Alternative Slide Support?
Alternative Slide Support?
(OP)
Dealing with 18” steam process line, temperatures of 1030F in reheat system. We are waiting for fabricated graphite pads to be installed, the expected delivery date will put us very much behind schedule.
Is there an alternative resolution or contingency action I could take to avoid such delay?
I’ve purchased cutting boards at Walmart or Bed, Bath, & Beyond, countersunk bolts on Teflon applications - very good alternative. I really can’t pull the rabbit out again with the temperatures above the 400F.





RE: Alternative Slide Support?
RE: Alternative Slide Support?
The process line is a horizontal run and has guide installed. The scope was to install 4"x10" graphite pad slide plate, this was to be installed between our pipe saddle shoe & W8.
RE: Alternative Slide Support?
If the friction force (Steel to Steel) does not create any overstress to the equipment and if the support steel and W8 can handlle the torsion I would not use a slide.
RE: Alternative Slide Support?
There was a quick field fix where a flexible graphite sheet gasket with stainless steel inserted mesh was used as a slide plate. It may have been a GARLOCK 9000 material in a 3 mm thickness. Check with your gasket suppliers. The flexible graphite needs to be contained if it does not have stainless steel mesh to control extrusion of the sheet.
RE: Alternative Slide Support?
Or, if it's intended to be temporary until the graphite shows up, an oiled steel to steel interface can have a frictional coefficient that's in the same order of magnitude as steel to graphite - depending upon the lubricant and temperature. If you did this you'd need to be very cognisant of keeping the lubrication in place and clean, as well as looking out for binding up with rust.