Reactor jacket water hammer
Thread Content
In the workshop, the reaction of materials takes place only when the water in the jacket is heated to a certain temperature; this temperature can sometimes reach around 100 degrees. PPR heat-resistant pipes are used for both the inlet and outlet water in the jacket. There is often a clicking sound coming from the outlet pipe of the jacket, and it leaks frequently. It is suspected that water hammer is the cause of this problem. Are there any effective ways to prevent such issues? Additionally, (this also often happens with heat exchangers).
The temperature difference is too large; a mixer can be added before feeding into the reactor, and care should be taken to not operate at too high a speed.
The flow restriction for the jacket water is placed on the outlet pipe to increase pressure and prevent vaporization due to pressure drop at the inlet.
Can PPR pipes withstand temperatures of 100 degrees? The reaction temperature reaches around 100 degrees – why isn’t steam used for heating? Moreover, plastic pipes do not have sufficient pressure resistance; water vaporization will definitely occur at a temperature of 100 degrees
Water hammer occurred again today. The section of pipe at the outlet was replaced with stainless steel, which gives it greater strength than before, but leaks have appeared at the welds of the plastic pipe that follows the stainless steel section. I have a headache – if, as mentioned on floor 3, a flow regulator is installed at the outlet pipe, then how can the temperature of the reactor be controlled? Sometimes it’s necessary to cool the reactor using the water in the jacket. As for the mixer mentioned on floor 2, I’m not sure what that is. Could you be more specific?
Is water hammer related to the jacket? Can water generate water hammer? This is unlikely; no matter how high the pressure, it’s not possible to have water hammer occurring every winter when steam is sent in for the first time or when the pipes are tested with steam. In fact, this phenomenon is mainly caused by flash vapor – it’s actually the sound of water carrying flash vapor as it oscillates. When water at 100°C suddenly expands, local vaporization can occur, which results in the generation of flash vapor. How can we avoid this phenomenon from occurring? Flash evaporation is a natural phenomenon that is theoretically unavoidable, but it can be slowed down or mitigated. Therefore, it is recommended to first fill the jacket with water and then replace it with hot water; this can reduce or alleviate water hammer effects. Alternatively, steam can be used for heating, and it is important to use corresponding water supply valves to also reduce water hammer effects
In this case, you can try using half a tube, or two sets of half tubes – one set for steam and the other for circulating water. General polymerization reactions are designed in this way.
Check whether the heat exchange design of the reactor itself is reasonable.
Why not replace the plastic pipes with metal ones? Is it because plastic pipes are cheap?