Which discipline is responsible for the design of the connections between instruments and process pipelines?
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Should the flanges, gaskets, bolts, short pipes, and butt-welded reducers required for connecting the instruments (pressure gauges and pressure transmitters) to the process pipelines be designed by the process engineering team or the automation engineering team? Who provides the material list?
It is determined through consultation between the pipeline engineering and automatic control teams; different design institutes have their own conventions. However, in terms of efficiency, it is more convenient for the materials to come from the automation control major. The instrument installation manual contains a material list, most of which relates to instruments; if the procurement is carried out separately by the two teams, it will result in a significant amount of redundant work. .
HG/T 20636.2-2017 Specifications for the professional design management of automatic control systems in chemical plants – Design requirements and division of tasks between the automatic control specialty and other specialties, 3 Division of design tasks between the automatic control specialty and the piping specialty. It is generally based on sealing with piping equipment, with materials provided by the process. The flange of the instrument, etc., connected to the other side of the valve, is specified by the instrument manufacturer as the appropriate material.
The interface flanges are the responsibility of the piping department. The docking flange is the responsibility of the instrumentation team. The first root valve of the medium pressure guiding pipe is under the responsibility of the process piping department, while the section downstream of the root valve falls under the responsibility of the instrumentation department.
Different design institutes follow different systems; it depends on which industry your institute is best at or in which field it started out, or in other words, who is in charge of design management? HG stipulates that it shall be designed by the process engineering department and the materials ordered accordingly, while DL stipulates that it shall be designed by the instrumentation department and the materials ordered accordingly. Our institute has two systems; when the instrumentation team works on projects, they need to determine which process area it needs to be integrated with.
On our end, the flange gaskets, fasteners, and root valves for the connections are all handled by the piping team, but things like butt-welded joints and threaded joints are taken care of by the instrumentation team
Gauge pressure meters and pressure transmitters are considered part of the instrumentation design after the primary valve – this is a general rule, as specified in all standards. The principle is that there must be no open ends in the piping system.