Pipe supports were originally intended to be low or no maintenance items. Consequently, pipe supports had become low priority items for the plant’s attention. However, as plants operate well beyond their original design life or are situated in locations that are corrosive, plants are becoming more aware that some pipe support maintenance must be expended. Short comings in the application, material, design, etc. of pipe supports are becoming more and more apparent as plants age. The effect is to impose unintended stress and loading into the equipment and piping that ultimately can become a safety or reliability issue. This is a photographic essay intended to provide graphic evidence of the types of problems that plants face with their aging pipe supports. The intention is to reenforce the need for plants to institute and maintain pipe hanger assessments as part of the total plant reliability effort.

This content is only available via PDF.
You do not currently have access to this content.