MS-04:   Heat Exchanger Tube Coating An Outstanding Alternative To Condenser And Chiller Tube Replacement The fouling of heat transfer tubes is a never ending problem for almost every industry requiring heating or cooling.  This demands regular maintenance in order to physically remove deposit build-up, to restore lost heat transfer efficiency, and to prevent high energy costs.  For large refrigeration chillers, tube cleaning is performed annually on the condenser water side, while the evaporator side is typically cleaned once every five years. Even though refrigeration manufacturers typically specify a 0.0005 in. maximum permissible fouling factor or build-up of deposits at the tube surface, deposits of 20 times that thickness and greater are common.  In its worst examples, tubes may be totally clogged – requiring their cleaning once or twice mid-season at high labor and downtime costs.  For many process applications handling difficult compounds, tube cleaning may be a regularly scheduled event. Documented in many studies, a loss of heat transfer efficiency and flow can often be measured within only a few weeks after a tube cleaned refrigeration machine is placed back in service – this…

MS-03:   Filtering Out The Problem Preventing The Formation Of Scale In HVAC Computer Humidification Pans For any computer room operation, maintaining the proper humidity level is critical.  With virtually all environmental control unit manufacturers building humidification into their equipment, a common operating problem exists in the scale and other solid deposits left behind in the humidification pans as the water continually evaporates.  Hard water areas are mostly affected, although any hardness content will build-up after sufficient use. Humidification pans will often become encrusted with deposits of calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate minerals to the degree requiring their removal for chemical cleaning and/or scraping.  They also accumulate airborne particulates and microorganisms captured in the turbulence of the air flow.  While some manufacturers have built automatic rinsing mechanisms into their units, their effectiveness will vary – leaving the local water quality as the determining factor in many cases. Eventually, the humidification pans must be replaced, as such deposits also accelerate pan corrosion and pitting.  The problem is directly proportional to the amount of humidification supplied, and the amount of calcium carbonate hardness and other impurities in…

MS-02:   Pipe Cleaning Safely Removing Iron Oxide, Dirt, Organic Material, And Other Corrosion Products From Interior Pipe Surfaces Using High Pressure Water Jet Dirt, microbiological material, iron oxide deposits and scale will negatively impact almost any piping system if left to accumulate.  It is a naturally occurring problem every building operator and plant engineer will likely face at some point during their career.  In some cases, the problem may be minor enough to not even be realized.  In its worst form, however, corrosion can produce accelerated pipe loss, leaks, and the premature failure of a piping system. With corrosion always present to some degree, the most common operating problems are usually those associated with deposit build-up, lost heat transfer efficiency, and higher operating costs.  In cases where corrosion activity has been high over an extended period of time, interior deposits can actually accumulate to the point of preventing adequate flow, yet with the more serious threat actually existing due to the loss of wall thickness. Deposits Produce Secondary Corrosion Problems In condenser and chill water piping, an interior deposit build-up as thin…

MS-01:   Drained Pipe Corrosion Total Piping Protection During Winter Lay-Up Or Extended Drain Down In Northern climates, greatly increased corrosion losses are well known to occur during the winter months where seasonal cooling tower systems are drained down for freeze protection.  To a lesser degree it exists for any section of pipe which is drained and left empty for any extended period of time – with the level of corrosion activity being generally dependent upon the openness of the piping system to the atmosphere and fresh air. Our 25+ year history of ultrasonically testing pipe has, beyond any doubt, documented corrosion rates of between 2 and 10 times higher than that of piping which has been continuously filled with water.  Even piping systems filled with untreated water will corrode at rates lower than those which have been drained and left empty.  Due to moist and chemically unprotected conditions in the presence of abundant air and oxygen, roof level failures generally precede problems at basement or mid level piping by decades. Side By Side Documentation This problem is well illustrated by the below…