Investigation on Restraint Capability of Pipe Support Used as Anchor in Piping System Available to Purchase

The authors have developed a new pipe support, which is intended for use as an anchor of piping system in power plants. This anchor type support takes a pipe between two-tiered metal blocks and ideally restraints the pipe movement with six degrees of freedom, namely all directions of the piping movement. The four bolts adequately join the two-tiered metal block of the anchor type support with the pipe that is not subjected to unnecessary stress. The internal shape of the two-tiered metal block is designed to stabilize the pipe firmly by increasing area of contact between the pipe and the support. Developing the four-point support design for the internal shape of the blocks has also reduced the stress on the pipe. The restraint forces and restraint moments of the support have been investigated and the verification testing has been conducted for the restraining capability. The relaxation of the bolted joint over time and thermal influence on the relaxation has been also studied experimentally. Since no welding operation on the pipe is required for installation of this anchor support, reduction of time and labor is expected for both a combination of planning and construction of an anchor on piping system.