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 process revamp raises the operating temperature of several transfer lines. The recalculated mineral wool thickness is 120 mm. The clear distance to the adjacent line on the rack is 70 mm. Rerouting the pipework was quoted at a figure that put the whole revamp economics in question.
The constraint that actually governs
This is a geometry problem wearing a thermal problem as a disguise. The heat loss target is achievable with several materials. What is not achievable is achieving it in 70 mm with a conventional product. Any solution that does not address thickness directly ends up back at rerouting pipe.
The approach
- Aerogel blanket at 40 mm achieves the required heat loss within the available clearance
- Fewer layers means a smaller finished outer diameter and shorter cladding spans
- The hydrophobic material also improves the CUI position on lines that had a poor history
- Existing supports and cladding standards remain usable, so the change stays local
What typically changes
- The revamp proceeds without pipe rerouting, which was the dominant cost line
- Installation is faster, which matters because this work sits inside a turnaround
- The lines move from a high CUI risk category to a lower one
- Cladding and banding quantities fall with the reduced outer diameter
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.