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Thrust Blocks and Test Pressures

Surge pressures commonly cause the highest and lowest pressures that will ever occur in a pipe and hence are the dominant design case for thrust blocks. These surge pressures are most frequent cause of damage and failure and so the pipe does need to be correctly supported to avoid damage.

The surge pressures are the normal design case for all thrust blocks and so these cannot be designed until the surge pressures have been calculated.

Controlling the surge pressures is one method of reducing system design and test pressures that can reduce the costs of thrust blocks.

Controlling surge pressures can often be a commercially useful way of reducing the costs of pipe supports, thrust blocks and can reduce the test pressure of many systems. This is useful at design stage, but can be even more useful when existing systems are being altered and upgraded and the thrust blocks cannot be easily increased.

Learn more about damage to pipes