Document ymQnNgbgQLwrdV1deMXNBzG63

FILE NAME: Owens Illinois (OWILL) DATE: 1952 Nov 3 DOC#: OWILL088 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Journal Article - New Procedures in Industrial Thermal-Insulation Application NEXT WEEK New Unit Really Cleans Tube Bundles. P c I r o c lie m Report: Nechcs Butane Products Co. and Gulf Oil Corp. Direct Determination of Bottom-Hole Pressures. Drill-Pipe Rejects Show Good Service Life. How to Join Different Sizes of Pipe at Odd Angles. Oakford Project Dehy dration Plant. Automatic Tank-Gaging Facilities. Radioisotope Tracer Suc cessful in Products Pipe Line. Automatic Flash-P o i n t Instrument. REGULAR DEPARTMENTS They Say Calendar of Events Journally Speaking Editorial This Week Watching Washington International News Personals Deaths in the Industry Books On the Job Engineering Reference Modern Drilling Heat Transfer Refiner's Notebook Engineering FundamentalsProgress in Metals Pipe-Line Construction Pipe-L-ine News Natural-Gas News Natural-Gasoline News Refining News Drilling Contractors Active Rotary Rigs Exploration Statistics Production Statistics Refining Statistics Market Statistics Equipment Men in News Classified Advertising Advertisers' Index 53 54 59 61 63 76 80 85 87 112-116 125 129 131 132 133 135 136 137 144 147 147 148 150 150 168 169 170 171 175 178 181 EX P LO R A T IO N - DEVELOPMENT Wiliiston Sketches 153 Highlights of Week 153 Reports by Areas 154 N O V E M B E R 3, 1 9 5 2 THE OIL AND GAS ..,,JOURNAL CONTENTS FOR NOVEMBER 3, 1952 NEWS FEATURES CO' Solution in Flooding Brings Higher Oil Yields, Group Told 64 Electric Current Through Oil Sands May Raise Production 64 Reservoir Types Determine Success or Failure of Wetting Agents 65 Economics of Dehydration Processes Discussed by N.G.A.A. Panel 66 Oil Discovery Indicated by Deep Test in Delaware Basin 66 Proration Dilemma Facing Texas and New M e x ico ..................... 67 Northern Natural's Growing Pains Typical of Industry's Problems 69 U. S. Can Produce Enough Oil to Meet Needs Without Imports, l.P.A. Says 70 United States Pipe Line Co.'s Project Partially A m ortized.............................. 71 Gas-Utility Industry Warned to Promote Product, Continue Research 72 Added Gas Research Is Needed, A.G.A. Told 73 Westby Accepts as Head of I.P.E. Selection Committee ......... 74 Benzene Market to Remain, But Substitutes May Curtail Demand 74 Companies Ask Supreme Court to Review Rulings in Cartel Case . 75 Alkylate Output Up to 10,000 Bbl. Daily . . 76 Oil-Country Tubular Goods Allocated for First-Quarter Operations 76 NPA Takes Over Control of Tubular Goods Made From Imported Steel 76 Socony Sets Up New Exploration, Production Division at C a s p e r.............. 79 Fabulous Gas System Proposed From Iraq Fields to Paris .8 0 Workers, Employers Divided on Cut in Work Hours; Study Asked . 83 ENGINEERING-OPERATING FEATURES Southern Natural Removes Distillate From Pipe Lines . 88 Pipe-line efficiency is increased by injecting absorption oil into field lines. By 1.. N. Brown and J. M. Phillips, Southern Natural Gas Cm New Procedures In Industrial Thermal-Insulation Application . 90 New application techniques, development and prefabricated shapes drastically reduce installed cost of insulation. By C. J. Kuhasz and E. C. Shuman. Low-Temperature Insulation for Refinery S erv ice............................................. 99 High cost o f obtaining and maintaining low temperatures demands best <4 in sulation practices. By W. L. Martin, Humble Oil & Refining Co. Water Flooding in Kansas' Golden Lane . . 104 Performance data and field report on 32 water-flood projects in Greenwood County, Kansas. How to Cope With Crooked-Hole Problems 111 Large drill collars, two-cone bits, and stabilized drill-collar strings used to straighten hole. By Gerald Burgess, Ohio 0 3 Co. Where Will Tomorrow's Oil Come From 119 Yet-to-be-discovered deposits of oil should meet world's petroleum needs for long time to come. By E. V. Murphree, Standard 0 3 Development Co. On the Job . . . In the P la n ts ................................ ........................................... 125 Tennessee Natural's control of outlet regulators. On the Job . . . In the F ie ld s ............................................................................... 126 Connecting into a full line. Engineering Reference Section . 129 Modem Drilling ....................................................................................................... 131 Heat Transfer ........................................................................................................... 132 Refiner's Notebook ................................................................................................ 133 Engineering Fundamentals ............................................................................... 135 Progress in Metals .................................................................................................. 136 1  Hk T TA 1t H 4- PLAIN BLOCK TEE SH IPLA P BLOCK CAP Fig. 1--Some of the shapes used in (he ness insulation method. NEW PROCEDURES IN . . . Industrial Thermal-Insulation Application Thermal insulation is required in many refinery applications, where temperatures vary from the very low values used for re frigeration processes to the very high ones encountered in furnace operation. These two articles, one on high-temperature insulation and the other on low-temperature insulation, bring together a number of pertinent facts on this important subject. New methods, mate rials, and concepts are highlighted. by C. J. Kuhosz* and E. G. Shum anf IWIETHODS have been developed which drastically reduce the in stalled cost of thermal insulation. These include not only new applica tion techniques, hut also the develop ment of prefabricated shapes which re duce cutting and forming in the field to a minimum. Advantages arc (I) greater economy, (2) a saving in the am ount o f critical m aterial required, (3) greater durability, and (4) elimina- *Development engineer, the M. W. Kellogg Co., New York. tD irector of research, Kaylo Division, Owens-Illinois Glass Co., Toledo. Presented at the Petroleum Mechanical Engi neering Conference, Kitnsus City, Mu., Sep tember 1952, of A.S.M.E. tion of the confusion resulting from the use of various grades and thicknesses of material. These methods have been employed on three projects now in operation, with savings of $50,000 to $250,000, and on numerous others currently un der construction. Savings run from 15 to 25 per cent of the cost based on previously used processes. Reduction in number of insulating joints varies from 200 to 700 per cent, while reduction in the number of sep arate operations required for an instal lation runs from 30 to 60 per cent of those formerly required. Former difficulties . . . Difficulties of older methods are concerned with the weathercoating, and are (a), failure of weathercoating at the joints between blocks under extreme elevated temper ature service due to heat infiltration, (b ) , failure of b o n d between th e insu lation and wcalhcrcoating due in part to materials an d in part to moisture s a t u ra tio n o f the in su la tio n by ra in , an d (c) , failure of weathercoating due to insufficient weathering and heat re sistance. To avoid such difficulties and to make the method us nearly foolproof as pos sible the following steps were taken: 90 T H K Oil. AND GAS J O P U N A I . (a) The design of joints for high tem perature service was modified to insure that the weathercoating reinforcement would not be strained excessively as a result of expansion of the metal to which the insulation is applied, (b) The holes for the attachments were counter bored and packed to eliminate any pos- sibility of over heating the coat by con duction through the pins, (c) All insu lation was prime coated on the outside before installing against metal surfaces, in order to minimize water absorption from unexpected rains which may oc cur before the weathercoat is applied on the job. General Description of Method Using this method of installing ther mal insulation it is possible to apply insulation to the metal surfaces of ves sels, equipment, piping, valves, fittings, bins, duct work, etc., at reduced in stalled costs that are well below those of other methods, even though initial material costs are slightly higher. Insulating material . . . The method can be employed for all operating metal temperatures up to 1,200 F. while specifying one type of rigid insulation material known as hydrous calcium silicate in a single thickness. The den sity of this material is approximately 11 lb. per cubic foot and its average com pressive strength about 150 lb. per square inch. The material is insoluble in Witter, has a high wet strength, is incombustible and its handleability is exceptionally good, resulting in a very small amount of waste. The material is supplied in 1 to 5-in. thickness in increments of Vi in., in the forms of flat and curved block and pipe insu lation. Shop Fabricated Shapes The hulk of the insulation materia! is shop fabricated in standard shapes and properly identified for field assembly. The size of each piece is predeter mined for ease of manhandling and minimum damage during shipment and erection. In general, the length of each piece is 36 in. and the thickness is eith er cast or laminated up to 5 in. For cylindrical surfaces of vessels, pipe, etc., the width of the curved blocks and the number of pieces around each circumference are determined by the diameter. In general, pipe insulation is supplied in two pieces for diameters from Va to 12 in., three pieces for 13 to 18 in., four to eight pieces for 19 to 40 in., and in nominally 18-in. wide pieces for diameters over 40 in. up to 60 ft. F or irregular curved su rfaces, such as heads, cones, transitions, etc., blocks of two types are supplied: (a), 18 by 33-in. hinged blocks made by adhering woven glass fabric to individual small blocks of triangular shape (the glass fabric provides hinging action and there is little danger of the pieces breaking apart), (b), 9 by 18-in. curved blocks with the direction of curvature determined for best fit of surface cov ered. A change in radius is dictated when the space between the inside of the insulation and the metal surface exceeds Vs in. For flat surfaces such as bins, ducts, etc., flat blocks are sup plied in widths up to 18 in. For pipe fittings, valves, flanges, etc., of the butt weld type for diameters larger than 2'/2 in. and for flanged types larger than IV2 in., standard pipe insulation is cut, formed and securely held together with a water and heat resisting cement and is supplied pre assembled weathercoated in two to four pieces. Pipe bends from 3 to 10 in. arc also supplied from standard pipe insulation. Insulation used on metal surfaces operating at temperatures below 700 F. have shapes provided with straight edges cut normal to the outside surface of the piece. For metal surfaces above temperatures of 700 F. the shapes are provided with \ 2 -in. shiplapped edges also cut normal to the outside surface. In addition all pieces for thicknesses of 2'/i in. and over arc provided with a 30 bevel cut about % in. deep along all the outside edges. Insulation used on cylindrical, flat and irregular metal surfaces (except for cylindrical surfaces smaller than 24 in. in diameter operating below tem peratures of 700 F.) the shapes are provided with two to five shoulder holes properly spaced, except for hinged block in which a multiplicity of holes are provided. For pieces 2 in. in thickness and below, the shoul der of the hole is 1 in. high and for 2Vi in. and thicker is 1Vt in. high. For cylindrical surfaces 24 in. and smaller operating at temperatures above 700 F. each shape is provided with two shoulder holes. As an alternate type, straight holes may be used for thicknesses of 2 in. and smaller. In all cases holes are drilled normal to the outside surface of the piece. The small diameter of the shoulder hole is made large enough to admit a ceramic ferrule for a 3/16 or M-in. diameter welding stud, with sufficient clearance to allow proper venting of gases during welding and to prevent scraping the sides of the hole and pick ing up particles of insulation. The larger diameter is made large enough to admit a welding stud bending or speed clip fastening tool. When the alternate straight hole is used its diameter should be the same as the small diameter hole of the shoulder hole. Regardless of operating temperatures and kind of metal surfaces insulated, the pieces are protected from moisture. This is done by either prime coating or weathercoating the outside surface of each piece prior to its erection. In genera), insulation for cylindrical sur faces smaller than 24 in. in diameter and all pipe fittings, valves, flanges and pipe bends are furnished with a prime spray coat and a 1 / 16-in thick finished weathercoating applied before shipping. All other pieces are furnished with a film of spray coated water re pellent primer applied to the outside surface and the ends, also prior to erection. When the outside diameter of insu lation is greater than 16 in. it is rein forced with a layer of glass fabric when used for pipe fittings, valves, flanges and specialties. Some of the shapes used in the method described have been shown on Fig. 1. Field fabricated shapes . . . For pipe fittings, etc., of the butt weld type under 3 in. in diameter, flanged type under 2 in. and for screwed type over 3'/2 in., standard pipe insulation is sup plied for field fabrication. In addition to the foregoing, on every installation certain items must be con sidered as specialties and do not fall into the present range of standard shapes. In such cases the economics of shop against field fabrication must be taken into account. A limitation against shop fabrication usually is due to dam age of large assemblies in transit; in many cases, though, this can be over come by increasing the number of pieces and shipping them disassem bled. On the other hand, if field fabri cation is decided upon it will be noted that most specialties can be made from standard pipe or flat insulation mate rials. Mineral w ool. . . Prefabricated mineral wool is available for pipe fittings, valves, etc., of the screwed type under 4 in. in diameter. Felted mineral wool blanket in 1-in. thick layers are supplied for pipe bends under 3 in. in diameter, and for pack ing construction cracks and openings. INSULATION SYM POSIUM HIGH TEMPERATURE Reinforcement . . . Glass fabric is sup plied for reinforcing and should be made in an evenly woven mesh, im pregnated with a water resistant com pound that is not soluble in the sol vent in the weathercoating, in order to prevent possible damage to the glass fibres, which might occur if their coat ing is partially removed and friction between strands can be induced. The trend count should be no less than 20 per inch in both directions with a min imum strength of at least 60 lb. per inch of width and should weigh about 2'/i oz. per square yard. Fasteners . . . Welding studs arc sup plied in carbon or alloy steels in eith er the 3 / 16-in. diameter split pipe type or the Vi-in. diameter solid pin flux or slug loaded type with a 1-in. diam eter metal speed clip, both types are furnished in lengths of l'/z and 2 in. with ceremic ferrules for good welding. Welding studs must be suitable for use with a welding gun of the timed voltampere type. Weatherproofing . . . Prime coat mate rials which do not introduce water into the insulation and arc suitable for spray application are used to prevent rain from being absorbed through the sur face of the insulation. In order to ob tain a good bond for the weathercoat, the primer should penetrate the surface of the block and not be soluble in the solvent of the weathercoat. Weathercoat materials suitable for indoor or outdoor spray application arc used, such as asphaltic, bituminous and rubber based. The type selected should be based upon the temperature condi tions to which the wcalhcrcoating will he subjected to, such as heat transfer, magnitude of joint movement and number of times the joint opens and closes in a given period. They should be moderately fast drying, flexible and resilient over a wide range of temper atures with a working temperature of at least 300 F., have good adhesion and good weathering properties and long life. Coatings should not support com bustion to an extent that they will spread fires that reach them. It must be recognized that many solvents are flammable, so that care is essential dur ing application and for a short time thereafter. No serious problem has arisen from this condition in the field. cause of excessive metal temperatures. This high temperature cement should be fast setting, have good weathering properties, low water absorption, good adhesion to insulation and metal, high coefficient of expansion to minimize checking and cracking, and when ap plied should be of troweling consist ency. Other commonly used materials such as metal wire, bands, cables, wire mesh, lacing wire, nails, sheet metal, plastic cements, etc., will not be described herein. Installing Insulation To obtain the best results during the service life of the insulation it is very important to adhere to the proce dure described for applying the mate rials to cylindrical, flat and irregular curved metal surfaces. In order to avoid entrance of water into the insulation, whenever practical, erection of the insulation should be started at the top most part of the metal surface. Around all irregularities projecting from the metal surfaces, pieces of insulation should be cut to fit neatly. All pieces arc installed in such a manner that the flow of heat by con vection is minimized along the joints between adjacent blocks. For vessels, equipment, etc., set in a vertical posi tion the longitudinal joints should be staggered and the circumferential or transverse joints should be continuous. In the horizontal position the longitu dinal joints should be continuous and the circumferential or transverse joints should be staggered. In all cases the joints between adjacent blocks arc butted together tightly. Cutting reduced . . . To reduce un necessary cutting and the number of joints, a survey should be made of the metal surface to be insulated, and the first row of pieces to be installed should be started with a longitudinal joint in line with the greatest number of pro jections which are on more or less a common centerline. Where shiplapped pieces are used for irregular curved surfaces, it will be found that some of the shop fabricated material will not always fit the curva- ture and it is necessary to do some lapping in the field, in such cases a mechanically operated tool has been used to cut the lap. Where hinged blocks are used, they should be cut and fit to conform as nearly as possible to the contour of the metal surface, and protruding edges should be pounded with a wooden mal let to form a reasonably smooth sur face. Insulation should extend beyond the straight portion of cylindrical metal surface a sufficient amount to allow good trimming to conform to the in sulation of heads, cones, transitions, etc. The void occurring at the junc tion of the shell and head insulation should be filled with waste block whenever additional stiffness is re quired. The object of individually support ing each piece of insulation is to con trol and localize to small increments the movement caused by expanding hot metal surfaces. The effect is to distrib ute the total metal expansion to a great number of positive joints between ad jacent blocks. For example, a hot metal surface with a circumference of 95 ft. 0 in., expands 4 in. to 95 ft. 4 in.: using 18-in. wide blocks, the joint be tween adjacent blocks opens up to 1/16 in. due to the expanding metal surface. Without individual support, it is conceivable for the insulation at some place to open as much as 4 in. Fastening insulation . . . In general, all pieces of insulation arc firmly se cured to the metal surfaces with car bon or alloy steel welding studs, cither of the split pin type embedded into the insulation, where the metal surface is comparatively clean, or the solid pin flux loaded type with a speed clip, where the metai surface is heavily mill scaled, rusted or painted. When the metal thickness is within the sheet metal range the use of welding studs may be prohibited, in order not to burn through the metal. In most cases, each piece of insula tion is manually held in place while at least two welding studs are fastened to the metal surface. This procedure may be continued for a number of Cement . . . High temperature plastic cement materials suitable for temper atures up to at least 1,200 F. are used to prevent rain from being absorbed by the insulation in places where the use of weathercoat is prohibited be Fig. 2--Installation of split-pin type of weld ing stud. Fig. 3-- Installation of solid-pin flux type of welding stud. IN SU LATIO N SYM POSIUM HIGH TEMPERATURE 2 T H f Oil. AND GAS J O l ' K N A L e'V blocks or all welding studs can be fas tened in each block before proceeding to the next block. The proper number of welding studs used to secure each block will depend on the position of the piece, such as overhead, vertical, etc. To install the split pin type welding stud, the pin with a ceramic ferrule is inserted into the shoulder hole and welded to the metal surface, after which the ends of the pin are bent over and embedded into the insulation by using a special tool designed for this purpose. Refer to Fig. 2. To install the solid pin flux or slug loaded type welding stud, the pin with a ceramic ferrule is inserted into the shoulder hole and welded to the metal surface, after which the speed clip is placed on a magnetized tool inserted in the hole and pressed over the pin until it bears firmly against the shoul der. Refer to Fig. 3. Packing holes . . . In general, after blocks are securely held against the metal surface, either a calcium silicate dowel or mineral wool is inserted into the hole. Where thickness of insulation is under 2Vi in., packing may be omitted without any detrimental effects. It is to be noted that only two lengths of welding studs are required regard less of the insulation thickness, one length for 2 in. and less, and one length lor 2Vi in. or over. The object of using the packed shoul der hole is to prevent the transfer of heat from the hot metal surface through the welding stud to the weathercoating, thereby maintaining approximately the same temperature at the stud location as is over the entire area of the blocks. Applying Reinforced Weatherproofing Insulation and spray applied weathercoating reinforced with glass fabric is comparatively simple to install when compared with conventional methods of using metal wire mesh and multilayer troweled on water bearing plastic cement and weathercoat, or sheet metal cover ing. It is to be pointed out that one of the most 'troublesome features and costly items of the conventional meth ods was the great amount of >vater bearing plastic cements, w'hich the method described has eliminated. In general, after blocks have been se c u re d to the metal su rfa c e a n d all cracks and openings larger than XA in. in width have been packed with mineral wool (norma! joints between adjacent pieces of insulation will be sufficiently tight to require no packing), the reinforcing and weathercoating Fig. 4--Relnforctog athercoattns at law- Fig. 5--Installatioa of lasBlmtioa aa ttgfe- latloo Joints for thick kuatatkm. temperature metallic airfare*. proceeds as soon as practical without the tack coat and formed to the con interfering with mechanics. tour of the notch and covered with It should be noted that when at any weathercoating. Refer to Fig. 4. time the insulation cannot be com This type of joint allows the hot pletely covered with glass fabric, due - metal surface to which the blocks are to conditions in the field, the tack rigidly fastened to move without put spray coat must be continued until it ting tension on the weathercoating, covers all the exposed surfaces of the thereby keeping it free from cracks. The insulation before leaving that area of joint functions as follows: during the work. The finish weathercoating should first heat up of the metal surface and be sprayed over the glass fabric to a as the metal expands the reinforced thickness which will dry to approxi weathercoating starts to peel back from ' mately 1/16 in. the apex of the notch, the peeling ac Where metal temperatures are above tion continues until the maximum ex 300 F. the weathercoating should not pansion of the metal surface is reached. ' come in contact with the metal sur Upon cooling of the' metal surface faces, at such places a high tempera the weathercoating recedes into the ture cement should be used. Preferably notch. The only stress to which the the finish coat should be applied as weathercoat is subjected to is flexing soon as practical, so that scaffolding action caused by subsequent cycles of can be removed and waste cleaned up heating and cooling. as the work progresses. With respect to patent scaffolding it can' be reused more often than heretofore and a smaller initial amount is required when compared with installing insulation by conventional methods. For extremely high temperature me tallic surfaces a joint similar to the pre ceding one is used, except a heat re tardant seal of soft asbestos rope or its equal is inserted in the notch over the joint between the blocks prior to in Glass fabric reinforcing should be stalling reinforced weathercoating. Re cut into strips about 7 ft. long, and fer to Fig. 5. when installing, it should be lapped This type of joint is similar to that along all edges at least 3 in. Prior to described above, except a heat retard- - installing glass fabric it is important to ant seal is furnished to reduce the see that the tack spray coat is wet, be transfer of heat by convection from cause if it is not there will be no ad the metal surface to the weathercoat hesion between the block and the glass ing, thereby keeping it free from cracks fabric. When embedded into the tack and embrittlement; furthermore, the coat the glass fabric should net be seal will prevent charring of the weath pulled tight or stretched, rather, it ercoating. should be layed on the tack coat and pressed into it just free of wrinkles. In fact, some small wrinkling will be helpful as it will show some slippage of the individual glass fibers within the weatHercoating. Miscellaneous applications. . . Although the greater part of every project re quiring insulation consists of covering plain metal surfaces, there arc many places on vessels, equipment, etc., - The finish weathercoating must be where special considerations must be uniformly sprayed to a thickness of employed to provide a satisfactory in 1/16 in. over the entire area of the stallation. Several of the most impor glass fabric in order to protect the fab tant are described herewith. ric against deterioration. Sealing Joints Between Blocks Weld seam lanes . . . When weld seams in metal surfaces require periodic in Reinforcing weathercoating for insu spection, the seams are covered with lation 2Vi in. in thickness and over 6-in. wide single or 9-in. wide ship- should be applied to the joints between lapped curved or flat blocks. In gen adjacent blocks, in the same way and, eral, the metal surfaces to within 3 in. at the same time as the block surfaces. of either side of the weld seam are in The glass fabric should be pressed into sulated and weathercoatcd first, form- INSULATION SYM POSIUM HIGH TEMPERATURE Fig. 6--Installation of faunlation for wekl Mams. Fig. 7--Insulation of Fig. 8--Insolation of projections, w h i c h projections w h i c h ing a lane, after which the lane blocks are placed in the lane and secured with are cold metal sur faces. arc hot metal sur faces. welding studs. Reinforced weathercoat ing is then installed and lapped at least 3 in. over the permanent insulation. When it is necessary to remove lane blocks, the wcathercoating is cut along the edges cf the lane, welding studs opened, and lane blocks lifted from place. To replace, the same procedure for installing is used. Refer to Fig. 6. Insulation flashing. . . The top head of vertical vessels should be provided with a rain drip properly flashed to the in sulation. Refer to Fig- 9. The seal should be made by installing two layers of glass fabric on the vertical blocks and then extending it over the knuckle curvature by at least 12 in. A rain drip made of galvanized sheet metal at least eling the ends of the block at 45 in direction of drainage, after which a piece of galvanized sheet metal flash ing is extended along the - metal sur face about 4 in. and along the surface of the block for 4 in. The flashing should be fastened to the metal surface with a continuous metallic bead. Be fore flashing is installed the blocks Projections Through Insulation Where metal surfaces project, through the insulation, such as nozzles, etc., which are below 300 F. The edges of the block adjacent to the projection should be beveled at an angle of 45 1 in. deep on the inside. The blocks should be installed by extending them to within V* in. of the projection and firmly secured, after which the bevel and adjacent block, and 4 in. of the projections surface should be sealed with two layers of reinforced weather coating. When glass fabric is installed it should be pressed into the contour of the bevel and overlap the glass fab 6 in. wide should then be installed around the curvature by nailing it into the insulation. The edge of the drip should extend about 3A in. beyond the vertical blocks. The drip should be covered with a layer of weathercoating, extending over the head insulation. The heads of horizontal vessels should be finished as described above, except the rain drip is omitted. Where insulation terminates on the metal surface for temperatures above 300 F. the ends of the blocks are flashed against the metal surface. Refer to Fig. 10. The seal is made by bev- should be weathercoated to within 2 in. of the bevel so that flashing can be extended over it. Where insulation terminates on metal surfaces for temperature below 300 F.. the ends of the blocks are flashed against the metal surface as described above, except reinforced wcath^rcoating is substituted for the sheet metal. These seals are to prevent water from entering joints between insulating blocks or between blocks and metal surfaces, thereby keeping insulation dry, which in turn reduces corrosion effects on the metal surfaces covered. Straight and Bent Pipe Application ric on the block by at least 2 in. Refer In general, shop weathercoated in to Fig. 7. sulation should be installed on straight Where hot metal surfaces project pipe of 22 in. in diameter and smaller through the insulation, which are above and on pipe bends from 3 to 10 in. in 300 F., The edges of the block adja diameter. Depending upon metal sur cent to the projection should be beveled face temperatures, either weaihereoat- at an angle of 45 1 in. deep on the cd hinge block or 9 in. wide shiplapped inside and 45 on the outside. The curved pieces should be installed on blocks should be installed by extending pipe bends larger than 10 in. and on them to within 1 in. of the projection irregular metal surfaces. For pipe and firmly secured, after which the space between the projection and the block should be sealed by troweling it full of high temperature cement, which should be extended along the surface of the block for at least 4 in. Water should be kept off the cement for several hours to allow setting. After the cement has dried a 4 in. wide strip of reinforced weathercoating should be placed over the joint between the block wcathercoating and the cement. Refer to Fig. 8. These seals are to prevent water from bends under 3 in. in diameter, felted mineral wool blanket in 1-in. thick layers should be installed. It should be noted that shop weathercoated pieces are optional for indoor application. Whenever practicable, insulation for butt weld fittings, valves and pipe bends should be installed prior to the pipe insulation. Where flanged type fittings and valves are to be insulated, the pipe insulation should be insulated first in order to allow fitting and valve insula tion to extend over the pipe insula tion. . getting into the insulation and behind the wcathercoating and, to decrease the transfer of excessive heat to the weath ercoating, thereby, overcoming crack ing, peeling, embrittling, loss of resil iency and general deterioration of the weathercoating. Fig. 9--(Top) Rain drip bould be provided for top bead of vertical vessels. pig, jo--(Bottom) Terininatton of Insulation on metal nirfaces above 300 F. Installed loose . . . Insulation should be installed with recognition of the de sirability of a specified degree of fit, and adjusted to be moderately loose for the temperatures expected. When in stalling the pieces, full circumferential INSULATION SYMPOSIUM- HIGH TEMPERATURE 4 THE OIL AND GAS JOURNAL joints arc used between adjacent pieces of shop weathercoated insulation, and where practicable all longitudinal joints should be placed on, or as near as pos sible to the horizontal center line of the pipe. Where prime coaled pieces of in sulation are installed the vertical joints should be staggered and horizontal joints made continuous. In all cases joints between adjacent pieces of in sulation must be tightly hutted to gether. Wherever shop weathercoated insu lation is used, the pieces should be secured to the metal pipe surfaces with wire loops that have the ends twisted and embedded in the insulation, or steel bands. The type of securcment and the number used for each 36-in.long piece will depend on the diameter of the pipe. Packed openings . . . Openings larger than Vs in. in all insulation should be packed with mineral wool. Normal joints between adjacent pieces of insu lation will he sufficiently tight to re quire no packing. After shop weathercoated insulation has progressed along the pipe suffi ciently not to interfere with mechan ics installing it, the longitudinal and circumferential joints between adja cent pieces of insulation should be weathercoated, so that no moisture can enter the insulation. Weathercoating is either applied by brushing, troweling or smearing on with a glove to a smooth finish. All exposed surfaces such as ends and edges should also be weathercoat ed. Prior to sealing circumferential joints they should he reinforced with a band of glass fabric at least 3 in. wide embedded in the weathercoating. Where beveled edge is used the glass fabric should be pressed into the joint; where straight edge is used the fabric should be relatively loose to permit some movement when the pipe ex pands. Where projections extend through the insulation, the joint should be sealed in the same manner as described for ves sels, etc. Where prime coated insulation is in stalled, the application procedure should be ihi same as described for vessels, etc. Pipe Fittings, Valves Flanges In general, shop fabricated weather coated insulation covers should be in stalled on pipe fittings, valves, flanges, etc., from 3 to 24 in. in diameter. For diameters under 3 in. either standard pipe insulation or mineral wool as de scribed herein should be installed. It should be noted that when the diameter of the insulation used is greater than 16 in. the fittings, etc., are reinforced with glass fabric. Shop weathercoated pieces are optional for indoor applicalion. Whenever practicable, insulation for buttweld type elbows, lees, valves, etc., should be installed prior to the pipe insulation; butt weld caps and reduc ers arc considered purl of Ihe pipe in sulation. Where flanged or screwed type fittings and valves are to be insu lated such as flanged joints, elbows, tees, valves, couplings, etc., the pipe in sulation is installed first. When butt weld fitting insulation cannot be installed as mentioned, the locution of the extremities of the fit ting should be marked on the metal surface of the pipe, so that when fit ting insulation is installed it can be butted tightly against the pipe insula tion without cutting it. Parallel to pipe . . . All fitting insulation should he installed with the center lines parallel and normal to the pipe insula tion of which they are a part. All joints in the fitting insulation, and where it comes in contact with pipe insulation should be butted tightly together. Where fitting insulation overlaps pipe insulation, such us in the case of flanged type, the space between the outside of the pipe insulation and the inside of the fitting insulation should be packed with scrap insulation or mineral wool. In many cases, because of the nesting arrangement of the insulation sizes, the need for packing is eliminated. In places where it is possible to dam age fitting insulation after it has been installed or where additional rigidity is required because of external weights resting on the fitting, such as flange type, the void between the metal pipe fitting and the inside of the insulation should be reinforced with filler pieces made from scrap insulation. Places like these are the only ones where this should be done; all other voids are to remain unfilled. Openings larger than Vfe in. in all in sulation should be packed with mineral wool. A typical case is the space left after cutting valve insulation for bon net flanges of a globe valve. Shop weathercoated fitting insulation should be secured to the metal pipe fitting with wire loops that have the ends twisted and embedded in the in sulation, or with steel bands. The type of securements and the number used will depend on the size and the num ber of pieces installed. Flanged fitting insulation should be secured where it overlaps the pipe insulation. Joints in fitting insulation should be weathercoated, reinforced and sealed as the work progresses against mois ture as described for shop weathercoat ed pipe insulation. In addition all ex posed ends, edges, etc., should be com pletely sealed with wcathercoating. Furthermore, all joints between fitting insulation and pipe insulation should be reinforced with glass fabric. When fitting insulation is made in the field, either of shop weathercoated insulation or mineral wool the indi vidual pieces of insulation should be secured with wire loops, reinforced with a layer of glass fabric and finally given a finish coat of weatherproofing. Where it is necessary to insulate fit tings larger than 24 in. in diameter, prime coated curved pieces are used. The individual pieces should be either secured with wire loops or steel cables after which the insulation should be given a first spray coat of weatherproof ing into which is embedded a layer of glass fabric properly lapped an d ' fi nally a finish spray coat of weather proofing. Insulation for steam tracing. . . In some cases, the outside metal surfaces of equipment, pipe and fittings are pro vided with tubing, through which steam flows for the purpose of furnishing ad ditional heat, or for stabilizing the chemical process, usually referred to as steam tracing. In such cases, the insulation size used on equipment and piping, includes the steam tracer tube, so that when the insulation is installed it is placed against the tubing. When fittings are steam traced the size of the insulation is not increased to include the tubing, instead, at points of interference the insulation is gouged out to accommodate the steam -tracer tube. In order to reduce the amount of gouging the tubing should be located on the metal surface where the joint in fitting insulation will oc cur. The insulation procedure for in stalling, packing, securing, reinforcing, and weathercoating is the same as de scribed herein. Where welding studs are used to secure insulation, care must be taken to avoid welding to the steam tracer tubing. Insulation for Turbines, Pumps Where hinged block can be used con veniently against irregular metal sur faces, they are installed, packed, se cured, reinforced and weatherproofed as described herein. When hinged block cannot be used conveniently, plastic cements are ap plied to the irregular metal surfaces in lVS-in. thick layers, with each layer reinforced with 1-in. hexagonal galva nized poultry mesh, as used conven- INSULATION SYM POSIUM -------------- HIGH TEMPERATURE finally. However, after the hard coat of plastic cement has been applied and completely dry, the entire surface of the insulation is given a first spray coat o f weathercoating, into which is em bedded a layer of glass fabric properly lapped, and finished with a 1 / 16-in. thickness of weathercoating. Weathercoating should not be ap plied by the spray method where over spray will require too much cleaning up; in such cases it should be applied by either brushing, troweling or smear ing on with a glove, to a smooth fin ished surface. It should ulso be recognized that by using the methods described herein more engineering of insulation is re quired than heretofore. However, this added cost is more than offset by the fact that all parts of the installation are not only properly insulated with the correct material, but when the work is finished there will be no disagree ments as to the amounts of insulation used for equipment, piping, fitting, etc., between purchase and applicators. On many installations in the past this was not so and necessitated the employ ment of measuring teams. It is to be noted that when the methods described are specified the applicator can quote on the insulation work, without any doubt as to the correctness of the amount of material and (he lubor in volved; on the other hand, the pur chaser knows what he is getting when the work is completed. Advantages of Method . . A. Cost Benefits The writers have found the follow ing major cost factors to be noteworthy. It is recognized that all factors are not of the same importance on all installa tions and therefore no importance is attached to the order in this list. Much less basic material need be requisitioned. Instead of about 10 per cent excess for contingencies, only lVi to 3 per cent need be requisitioned, de pending on quantities and types of ma terials involved. Auxiliary materials, such as struc tural steel shelf angles, channels, plates, etc., welded to hot metal surfaces sole ly for supporting and attaching of in sulation are entirely eliminated when split pin or solid type welding studs are utilized. Small pieces of steel attached at specified locations on equipment, etc., arc costly and at present critical. In general costly materials needed to protect insulation against weather dur ing erection are practically eliminated, and only comfort of workers need be considered. It is to be noted that with the methods described, insulation can be applied in subzero climates with lit tle danger of freezing; in the past this was a very costly item to control. Hair resisting. . . The material, hydrous calcium silicate, resists rain. If applied insulation becomes saturated before weathercoating, or before application, it is not damaged except by freezing; drying before coating is all that is re quired, but this is essential to prevent trapping moisture in the insulation. It is to minimize the danger of this oc curring that the insulation is prime coated in the shop. Insulation satu rated after application does not fall off. In general, no heat need be provided to dry out wet insulation. The elimi nation of water-mixed plastic cements makes it no longer necessary to employ costly heating equipment and waiting time, previously required to dry or thaw out insulation. The only time such equipment is needed is when the weath erproofing is not applied as outlined herein or when plastic cement is used for irregular surfaces. Corrosion minimized . . . Because these methods produce weather protected in sulation of a high degree of moisture resistance, and because practically no water-mixed materials are used, corro sion will be minimized on all metal sur-, faces covered. Furthermore, hydrous calcium silicate is alkaline and there fore rust inhibitive. Insulation work may be started wher ever convenient; however, it is best and more economical to start installing in sulation at the topmost surface and progressively weatherproof downward so that rain, even though unexpected, will not wet the insulation and run be hind it, and further accelerate corrosion of the metal surfaces. It should be noted that wetting the insulation is also of concern to the extent that moisture must be removed before the insulation is completely weatherproofed, to avoid building up vapor pressure and decreas ing thermal efficiency of the insulation until it becomes dry. Errors reduced. . . Because only one kind of basic insulation material of a single thickness is used for the full range of temperatures up to 1,200 F., it will be found that errors in applying the improper insulation is greatly re duced, compared with projects of which several materials are specified. The amount of handling of individual pieces and the accompanying breakage also are decreased. Furthermore, handleability of hydrous calcium silicate, par ticularly where small cutouts are need ed, simplifies application. An appreciably smaller number of field operations are required; in most cases about half as many when other methods of application are considered. The larger pieces of insulation now made available through this procedure, nominally 18 by 36 in., reduces the number of joints to seal, pieces to han dle and the amount of breakage. Simplified operation . . . Either single or shiplapped pieces are installed and se cured to the metal surfaces by the same procedure; this greatly reduces and sim plifies the number of field operations when multiple layer insulation is ap plied. Furthermore, the use of shiplapped pieces has eliminated continu ous full depth joints between the out side of the insulation and the metal surface to the vanishing point. It is significant to note that continuous full depth joints have been observed, even in some cases where multiple layers ot 4 or 6-in. wide pieces of insulation have been used. Individual mounting of the pieces makes it comparatively easy to support the insulation at places where large openings occur in the metal surfaces and where small and large pieces of equipment are fastened to the metal surfaces such as metal reinforcing pads, manholes, nozzles, etc. Furthermore, all metal rings used for fastening insu lation cables and bands at these points have been eliminated. The use of hinged block which are normally 4.5 sq. ft., simplified install ing the insulation on double curved metal surfaces by eliminating the usual 4 or 6-in. wide field scored blocks equivalent to 1.0 or 1.5 sq. ft. respec tively, and through the elimination of successively applied water bearing plas tic cements. Waste reduced . . . Running the cylin drical, longitudinal or vertical insula tion beyond the junction of double curved surfaces, firmly supports the in sulation on the double curve and sim plifies installing it whenever short radii occur. The use of filler blocks made from scrap insulation, which is always available, not only provides the neces sary support where needed but helps to dispose o f waste insulation material and reduce the amount of cleaning up when the work is completed. Reinforcing the outside surface of the insulation with glass fabric simpli- INSULATION SYM POSIUM -- 6 -------------- HIGH TEMPERATURE T HE Oil. AND GAS J O U R N A L .0 .3 t* fies the application while at the same any other position where the- dead produce a slimy surface on planking time providing an inert material not weight of the insulation rests on the after rain when partially redried, and subjected to deterioration from corro attachment, such as cables, bands, etc. thereby reduces the accident hazard. sion or other deleterious effects. It is essential that material conforming to the specifications set forth herein be employed, since the use of inferior ma terial will not produce a satisfactory job. Installing an extra layer of glass fab ric and a metal rain drip at and along the juncture of head and cylindrical in sulation on vertical vessels will prevent potential cracking of the weatherproof ing at this point, and make it possible to stop water from getting behind the in sulation. Furthermore, rain water as it runs down the head is diverted from against the sides of the insulation by the rain drip. Better fit . . . Furnishing curved seg ments of insulation of different radii The subsequent attachment of cables, bands, etc., for securing insulation is eliminated in tbe case of vessels, equip ment, etc., except when alternate meth od of application is used. Little job cleaning. . . The strength of the material is such that workmen can walk on it without damaging any ma terials. While not recommended in gen eral, in cases where necessary, scaffold planks can be placed on the finished insulation without damage. Further more, few repairs are needed at the end of the job because both the insulation and the coating resist moderate abuse. Liltlc expense in job cleanup is in volved. A job involving about $100,000 worth of insulation has only enough C. Maintenance A major problem in thermal insula tion in the past has been maintenance which is always necessary because of job accidents which result in damage to either the weathercoating or the insulation or both. It seems obvious that repairs to the coating or the insu lation have been simplified with pro cedures described. When damage occurs to the weather coating, it is repaired by brushing on weathercoating or brushing on weath ercoating reinforced with glass fabric depending upon the extent of damage. When damage occurs to the insu lation, it is removed and new insula tion installed. It should be noted that for double curved surfaces will allow the insulation to lit better against these surfaces and appreciably decrease the amount of cutting and cracking of the waste material accumulated to be car ried away in u pickup truck. After completion of the job, since practically all items are listed on a ma where the welding stud method of at tachment is used, only those pieces damaged need be removed and replaced without disturbing remaining material. insulation during application. On metal surfaces, such as are found terials order, measuring teams are not needed for quantity surveys, with sub If already weathercoated, the coating is cut along joints, and the replacement in rectangular and square bin and duct construction it will be seen that the use of welding studs greatly simplifies se curing the insulation at corners, stiffen ers, etc. With individual mounting, any part or piece of insulation can be removed without disturbing the remaining insu sequent negotiations because of dis agreements. In case of fire the mounting of in dividual pieces prevents the falling off of the insulation as occurs when cables or bands are used. B. Personnel Considerations made and recoating applied, using glass fabric reinforcing where desirable. This partial removal also applies to parts of fittings which are damaged. In service, it is anticipated that for high temperatures there may be some distress in joints, even though rein forced, after some tim of service. If lation or have it fall off, when it is From the standpoint of the work so, maintenance crews can recoat the necessary to make changes to the metal men, the following factors should be . checked areas easily by brushing on ad surfaces insulated or to repair the in sulation. Removed material when han dled with moderate care can be re used. Each piece of insulation is individ ually mounted and the relative change in dimensions due to longitudinal and radial thermal expansion of the metal surface and the shrinkage of the insu lation need be compensated for at the joints only of the small units, usually 4 1/: sq. ft. considered. 1. It is felt that as the installed cost of thermal insulation decreases, the amount of insulation to be applied will be increased. 2. Hydrous calcium silicate is pleas ant to handle, and permits a better ap pearing job for the conscientious crafts man. 3. There is inherently less dust than with other softer materials and the basic material is not a hazard. ditional coating and reinforcing. It is felt that recurrence after such treat ment will occur rarely especially where the bevel type joint is used. n Here is an item on which improve ment can be expected when more elas tic and durable coatings become avail able. It is to be noted that conven tional coatings used in the past always were a source of a great amount of maintenance due to checking and cracking. In service, it is also to be noted that Operations reduced . . . The strength of 4. Since the amount of gymnastic due to the toughness of the weather the insulation material and the inde work around fittings to be applied from coating and strength of the insulation pendent support method described for high scaffolds is reduced, so is the ac material, equipment and piping cov installing, and removing insulation at cident hazard reduced. ered with insulation can readily be used weld lanes has simplified the applica 5. Due to hydrous calcium silicate to support scaffold planks with mod tion at these places by reducing the being insoluble in water, it does not erate dead loads, without damage. number of field operations, and has Specifications, Equipment, and Storage. eliminated the double continuous steel plate border strips, previously tack welded along both sides of the seam. These plates were used to fasten the No equipment is required for this pere type, equipped with proper chuck cables or bands of the permanent in method that is not already on the mar and ferrule holder. sulation and provide a lane for remov ket. The following equipment is used 3. Spray equipment with necessary able insulation over the weld seam. in addition to the usual tools of the compressed air and accessories. The use of welding studs for secur trade of insulation applicators: 4. Hand electric drill for extra holes ing insulation to metal surfaces has 1. Welding generators, 400 amp., for for weld-pins. Canvas or rubber gloves eliminated all sagging, when insulation every two weld guns. for wiping on coating. is installed in overhead positions or 2. Weld gun of the timed-volt-am As mentioned, code requirements or fr. ' X 1 INSULATION SYMPOSIUM-- ------------H IG H TEMPERATURE N O V E M B E R 3, 1 9 5 2 '*J/i* s i s r nsiderat' ons sometimes pro*iiibitip field welding of even light jrnetjAich as welding studs on equipme/I n these cases, the present convejp a l methods of supporting insu l a / with steel clips, etc., must be proyjD, and the insulation secured with Jcs, bands, or wire. Also, provision 1st be made for expansion joints, owever, from this point on, packing, einforcing and weatherproofing proeduies described can be followed. The 'galvanized sheet metal strip at expan sion joints can be installed as noted below. When the use of welding studs is not prohibited, and it is desired to use cables or bands, the steel supports can still be eliminated by using welding studs on only the bottom row of insu lating blocks, where the insulation starts, and immediately above the planned expansion joint. Since this row of blocks is fixed, and the material has sufficient strength to carry the insula tion above it to the next expansion joint, shelf angles are not required. The in tervening insulation can then be at tached by cables or bands. Again, a sufficiently strong material permits the construction of a simple expansion joint by nailing a 6 to 8-in. wide strip of galvanized sheet metal to the insulation immediately above and over the joint. The glass fabric for the section above the joint is started flush with the lower edge of the sheet metal and carried upward without restraining the possible motion in the joint. It should be noted that the glass fabric and weathercoating is carried up to the top of the insulation just below the joint before attaching the metal strip. This permits vertical motion of the metal strip without exposing any in sulation to weather. "If staggered block construction is used, the blocks are installed beyond the planned expansion joint, and each block above the joint attached with welding studs. Then the alternate blocks which span the joint are sawed completely through and the metal strip attached as mentioned. Requisitioning Insulation Materials With this system of insulating a more carefully organized material take off is required. However, with the proper factors and tables the amount of each material can be arrived at read ily with little more effort than here tofore. It should be noted that there is no doubt as to the exact quantities of each material needed when the take-off is completed, because the surface areas, length of pipe insulation and number of fittings have been specified. This more positive estimate of quantities is possible because it is known where each type of insulation begins and ends, which had not been true in the past when builtup fittings overlapped pipe insulation. . Therefore, it is no longer necessary to purchase excess material in large quantities to make certain there is suf ficient quantity at the job site for com pletion. For the application procedure described, no material is ordered in excess of V4 to 3 per cent above the take-off quantities. On foreign proj ects, these excess quantities are in creased slightly. Specifications. . . Under this system, the designing engineers indicate sizes and lengths of all units, and the thickness of insulation required. Since the de marcation between single and shiplapped layers is 700 F., expected op erating temperatures are indicated merely as above or below this tem perature. By limiting the specification to such simple notation, the designing engineers have not placed in the hands of the manufacturer of insulation val uable data on expected operating tem peratures which they may wish to keep confidential. From the writers' experience, this system involves some added engineer ing time. The insulation manufacturer determines quantities required to insu late irregular shapes since these quanti ties can best be determined by the man ufacturer, who adjusts quantities to the dimensions of the pieces of insulation he makes. Simplifications . . . In order to simplify taking off and summarizing insulation materials for requisitioning, standard sketches and tables have been devel oped for use with equipment draw ings, insulation design specifications and to-scalc single line isometric draw ings. The procedure serves us a quick means for determining the shape, securement, reinforcement, weathercoat ing, and joint requirements for any given piece of equipment and pipe size for any temperature and insulation thickness. identification marks for the various insulation shapes ure also obtained, par tially by codes. It should be noted that this procedure in quantity survey gives the quantities of piping and fittings at the same time that it gives quantities of insulation. Final quantities to be ordered are obtained by multiplying the square feet of areas or the lineal feel of piping by factors. It is empha sized that this includes the quantities of auxiliary materials as well. . Identification System for Insulation Material Because all materials are "tailor made'* pieces, and each piece has a definite place in the over-all erection scheme, the manufacturer marks each piece and the carton in which it is Shipped to identify its use. When items are interchangeable for dimensions on several pieces of equipment, for exam ple, all interchangeable identifications are used. Sample of marking: "A tower 80 ft. high on the shell and 10 ft. in diameter with 2-in. thick insulation, having ellipsoidal heads, des ignated E-101, would have each shell insulation piece marked 120 x 2, with the cartons marked 36 sq. it., 120 x 2 E-101, and each piece of head insula tion marked, Hinged Block 2, with cartons marked 36 sq. ft. Hinged Block 2 E-101. For five 6-in. butt-weld elbowinsulation, 2 in. thick, shop-coated with weathercoating, each piece would be marked 6 x 2 BWL and cartons marked 5 Butt weld Ell Coated 6 x 2." Detailing special insulation . . . Because it is impractical at this time to stand ardize all insulating materials including special shapes or dimensions, it becomes necessary to detail either new pieces of insulation for shop fabrication or to use combinations of standard pieces. The decision must be made on the econom ics of shop or field fabrication, taking into account the cost of possible added engineering, manufacturing and ship ping difficulties and handlcahility in the field. When the decision is in favor of field manufacture, the proper pieces must-be requested for easy assembly, and instruction for erection forwarded to the field. Storage Arrangement The storing or warehousing of any kind of material on any size project is always a problem, with its major dif ficulty the easy withdrawal of specilic items. To avoid rehandling of mate rials in finding specific items, or due to errors in selection, the markings de scribed permit predetermined locations in the storage area to be used immedi ately upon removal of shipments from railroad car or truck. More care in locating items upon re ceipt at the warehouse has been found to save an appreciable time when with drawals are made. However, the keep ing of records of receipts and withdrawings accompanying the actual mov ing of the materials, enables an accu rate running record to be kept available ut all times. This is particularly de sirable when - partial shipments from the manufacturer are being handled. INSULATION SYMPOSIUM-- 8 --------------HIGH TEMPERATURE THE OIL AND GAS JOURNAL