Insulating industrial pipes with sprayed or poured PU foam can provide the best thermal insulation available, as well as offering a host of other benefits. EduFoam polyurethane systems could also be suitable for some domestic pipe insulation, although this would have to be at the manufacturing stage as it is not a DIY product. Among many benefits, insulating industrial pipes with EduFoam polyurethane insulation can offer:
Condensation Control
Where pipes operate at below-ambient temperatures, the potential exists for water vapour to condense on the pipe surface. Moisture is known to contribute towards many different types of corrosion, so preventing the formation of condensation on pipework is usually considered important.
Using polyurethane foam pipe insulation can prevent condensation forming, as the surface temperature of the insulation will vary from the surface temperature of the pipe. Condensation will not occur, provided that (a) the insulation surface is above the dew-point temperature of the air, this can be done by varying the thickness of PU foam based on dew-point calculations; and (b) the insulation incorporates some form of water-vapour barrier or retarder that prevents water vapour from passing through the insulation to form on the pipe surface, closed-cell polyurethane foam is inherently resistive to the passage of both liquid and vapour moisture and will provide an incorporated vapour retarder
Pipe Freezing
Since some water pipes are located either outside or in unheated areas where the ambient temperature may occasionally drop below the freezing point of water, any water in the pipework may potentially freeze. When water freezes, it expands due to negative thermal expansion, and this expansion can cause failure of a pipe system in any one of a number of ways.
Using sprayed or poured foam pipe insulation cannot prevent the freezing of standing water in pipework, but it can increase the time required for freezing to occur quite significantly—thereby reducing the risk of the water in the pipes freezing.
Energy Saving
Since pipework can operate at temperatures far removed from the ambient temperature, and the rate of heat flow from a pipe is related to the temperature differential between the pipe and the surrounding ambient air, heat flow from pipework can be considerable. In many situations, this heat flow is undesirable. The application of rigid foam thermal pipe insulation introduces far greater thermal resistance and reduces the heat flow considerably.
Protection From Extreme Environments
Where the pipe work is located in extreme or difficult environments — such as transporting liquids or gas under water — the insulation of the pipe needs to not only perform its function of thermal insulation to protect the sometimes volatile materials within the pipes, it also needs to withstand the environmental conditions without losing any performance. Polyurethane foam can perform both of these functions easily, the foam can maintain a level of thermal insulation over and above other materials even in harsh environments.
Edu-Chem supply a wide range of polyurethane foam insulation materials which are suitable for just about any pipe insulation project, even in harsh or difficult environments. For more information on any of our systems please feel free to call us on 0161 876 8040 or click here to contact us online.