Freezing prevention issues for underground pipes
Thread Content
At the Northern Chemical Plant, the circulating cooling water and fresh water pipelines are located underground in outdoor areas, with no insulation or heating provided. Such a design causes these pipelines to freeze at temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees in winter – could this lead to damage to the pipelines?
The underground pipeline networks are all below the depth of permafrost, so they certainly won’t freeze.
3# lflsedin: Aren’t all the underground pipes outdoors? Some of the pipes for circulating cooling water are exposed above ground level and are also located outdoors. How many meters is the depth of permafrost approximately?
If it is circulating water, that’s a natural situation – the water is in constant flow, and as long as there is flow, it won’t freeze. Generally, for large pipelines with a large diameter, they won’t freeze at the surface; similarly, for small pipelines that are also in constant flow, the flow rate is higher than that of larger pipelines, so they too won’t freeze.
Where can I find out the thickness of permafrost layers in different areas?
It must be below the permafrost layer, and it also depends on how cold it is.
Running water does not go bad, and a door hinge does not rot – it seems it needs to be changed to running water does not freeze! In fact, flowing water can also freeze; the waters of the Yellow River can freeze over vast distances as well (it seems that Li Zicheng once crossed the river by walking on the frozen surface of the Yellow River). What was said upstairs is correct; whether it’s cold or not depends on the degree of coldness.
The pipelines for the two types of water are located beneath the frozen soil layer on the surface, at temperatures of minus 30 degrees; they are generally 1.5 meters underground, where the soil acts as an insulating layer.
I’m fainting! Can the maximum depth of permafrost be determined just from -30? Check the local weather data! Annual average temperature, extreme low temperatures, maximum depth of frozen soil!
I strongly agree with 10#. What we need is to ensure normal operation even at the lowest temperatures