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Essentials of Cold Spring in Piping System

Author: Judith Morrison
by Judith Morrison
Posted: Dec 01, 2019

It is usual for any material to expand or collapse their shape due to the change in temperature. It is a tendency of most of the matters to develop in the heat and contract in the cold temperature. And, pipes don’t possess immune to the laws of nature. One of the tremendous dynamic forces applied to the piping system is due to thermal expansion and contraction of pipes. What is Cold Spring in Piping System? Cold spring or Cold pull is a method used to compensate for the effect of thermal expansion in long pipe runs. It is an intentional distortion applied while assembling the piping system to generate the required amount of displacement and strain. If cold spring used appropriately, it balances the magnitude of stress under initial and extreme displacement conditions. It reduces hot stress and hot reaction forces generated due to thermal expansion.

Application of Cold Spring on Piping System:

  • Stress Engineers specifies the fabrication length of the piping system.
  • A system is modeled with an intentional gap, also known as cut short at some final closure welds in a pre-defined direction.
  • Internal forces and moments are applied at one or both the ends of the piping system to balance and align the final joint.
  • Usage of adjustable supports or elevators in the area of cold spring can provide pipe displacements. Stress engineers should analyze and allows movement to each of the restraints as and when required.
  • Anchors are used to maintaining alignment during the process of welding, post-weld heat treatment (PWHT), and final testing of the piping system.
  • Therefore, cold spring usage is mostly preferred for piping materials possessing limited ductility. The cold spring technique is generally not considered to be sufficient to get the desired results. Stress Engineers do not recommend extensive use of it. However, most of the EPC companies do not prefer the use of Cold Spring for the piping system because of its limitations. Drawbacks of Cold Pull:

  • The cold spring is not considered to be an economical solution as it required extra anchor points to hold the cold sprung line. It also requires additional hoists for the movement of supports during installation.
  • It doesn’t provide significant benefits to low-temperature lines as compared to that of the high-temperature lines.
  • It is very challenging to measure and control theoretical cold spring gaps.
  • The usage of cold spring might even result in producing loads due to small displacements.
  • Proper anchoring needs to be planned on cutting the lines to prevent possible accidents.
  • Cold springing requires to write installation instructions guidelines on the support drawings and should be thoroughly supervised at the site.
  • Hence, there are lots of challenges and drawbacks when it comes to stress analysis in piping system. If you’re looking for a practical solution of stress analysis in Oil & Gas, Energy & Utility, Petrochemical & Refinery, or any other power companies, consult an engineering company adhering to the highest industry standards and codes.

    About the Author

    Judith Morrison is an expert in the field of industrial engineering and writes articles related to piping, civil, equipment engineering related articles.

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    Author: Judith Morrison

    Judith Morrison

    Member since: Jan 18, 2018
    Published articles: 24

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