Why do pipes that have been left unused for a long time tend to leak more easily?
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Last year, the company installed a new methanol production facility. Due to the slow progress of evictions in the nearby residential areas, which were located too close to the company, the facility was not allowed to be put into operation for over a year after it was built, even though all the pipelines had been made airtight and met the required standards. Last month, the authorities issued the operation permit, and the company prepared to put the system into use; during the airtightness checks, it was found that more than half of the sealing surfaces were leaking, forcing the team to retighten them or even replace the gaskets. What could be the reason for this? Has anyone had such experiences or lessons?
Metal surfaces are prone to defects that affect sealing, such as pitting corrosion.
It is mainly due to the sealing surface being exposed to air for a long time, suffering from oxygen corrosion and thus causing leaks.
We checked, and the corrosion isn’t that severe; it feels really strange
Which region? What is the temperature difference? Have temperature changes been considered? The cause of stress relaxation can also be considered··············
Yes. Seasonal temperature differences are a likely cause. Here, during the temperature fluctuations around winter, leaks often occur at the flanges, and valves are also prone to internal leakage. Such serious consequences shouldn’t have occurred, but they did.
It might also be due to the principle that \"running water does not go bad, and a door hinge does not rust\"~;P
Is it the result of time constraints? Has creep occurred over time?
I think what was said on the sixth floor makes sense – repeated thermal expansion and contraction over time can lead to relaxation, and a medium is essentially at one temperature