Thermal insulation engineering

1、 Basic knowledge of insulation

Insulation is a general term for insulation and cold insulation.

Insulation engineering is to ensure the optimal temperature range for normal production and minimize heat or cold loss during the process. Its insulation is to reduce the heat transfer and radiation from the medium inside the pipeline and equipment to the outside, and to protect it with insulation (insulation) materials. Cold insulation is the use of insulation (cold insulation) materials to reduce external heat transfer to the interior of the object being insulated.

Insulation is one of the important means to improve cooling and heating efficiency, reduce energy consumption and product costs.

Insulation engineering is the entire process of applying insulation materials manually or mechanically to the surfaces or interlayers of equipment, pipelines, and other structures to achieve insulation effects.

2、 The purpose of insulation

1. Ensure normal production. In the chemical production process, temperature is an important condition for reactions. If a constant temperature range cannot be maintained during the reaction process, it will affect the reaction speed and changes, thereby affecting the production and quality of products. Therefore, it is necessary to insulate equipment and pipelines according to design requirements.

2. Reduce heat loss and save energy. When the temperature of the medium inside the equipment and pipeline is higher than the surrounding air temperature, heat will radiate into the surrounding air through the metal wall, causing heat loss, which is quite significant. For example, when the nominal diameter DN of the pipeline is ≥ 100mm, the heat loss of the pipeline after reasonable insulation is only about 10% of the heat loss of the bare pipe; When the nominal diameter DN of the pipeline is less than 100mm, the heat loss of the insulated pipeline is about 15% to 20% of the heat loss of the bare pipeline, which means that the heat loss after insulation can be reduced by 80% to 90%, thereby saving a lot of energy.

3. Improve the labor environment and ensure the safety of operators. The insulation of high-temperature equipment and pipelines inside the production workshop to improve the working environment can play a role in indoor cooling and heatstroke prevention. Adding insulation to parts of high-temperature equipment that may be touched by people can prevent operators from getting burned. This type of insulation is called protective insulation.

4. Avoid the solidification and freezing of media in equipment and pipelines to maintain normal production. In cold seasons, substances with high freezing points may not flow quickly or stay in equipment and pipelines for a long time, resulting in freezing and blockage. Therefore, antifreeze protective insulation is usually used. In addition, outdoor water supply and drainage pipes and tanks may freeze if they work intermittently. Therefore, antifreeze insulation is also necessary.

5. Prevent evaporation loss. When pipelines and equipment are operated under low temperature conditions, it is necessary to prevent the transfer of heat from the surrounding environment to the medium, causing evaporation loss of the medium, and to carry out cold insulation.

6. Prevent condensation on the external surfaces of equipment and pipelines. When the external surface temperature of equipment and pipelines is lower than or equal to the dew point temperature of the surrounding air, condensation will occur. To prevent condensation, cold insulation is necessary.

7. Prevent fires. In workshops that produce flammable materials, fire-resistant insulation should be applied to the legs or steel structure pillars of some large equipment to reduce fire hazards.

8. Sound insulation requirements. In some special occasions, Glass wool or other fibrous heat insulation materials with good sound attenuation effect are usually applied to the outer wall of equipment or pipes that can produce great noise to achieve the purpose of sound attenuation and sound insulation. This sound insulation structure is similar to the general heat insulation structure.

Source: Reprint

Disclaimer:

This article is reproduced online, and the copyright belongs to the original author. If there are copyright issues involved, please contact us and we will delete the content as soon as possible.