INSULATION

1.

Where is insulation used and for what purpose? External surfaces of piping and equipment shall be insulated to conserve energy by reducing heat, loss or gain, to facilitate temperature control of a process system, to provide personnel protection and or to reduce noise levels.

2.

Where should insulation not be done? Insulation shall be omitted from pumps, unions and Y-type strainers, filters, air cooled equipment, compressor, steam traps, name plates, expansion joints, valve packing glands, control valve covers, rotating joints and other applications where the intended use would be compromised.

3.

What are the types of insulation? Hot insulation - A surface temperature above 65 c. Cold insulation - More than 10% of the time below the atmospheric dew point.

4.

What is vapour barrier? A material that retards the passage of moisture into the insulation.

5.

What is weather proofing? It is a material that protects the insulation from the ravages of weather such as rain, wind, solar radiation, atmospheric contamination and mechanical damage.

6.

What are the various types of insulation? 1. Cellular glass insulation. 2. Fibrous type insulation. 3. Polyurethane or urethane insulation.

7.

What is the condition in which you will apply insulation? All equipment, vessels, and piping shall have been tested and inspected as required by the relevant specification prior to the installation of insulation. Surfaces shall be clean and dry prior to installation of insulation. Insulation material shall be 100% asbestos free.

8.

State the various steps in an installation procedure.

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a) b) c) d) e) f) g) 9.

Specific materials to be used. Material storage requirements Design details for critical areas Application methods Repair procedures Inspection and testing procedures Safety concerns and provisions

When do you apply multiple layers in insulation? When the insulation thickness exceeds 75 mm the insulation shall be applied in multiple layers.

10.

Where is a multiple layer insulation system used? Multiple layer insulation systems shall be used for operating at temperatures below -50c or when the insulation thickness exceeds 50 mm.

11.

How is vapour barrier mastic applied? Vapour barrier mastic shall be applied to the entire outer surface of the outermost layer of insulation and then synthetic fabric cloth shall be embedded with trowel without wrinkles, when vapour barrier mastic is in fresh state. Reinforcing shall have an overlap of 50 mm and over.

12.

Where and how are insulation joints staggered? Pre-formed insulation joints shall be staggered. Multiple layer insulation shall be staggered at both the longitudinal and at circumferential joints. Each layer shall be secured. All metallic protrusions through insulation system shall be caulked with a sealant.

13.

What is cellular glass insulation? Where is it used? Cellular glass insulation is produced of glass and composed of small individual cells sealed from each other. Cellular glass insulation shall be used on flanged joints in pipes and for welding joints. It can be used on tanks and vessels and on asphalt where spillage or leakage onto the insulation is probable.

14.

Where are plastic coatings used? Plastic coatings shall be used on insulating cement finishes to prevent the ingress of water on non-fire proofed system.

15.

What is the material used for metal jackets for fire proofing?

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1. Stainless steel 2. Galvanized steel 3. Aluminized steel. Any one of the above materials shall be used as metal jackets for fire proofing. 16. How is metal jacket applied on piping and tee, elbows, valves and flanges? 1. Piping and tee: Longitudinal and circumferential joints of metal jacketing shall be overlapped. The overlap of the metal jacketing shall be 50 mm minimum and at longitudinal joints they shall have the outer portion facing downwards to allow for draining rainwater. The metal jacketing shall be secured with stainless steel bands spaced at 250-mm centers with one band at each circumferential lap and tightened with seal. 2. Elbow: The metal jacketing in elbow shall be mainly installed with mitered metal jacket segments, lobster - back construction. 3. Valve and flange contraction joints etc. , The metal weather barrier shall be field fabricated with no openings in the jacket. The jacket shall be applied with lock and seam in all joints to shed water. The jacket shall be stainless steel banded with a minimum of two bands. 17. Detail the piping insulation of straight pipe. a) Insulation joint shall be installed tightly butted together and staggered. b) When multi-layer insulation is applied joints of one layer shall not be coincided with those of the next. Joint between layers shall be staggered by a minimum of 150mm along the centre line of the pipe. c) Inner layers shall be secured with 12.5-mm wide self-adhesive reinforced tape. The tape shall overlap by a half of the circumference of the pipe and the spacing of the tape shall be a maximum of 250 mm. For the inner layer whose diameter is greater than 760 mm, 19-mm wide tape shall be used. The outer layer shall be secured with stainless steel bands spaced 250-mm maximum and tightened with seals. d) The inner layer shall be installed without joint sealer. All the joints in the outermost layer of insulation for multi-layer system or all joints in single layer system shall be completely sealed with the joint sealer. 18. Briefly describe the metal jacketing. All equipment surfaces shall be insulated with calcium silicate except that the bottom head surfaces of skirt supported equipment may be insulated with mineral wool blanket. Any interstices or hollow zones shall be completely filled with pieces of unfaced mineral wool blanket. Wherever calcium silicate cannot be applied. The joint at the support rings shall be filled with pieces of unfaced mineral wool blanket compressed to a minimum of 50%. After having tied the blocks and filled, any interstices with pieces of blanket the metal jacketing shall be applied. Said metal jacketing shall be properly cut and rolled. All individual metal jackets shall be

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overlapped by atleast 50 mm at longitudinal and circumferential joints. This overlap shall allow for draining of rainwater. The metal jacketing shall be secured with self taping screw at 150 mm intervals on the longitudinal overlap and with expansion band or expansion springs (install one spring per every 7600 mm of strapping) and stainless bands spaced approximately 450 mm between band centerlines with one band at each circumferential overlap. The metal jacketing shall be supported with two 's' clips minimum per sheet. There shall be no sharp edges on the metal jacket. Expansion springs shall be protected from corrosion. Mastic may be applied in lieu of metal jacketing to bottom head inside skirt of skirt supported equipment in case the fabricated sheets of jacketing cannot be inserted through the skirt manway. 19. What are the general inspections, which you will carry out in the insulation materials? 1. Material certificates shall be reviewed to check conformance with the project minimum requirement. 2. Pre-installation check shall be performed for the condition of materials such as damage or moisture for cork, calcium silicate block and thickness for fiber glass, blanket etc., 3. Materials stocked outside prior to installations proper with lowering for protection from moisture, rain etc., 4. Moisture resistant bags for castabble insulation refractory shall be checked for damage, tears and absorbing moisture during shipment. Any deteriorated and contaminated or date expired shall be rejected. 5. Castables shall be stored off the ground in dry place under roof and protected from the extremes of weather. 6. Insulation material shall be 100% asbestos free. 20. What are the acceptance criteria for insulation and what are the final inspection checks in it? 1. When the primer coating is specified, check for minimum D.F.T. of 75 microns. 2. Thickness tolerance or the insulation after installation, but before waterproof or moisture proof materials and jacket installation shall not be less than 3 mm from specified values. 3. Thickness of vapour barrier shall be measured to confirm required total dry thickness. Any defects such as discontinuity, breaks at corner or storage of thickness at a point of reinforcing pad, manhole neck, flange neck and sleeve or union (if any) shall be rejected. 4. Final inspection shall be performed to check that no defects are existing. Defects listed below shall be the cause of rejection. a) Concave and / or convex jacketing. b) Torn jacketing c) Interstices and / or separation of jacketing d) Imperfection of water proof on cut out. (no caulking on cut out of jacketing)

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