How can medium and high-pressure steam pipelines be thermally compensated in the best way, while also reducing pressure drop and heat loss?
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How can medium and high-pressure steam pipelines be thermally compensated in the best way, while also reducing pressure drop and heat loss? Why not share your experiences with everyone?
Natural compensation is better; the pressure loss isn’t as significant as you might think
The key issue is that the medium-pressure steam pipes we installed in the past two years used natural compensation, and now they need to be modified – mainly because the pressure loss is too high.
I recommend using a thrust-free rotary compensator, which generates no thrust or blind plate force, and can provide a compensation amount of up to 1800 mm. It is particularly suitable for long steam pipelines, as it results in very low pressure drops. It is now widely used in the petrochemical industry. If you're interested, we can communicate. QQ737177450 (013851858560)
Natural compensation results in pressure drops; therefore, a pipeline compensation device should be used, that is, expansion joints should be installed
If the pressure drop loss in the pipeline during operation is too high, exceeding the predetermined parameters, then the only solution is to consider the pipe diameter; a smaller designed diameter will not be able to meet the requirements for maximum flow rate at the specified flow velocity. Reducing heat loss in piping systems has nothing to do with the pressure drop across the pipes; it only needs to be considered from the perspective of pipe insulation.
If the pressure drop during transportation is too high, it is likely due to an issue with the pipe diameter selection, which results in an unreasonable flow rate. Due to the high pressure and temperature of medium-pressure steam, it is recommended to use Caesar for calculating such pipes.
Yes, it’s likely that the original design used a too small pipe diameter. Generally, a few natural compensations won’t cause excessive pressure loss in the system. It is recommended that the original poster check this again, or share the operating conditions so that everyone can take a look