We are installing a 125 psig steam main through the basement of a building. The amount of ceiling space is quite limited and the run through the building is several hundred feet, so we'll have to trap at every steam main low point where it rises up before sloping to the next low point. My...
We're working on a large apartment complex project that will need to comply with 2015 International Mechanical Code. One of our concerns is whether or not we need to exhaust air from each apartment unit's kitchen. In Table 403.3.1.1, 25 CFM constant or 100 CFM intermittent is required for...
I've been a mechanical project engineer for two years for a large electrical power supplier, working under contract rather than directly. Most of my work deals with planning, scheduling, estimating, equipment selection, project documentation, design, etc. for small capital projects. (Before...
I've been a mechanical project engineer for two years for a large electrical power supplier, working under contract rather than directly. Most of my work deals with planning, scheduling, estimating, equipment selection, project documentation, design, etc. for small capital projects. (Before...
I'm an ME currently working as a contractor for a major power company leading small capital projects, doing both project management and design work at power plants. I love it, but next year will see a big drop off in mechanical projects in our group, which has me worried that I won't be needed...
Thanks. Actually, almost all of the steam piping in the plant slopes up. It's all superheated piping throughout the plant. Most all of my prior experience is with saturated steam with steam and condensate flowing in the same direction, that is, downhill with traps at any low point. However...
I'm confused as to how to interpret the BPVC Section VIII for my heat exchanger. UG-140 of the code, about overpressure protection by system design, would seem to apply, given that pressure reliefs in the steam distribution system serving my HX are set to relieve at a lower pressure than my...
I have in the design for my project a 4" line of superheated steam (450-500 F, 80-100 psig) connecting to the top of a 10" header. The line goes up about two feet and elbows horizontally to a manual gate valve. Just beyond the gate valve, I would put in a drip leg with a 1" drain line with...
Thanks although I'm not quite sure what you mean by no latent heat. The HX is sized and has materials selected so that the portion near the steam inlet desuperheats the incoming steam and can accommodate the large delta-T. (Ideally, I would have had access to saturated steam, but I don't, so I...
On my heat exchanger project, I will have some length of condensate piping that should not be insulated in order to prevent subcooling of condensate before steam trap. However, I want to install a personnel safety shield around the pipe to prevent personnel from burning themselves on very hot...
I understand about the superheat, but we don't have a saturated distribution system at the plant. I looked at putting in a desuperheater ahead of the HX (which would have been smaller) and getting a bigger HX sized by the manufacturer for the superheated inlet condition, and I went with the...
Thanks, but is there a way to start up a shell-and-tube steam-to-water HX without manual valve operation? The plant has few operators and would want to be able to start water and steam flow to HX remotely without need for manual operation. Can that be done?
I don't have a place to save a sketch online. Basically though, I'd have a 3" schedule 40 pipe with 200 gpm flowing through it. It's downstream of a strainer that would serve both HXs. This line has a tee in it from which 20 gpm will flow out. The other 180 gpm continues on and reduces from...
I am looking to run a small fraction of a flow (say, 10% of 200 gpm) through a heat exchanger. The HX would be selected with calculated venturi D/P in mind. The HX would be for cooling condensate from a steam-to-water HX, which will operate at about 50 psig and therefore have condensate coming...
I am installing a steam-to-water HX with 450 F, 40-60 psig superheated steam. (Our plant has no saturated steam distribution system, so we're stuck with using superheated steam. Our HX is selected and sized for this at our design conditions.) I'm wondering about what components I need on the...
In a system I'm working on, we will have a 4" superheated steam line for approx. 6000 pph at 500 F and 100 psig going from a header to the point-of-use (a heat exchanger---the plant has no saturated steam distribution system). Near the connection to the header, there will be a manual gate...
Thanks everyone for the great advice. It seems to make a lot more sense to just have one valve to control flow. We will have both water outlet temperature and HX steam pressure inputted into the plant's Ovation system, so we should be able to control off of water outlet temperature while using...
Hello. I've got a project where I'm going to take steam from 80-100 psig (the header pressure varies somewhat) and deliver it to a shell-and-tube HX. Earlier in the design process, I assumed that I would put in a PRV to reduce pressure to 50 psig, and with the HX I have quoted for the project...
I'm working on the design of a fuel oil piping system with multiple emergency generators and multiple tanks. I'm wondering about valves in the return and overflow lines back to the tanks. I understand that there should be no valves in the return and overflow paths. However, if no valves are...
