This page describes a representative engineering scenario for this application type. It is written to illustrate how the material is selected and what typically changes as a result. It is not an account of a specific named customer project.
The situation
A campus steam network of several kilometres has insulation of mixed age and condition. Metered generation against metered delivery shows distribution losses well above the design figure. Sections in accessible tunnels can be worked on during term time; buried sections cannot be touched without excavation.
How the economics work here
The material cost of insulation on a network like this is small relative to the cost of access. That inverts the usual purchasing logic. It is worth paying more per metre for a material that performs better and lasts longer, because the expensive part is opening the ground, not buying the insulation.
The approach
- Pre-formed aerogel pipe sections on accessible straight runs, fitted during scheduled shutdown periods
- Blanket on valves, expansion joints and irregular fittings, which is where a disproportionate share of losses occur
- Prioritise sections by measured loss rather than by age, since age correlates poorly with actual condition
- Leave buried sections until they are opened for other reasons, then upgrade opportunistically
What typically changes
- Distribution losses fall measurably on the treated sections
- Valve and fitting losses, often the largest single category, are addressed properly for the first time
- Smaller outer diameter eases congestion in tunnels where several services share the space
- The hydrophobic material reduces recurrence in tunnels prone to flooding
Talk to us about your project
Send us your line list, drawings or target U-values and we will come back with a thickness recommendation, a bill of material and a quotation. Contact our technical team.