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What is a pressure pipeline? A pressure pipeline refers to a tubular device that uses a certain pressure to transport gas or liquid.
The conditions that pressure pipelines must meet are:
(1) Pressure range: Maximum working pressure greater than or equal to 0.1 MPa (gauge pressure).
(2) Transport medium: gas, liquefied gas, steam, flammable, explosive, toxic, corrosive substances, and liquids with a maximum working temperature greater than or equal to the standard boiling point.
(3) Pipeline specifications: Pipelines with a nominal diameter greater than or equal to 50 mm.
Note: Pipelines with a nominal diameter less than 150 mm and a maximum working pressure less than 1.6 MPa (gauge pressure) for transporting non-toxic, non-flammable, non-corrosive gases and pipelines belonging to the equipment body are excluded.
Pressure pipelines are mainly divided into long-distance pipelines (GA type), public pipelines (GB type) and industrial pipelines (GC type) according to their uses and pressures. The following is a brief introduction.
1. Long-distance pipeline (GA type)
● Definition:
Long-distance pipeline (English: transmission pipeline) refers to the pipeline used to transport oil and gas commodity media between the production area, storage depot and user station, which is divided into GA1 and GA2.
(1) GA1 long-distance pipeline: - Long-distance pipeline that transports toxic, flammable and explosive gas media with a maximum working pressure greater than 4.0MPa; - Long-distance pipeline that transports toxic, flammable and explosive liquid media with a maximum working pressure greater than or equal to 6.4MPa and a transportation distance greater than or equal to 200km;
(2) GA2 long-distance pipeline: Applicable to other long-distance pipelines except GA1.
● Main features of long-distance pipelines:
(1) Long-distance transportation: Usually used for long-distance transportation, it can transport commodity media from the production area to the storage depot or user unit.
(2) Large flow transportation: Usually the pipe diameter is large and can transport a large amount of commodity media.
(3) High-pressure transportation: The maximum working pressure of GA1 long-distance pipelines can reach more than 6.4MPa, and the maximum working pressure of GA2 long-distance pipelines is also relatively high.
(4) High safety requirements: Since toxic, flammable, and explosive commodity media are usually transported, the safety requirements are very high and strict safety measures need to be taken.
2. Public pipelines (GB type)
● Definition:
Public pipelines (English: utility piping) refer to gas pipelines and thermal pipelines used for public utilities or civil purposes within cities or towns. Gas pipelines are GB1 grade, and thermal pipelines (heating, steam) are GB2 grade.
● Main features of public pipelines:
(1) Popularity and extensiveness Public pipelines are widely present in various living and production environments such as cities and industrial parks, covering a very wide range.
(2) Closely related to people's livelihood Public pipelines directly affect the quality of life of residents and the stability of industrial production, such as water supply, gas, and heating pipelines, which directly affect the basic living needs of the people.
(3) High safety standards Since public interests are involved, public pipelines need to follow high safety standards in design, construction and operation.
(4) Long-term stability requirements Public pipelines are usually long-term operating systems, and their long-term stability and durability need to be considered during design.
III. Industrial pipelines (GC class)
● Definition:
Industrial pipelines refer to pipelines used to transport gases, liquids, steam, chemicals, raw materials, waste gases or other media during industrial production processes. They are divided into three levels: GC1, GC2 and GCD.
(1) GC1 industrial pipelines:
Industrial pipelines that meet any of the following conditions are GC1:
(1) Transporting media with extremely hazardous toxicity as specified in the "Catalogue of Hazardous Chemicals (2015 Edition)".
(2) Transporting Class A or B flammable gases or Class A flammable liquids with a fire hazard as specified in GB 50160 and GB 50016, and with a design pressure P ≥ 4.0 MPa.
(3) For conveying flammable or toxic fluid media, the design pressure P ≥ 4.0MPa and the design temperature ≥ 400℃.
(4) For conveying fluid media, the design pressure P ≥ 10MPa.
(2) GC2 grade industrial pipelines:
Industrial pipelines that meet any of the following conditions are GC2 grade:
(1) For conveying Class A or B flammable gases or Class A flammable liquid media with a fire hazard specified in GB 50160 and GB 50016, and the design pressure P < 4.0MPa.
(2) For conveying flammable or toxic fluid media, the design pressure P < 4MPa and the design temperature ≥ 400℃.
(3) For conveying fluid media, the design pressure P < 10MPa and the design temperature < 400℃.
● Main features of industrial pipelines:
(1) Wide range of uses: Industrial pipelines are widely used in chemical, petroleum, natural gas, electric power, metallurgy, food and other industries.
(2) Complex transport media: Industrial pipelines transport a wide variety of media, including flammable, explosive, toxic, and corrosive substances. Each medium has different requirements for the material, structure, and process of the pipeline.
(3) Withstand extreme working conditions such as high temperature and high pressure: Many industrial pipelines need to work under extreme working conditions such as high temperature, high pressure, and strong corrosion. Special attention should be paid to the pipeline's ability to withstand high temperature and high pressure.
(4) Extreme safety requirements: Industrial pipelines involve the transportation of flammable, explosive, toxic and other dangerous media. They must comply with strict safety regulations and undergo regular inspections and maintenance to ensure that there are no hidden dangers.
The GCD classification is to classify the original GD (power pipeline) into the GC (industrial pipeline) classification, but I have not found an authoritative introduction to GCD. Friends who know about it are welcome to add to it.