Are overflow pipes required by any code?
Are overflow pipes required by any code?
(OP)
Hello,
I have been working on teh design of a holding tank in our mill and I am trying to find whether overflow pipes are required by any code. From what I could tell, API 650 does not specify that overflow pipes are needed, yet the code does mention them alot. Any tips on this would be great.
Thanks
I have been working on teh design of a holding tank in our mill and I am trying to find whether overflow pipes are required by any code. From what I could tell, API 650 does not specify that overflow pipes are needed, yet the code does mention them alot. Any tips on this would be great.
Thanks





RE: Are overflow pipes required by any code?
AWWA D100 requires overflow pipes on municipal water tanks, where flow rates are usually higher and the environmental issue isn't there.
For general industrial tanks built to API-650, some have overflow nozzles, some don't. The code allows them but does not require them.
RE: Are overflow pipes required by any code?
One reason given for the huge buncefield tank farm explosion was that when the petrol (gasoline) ran off the roof, it then hit a wind girder and sprayed into the air, vapourising very effectively and creating, in part, a huge vapour cloud. If this instead had gone down a pipe and even if simply filled the bund, the explosion may not have occurred.
As noted above, primary safety should be your control and esd system to prevent overflow in the first place, but as a means of limiting impact of an overflow situation, pipes are a bit better than the alternatives...
My motto: Learn something new every day
Also: There's usually a good reason why everyone does it that way
RE: Are overflow pipes required by any code?
Sizing these "pipe type" overflows has been discussed on other threads on this forum.
MJCronin
Sr. Process Engineer
Venture Engineering & Construction
www.VentureEngr.com