Pipe support philosophies around the world include both carbon steel material (CS) and different types of stainless steel material (SS) for pipe support frames and pipe support standard details.
Examples:
- SS on both standard details and framework.
- CS on both standard details and framework.
- SS on standard details and CS on framework
Using CS will always have a challenge with corrosion and could eventually contribute to serious accidents. Pipe Support Verification recommends evaluating the use of SS steel instead of CS. Especially for installations located in a saline atmosphere.
SS is initially more costly than CS. However, if we take the following into consideration this scenario change:
- Lower maintenance cost
- Lower pipe support weight (if high strength SS is used)
If we combine these points with the fact that we have approx. 10 000 pipe supports on a typical offshore installation, stainless steel materials could be competitive to carbon steel. When evaluating and selecting SS several issues must be considered. Material strength, pitting resistance equivalent (PRE), availability/logistics, cost etc.
Pipe Support Verification have experience with all these issues and would be happy to assist with recommendations related to pipe support material choice.