Steam insulation of industrial pipelines, the difference of heat loss caused by different installation methods of fiberglass cloth?
Publish Time: 2024-12-17
In the complex system of industrial production, the steam transported by industrial pipelines is like the lifeline, maintaining the smooth operation of many process flows. As a key insulation material, the difference in the installation method of fiberglass cloth has a significant impact on steam heat loss, which is related to energy utilization efficiency and production costs.
Common fiberglass cloth installation methods include winding, wrapping and splicing. The winding method is like wrapping a bandage around the pipeline carefully. The fiber cloth fits tightly to the surface of the pipeline and is stacked layer by layer along the axis of the pipeline. The advantage is that the construction is convenient, one person can operate it, and it can be flexibly adjusted according to the direction of the pipeline. However, if the winding tension is uneven, it is easy to form a gap at the overlap, which becomes a heat flow "escape" channel. Experimental data show that on a pipeline with a steam temperature of 150℃, if the overlap gap of the winding installation reaches 2 mm, the local heat loss can surge by 20% compared with the seamless state, and the energy waste cannot be underestimated.
The wrapping method is similar to wrapping the pipe with a custom quilt. The fiberglass cloth is cut into the appropriate size, wrapped around the pipe in all directions and fixed. This method has high sealing integrity and can effectively reduce heat convection. For example, the pipes that transport high-temperature steam in chemical enterprises are installed in a wrapping method. With the edge sealing of sealing tape, the heat loss can be reduced by about 15% compared with the winding method. However, its disadvantage is that the installation takes a long time. When encountering pipe accessories such as valves and tees, it is difficult to fit. Once the seal here is poor, the heat will be lost quickly, resulting in a "barrel short board" effect.
The splicing method is to splice and combine multiple pieces of fiberglass cloth and fix them to the pipe with special connectors. It is suitable for large-diameter or special-shaped pipes, and can flexibly splice cloth pieces of different shapes. However, there are many splicing points, and each splicing point is a potential heat loss point. For example, in large-scale centralized heating pipeline projects, if the splicing process is rough and the insulation filling is not done well, the heat loss around the spliced fiberglass cloth is 30% more than the continuous laying method, resulting in a large amount of steam heat energy being lost in vain during transmission.
In order to accurately control heat loss, the pipe specifications must be carefully measured before installation, and the fiberglass cloth size must be customized accordingly to reduce cutting and splicing. During construction, the winding type strengthens the overlap skill training to ensure seamless connection; the wrapping type uses mold production to improve the fitting accuracy; the splicing type strictly controls the quality of the connectors and fills them with high-temperature resistant insulation materials. At the same time, infrared thermal imagers are used to monitor heat distribution in real time and dynamically adjust installation details. Only by carving out each link of the installation and optimizing the fiberglass cloth installation method can we lock in steam heat energy, help the industry move forward in green energy conservation, reduce energy consumption, and enhance corporate competitiveness.
