Hi Arron,

The basis (starting point) of any piping system design is a Design Specification that has been approved by the "Owner". Without that basis the design organization and the owner are setting themselves up for a "finished" design that satisfies neither of them. There is no room for nebulosity in the D-Spec - it protects both sides from the "evil" open ended contract.

If the owner wants the postulated fire event to be the "design condition" then it should be accommodated by the D-Spec. The temperature and pressure associated with the fire condition would become the “design T/P". The word fire need not appear (that word, used in a design document predisposes the owner to be liable for all sorts of things under the law) as it would be enough to simply state the design temperature and the design pressure in the D-Spec. It is the owner's call. Once the design T/P has been officially documented in the D-Spec it becomes a matter of designing to the Code and by precedence to the municipal, State, Province...Building Code. The owner and the design organization would be well served to protect themselves. THAT is the real world. That world is not an ideal world. To do business any other way is a "**** shoot" that represents risks that neither side can afford.

I can't believe I have (after all my posts) inadvertently evoked the "cyber censor" in the description of a game of dice (I guess that puts me into John Luf's league now). Well, that at least gave me a chuckle.

Regards, John.