TPI July 2023

The number of spring mounts may vary, depending on the desired load distribution. Importantly, you can calculate the load at each support point. The engineer will know the load at the installation phase, when empty, when full, and when operating at different temperature extremes. This allows you to calculate which type of spring mount to select, and pre-compress it to the correct level during the installation phase. The spring mounts are pre-compressed to a carefully calculated ‘‘initial deflection’’ rating, to resist the anticipated load when water enters the system. It is during this stage of the installation, where the pipe is empty, that the anchor has to resist the most force, the uplift force presented by the springs. When the pipe is full and the system is operating, the load on the anchor point is neutral, as the spring forces pushing up, and the combined weight of the water and pipe pushing down, negate each other. If the pipe were to expand, the spring mounts above the anchor lose deflection while those below would gain deflection. Again, the system remains in balance with the load at the anchor zero. The system also performs perfectly from an acoustic point of view, as the springs effectively absorb any vibration. As the anchor is neutral during operation, this means it does not operate as a significant vibration transmission path. If you read any of the literature online about dealing with expansion in pipe systems, you would be led to believe that your only options were either expansion loops or expansion joints. Both these systems have major drawbacks and for scenarios like the one described in this article, they will soon become obsolete. There is an alternative system, which involves supporting the pipe on a system of springs. This system was developed by Mason Industries and is common in many high-rise buildings in the US, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Hopefully, engineers in the UK will soon see the benefits too.

Supporting the pipe run on springs is both more affordable and more effective. I will try and illustrate the basic concept here, using the scenario of a vertical pipe run in a multistorey building. However, the same concept can also be applied in horizontal pipe runs where appropriate. The spring support system typically uses a single anchor – located as close as possible to the middle of the riser – to direct the pipe to expand away or contract toward the anchor point. Alternatively, the system can be designed as totally free standing and without any anchor point, but control is far more difficult to achieve in these circumstances.

Block B1 Lv 8 anchors

Block B1 Lv 9 springs

Block B1 Lv 11 guides

Mason UK www.mason-uk.co.uk

Block B1 Lv 17 hangers

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TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL July 2023

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