A pipe support is a device designed to carry the weight of the pipe

Pipe

Pipe may refer to:* Pipe , a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules* Smoking pipe* Pipe or butt, a cask measurement* Pipe , a type of metal casting defect...

, any in-line equipment and the material in the pipe over a defined span. The four main functions of a pipe support are to guide, anchor, absorb shock and support a specified load. Pipe supports used in high or low temperature applications may contain insulation materials. The overall design configuration of a pipe support assembly is dependent on the loading and operating conditions.

Types of pipe supports

• A pipe guide is a device for directing or controlling the motion of a defined span of pipe. Pipe guides can be used in conjunction with other pipe supports to achieve more than one degree of freedom.

• A pipe anchor is a rigid
  Rigid
  In mathematics, a rigid collection C of mathematical objects is one in which every c ∈ C is uniquely determined by less information about c than one would expect....
  
   support that restricts movement in all three orthogonal directions and all three rotational directions. This usually is a welded stanchion that is welded or bolted to steel or concrete.
• A shock absorber absorbs energy of sudden impulses or dissipate energy from the pipeline. For damper and dashpot, see Shock absorber
  Shock absorber
  A shock absorber is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock impulse, and dissipate kinetic energy. It is a type of dashpot.-Nomenclature:...
  
  
• An insulated pipe support (also called pre-insulated pipe support) is a load-bearing member and minimizes energy dissipation. Insulated pipe supports can be designed for vertical, axial and/or lateral loading combinations in both low and high temperature applications. For insulated pipe, see Insulated pipe

• An engineered spring support upholds a specific load, including the weight of the pipe, commodity, flanges, valves, refractory, and insulation. Spring supports also allow the supported load to travel through a predetermined thermal deflection cycle from its installed condition to its operational condition.

Materials

Pipe supports are fabricated from a variety of materials including structural steel

Structural steel

Structural steel is steel construction material, a profile, formed with a specific shape or cross section and certain standards of chemical composition and mechanical properties...

, carbon steel, stainless steel

Stainless steel

In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....

, galvanized steel, aluminum, and ductile iron

Ductile iron

Ductile iron, also known as ductile cast iron, nodular cast iron, spheroidal graphite iron, spherulitic graphite cast iron and SG iron, is a type of cast iron invented in 1943 by Keith Millis...

. Most pipe supports are coated to protect against moisture and corrosion. Some methods for corrosion protection include: painting, zinc coatings, hot dip galvanizing or a combination of these.

Standards

• Design: ASME B31.1, ASME B31.3, ASME Section VIII Pressure Vessels
• Manufacturing: MSS-SP58, MSS-SP69, MSS-SP77, MSS-SP89, MSS-SP90, AWS-D1.1, ASTM-A36, ASTM-A53, ASTM-A120, ASTM-A123 and A446, ASTM-A125, ASTM-A153, ASTM-307 and A325, ASTM-C916, ASTM-D1621, ASTM-D1622, ASTM-D1623
• Quality Systems: ISO 9001, ASQC Q-92, CAN3 Z299
• Testing: ANSI B18.2.3