Tip #04 · Supports
Design your first support before your first elbow.
Always default to long-radius elbows. The space saving of a short-radius elbow is typically 0.5D, but the stress intensification factor is significantly higher. On a thermally stressed line, one SR elbow can fail the stress analysis.
Pipe support locations drive routing decisions more than most designers realize. Lock in your structural attachment points early — changing them late in the project costs time for structural, piping, and stress simultaneously.
Why it matters
Always design supports for hydrotest weight (water-filled), not just operating weight. A gas line weighing 30 kg/m in operation may weigh 150 kg/m when water-filled for testing. If support spacing was designed for gas only, the pipe sags or supports fail during hydrotest.
The takeaway: Supports and routing are not separate activities. The first question when you start a new routing should be: where are my attachment points? Everything follows from there.
