Piping components: identify the incorrect statement about common parts and supports.

Introduction / Context:
Piping and heat-exchanger terminology can be confusing. This question tests recognition of standard component functions and common shop terms.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Industrial piping practice and exchanger fabrication methods.

Concept / Approach:
Reducers change diameter (from larger NPS to smaller or vice versa), not direction. Direction changes are made with elbows or bends. Tube rolling is the expansion process used to fix tubes into a tubesheet. The pipe vs tube distinction in industry is primarily about specification system (NPS schedule and nominal ID for pipe; actual OD and wall for tube), not simply “thicker wall.”

Step-by-Step Solution:
1) Examine each statement for its core function.2) Identify that reducers alter cross-sectional size, not flow direction.3) Therefore the statement claiming reducers change direction is incorrect.

Verification / Alternative check:
Catalogs and P&ID symbols show reducers inline on the same centerline, whereas elbows have a change in angle (e.g., 45°, 90°).

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
(a) Lug supports are simple attachments and often cheaper than custom shoes/frames.(b) True nuance: pipe vs tube is a specification/nominal system difference, not “pipe has thicker wall.”(d) Tube rolling is the correct name for mechanical expansion into a tubesheet.

Common Pitfalls:
Assuming reducers behave like elbows; oversimplifying pipe vs tube differences.

Final Answer:
A reducer is used to change direction in a straight run of pipe.