Engineer. Please check with the process department.

I disagree with "shrivallabha" on this answer. Yes it may be the responsibility of Process at his present company but that is not true for all companies in all Countries.

All of my work history the Process Engineer defined the Operating Temperature but it was the Piping Material Engineer who created "Insulation Thickness Tables" which the Piping Designer then used to apply the correct Insulation Thickness to the Pipe Line for the purpose of line spacing and marking the Piping Isometric for later use by the Insulation Contractor.

Note to "hopeful":
If you are a Piping Material Engineer and you are trying to develop your "Insulation Thickness Tables", I suggest that you contact two or three Insulation makers and take advantage of their "Technical Support" group and get as much data as you can get them to give you.

With all respect, I still am not in full agreement with Jop's post.

The process engineer based on design data decides whether insulation is necessary. The thickness is then calculated using Stephen Boltzmann law with following parameters:
a. Fluid temperature
b. The temperature expected at outside surface (insulation)

The first insulation calculated is minimum insulation thickness required and then the optimum insulation thickness is calculated using formula (mostly)= 1.25* Minimum insulation thickness.

Are these calculations performed by Pipers?

Because if there's any change in the above parameters, the insulation thickness will change and process engineer will be aware of it more than Piper.

And the tables will be standardized information that will indicate insulation thickness values (Rounded Off) in a Pipe Bore Vs Temperature Table.

Shri,

Process only provides design conditions for Piping and just tells the purpose of insulation (i.e. Hot or Cold).
It is piping metarial engineer's job to select the proper insulation thickness and proper insulation material.
For this we have Insulation specifications also for ready reference of piping designer.
this is what is being followed in my organization.

Thank You
Siddharth Jain

The piping insulation thickness is calculated based on the temperature of the fluid going through the pipe, the type of insultating material we are using. The usage of insulation also varies from one comapny to other as inspection og piping below insulation is very difficult. Genrally upto 60deg C companies do ot put any insulation. However if the temperature is above 60degC upto 75deg C a personal protection is provided in the form of cage where ever operators interface is there. If the temperature is such that insulation is required and the heat needs to be conserved only then insulation is provided. Also there are standards which refer to the thickness of insulation required.

The final answer should come from process as they are best placed to know and also control the process conditions. The insulation thickness should be marked on the line numbers and depicted on the P&ID.

Regards

Bhavesh

I think Jop is correct here. If the insulation thickness tables are already created by whomever and the temps are determined by Process then the designer can easily spec out the insulation thickness themselves. Not exactly rocket science.
If your looking to create your own insulation thickness table then thats a job for engineering not the piping designer.

With all the answers i read I am still not able to know how to perform "Piping insulation thickness calculation" for the pipe?

I am also sure that in my company thickness calculation is done by piping material engineer.

Please share your knowledge..!

I repeat:

If you are a Piping Material Engineer and you are trying to develop your "Insulation Thickness Tables", I suggest that you contact two or three Insulation makers and take advantage of their "Technical Support" group and get as much data as you can get them to give you.