Are your steam traps about to fail?

Journal Article · Mon Aug 07 04:00:00 EDT 1995 · Plant Engineering (Chicago)

OSTI ID:110150

Mackay, B D ^[1]

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1. Gestra, Inc., West Caldwell, NJ (United States)

The primary purpose of steam traps is to remove condensate from steam. Most chemical and general processing plants built prior to the 1990s were designed without condensate return systems. Returning condensate in sprawling plants required complex and costly piping, pumping, and auxiliary components. Tough new environmental regulations are now requiring condensate to be processed or returned directly to the boiler. The role of the steam trap now changes from just holding steam back to being the interface between the steam and condensate sides of the plant boiler cycle. Based on the design principles, thermodynamic traps operate satisfactorily up to a certain back-pressure rating. This rating varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and ranges from 25% to 80% of inlet pressure. This means steam traps subjected to back pressures higher than their rating are not able to develop enough closing force and fail open. The author explains how to avoid increases in back pressure that plays havoc with steam systems and steam trap performance.

• OSTI ID: 110150
• Journal Information: Plant Engineering (Chicago), Journal Name: Plant Engineering (Chicago) Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 49; ISSN PLENAV; ISSN 0032-082X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
CONDENSATES
FAILURES
OPERATION
PERFORMANCE
POLLUTION REGULATIONS
PRESSURIZATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
RECYCLING
STEAM TRAPS
VAPOR CONDENSATION