How to distinguish flash steam from leak steam

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This post was last edited by Fuleide on 2019-3-10 20:32. How to distinguish between flash steam and leak steam: For steam users in various industries, the phenomenon of condensate flashing is very common. Flash evaporation is actually a normal phenomenon, and what should be done is to recycle the flash steam. However, the vast majority of users mistake this flash steam for leakage steam, which leads them to expend a lot of effort trying to eliminate it, thereby taking incorrect actions that affect the efficient operation of the equipment. How exactly can flash steam be distinguished from leak steam? Through years of practice, Fu Leid has developed some simple and practical methods for identification, which are introduced below: The method of observing facial expressions. In the four traditional Chinese medical diagnostic methods of \"inspection, auscultation and olfaction, inquiry, and palpation,\" inspection refers to observing a person’s complexion. A similar method can also be used for flash steam. Condensate water under relatively high temperature and pressure is discharged into the atmospheric environment, where it generates flash vapor; this flash vapor condenses upon contact with air, producing a large number of small water droplets, causing the area at the pipe outlet to turn white immediately. The leaked steam is colorless for a certain distance after the pipe outlet, and it begins to turn white at greater distances from the outlet. Temperature measurement method: The boiling point of water at standard pressure is 100°C; therefore, the temperature of the flash vapor generated when water is discharged from the condensate pipe is also 100°C. However, since this flash vapor releases heat into the surrounding environment, the temperature of the flash vapor measured at the outlet of the condensate pipe is lower than 100°C, usually around 90 degrees Celsius. If it is leaking steam, the temperature at the pipe outlet must be above 100°C, and it varies with the steam pressure before discharge. The flow fluctuation method: In traditional Chinese medicine, pulse diagnosis is used to assist in assessing a patient’s condition; similarly, we can determine whether steam is flash steam or leaky steam by observing the fluctuations in its flow rate. In the case of leaking steam, since the size of the leakage hole remains relatively constant over a certain period of time, the steam flow rate also stays fairly constant; as a result, a stream of steam with a stable flow rate can be observed at the outlet end of the pipe. However, the flow rate of the flash vapor fluctuates with the changes in the condensate flow rate; as a result, the amount of white vapor observed at the pipe outlet is unstable, varying in quantity and sometimes even stopping intermittently. Pressure differentiation method: The flash vapor pressure at the pipe outlet is very low, equivalent to atmospheric pressure; the distance over which steam is emitted is short, and a large \"white cloud\" forms as soon as the steam exits the pipe outlet. When steam leaks, there is a noticeable pressure at the rear end of the pipeline, the spray reaches a great distance, and the noise increases, indicating that the pressure is significantly higher than atmospheric pressure.