Thermal Evaluation of Piping Components Used in a Commercial Underground Heat Distribution System.
Abstract
Super Temp-Tite heat distribution piping is the only product of its design type approved by the Federal Agency Committee for Underground Heat Distribution Systems. This system employs a water spread limiting (WSL) design to restrict any leakage to a single segment of piping. WSL systems are intended to withstand continuous carrier medium temperatures of up to 450 deg F. On the basis of approval by the Federal Agency Committee for use at Class B, C, and D sites, the Super Temp-Tite WSL design is currently approved for the same applications by the Army Corps of Engineers. Recently the system manufacturer asked the Federal Agency Committee to approve use of its system at Class A sites - those with the harshest conditions. The U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories (USACERL) was tasked to conduct mathematical modeling and simulations to help determine whether Super Temp-Tite meets the technical specifications for Class A applications. It is concluded that the polyurethane foam insulation in this WSL design would be exposed to temperatures well exceeding conservative design values, both in Class A applications and for operating temperatures below 350 deg F. Consequently, the system as now designed is not recommended for approval by the Federal Agency Committee.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA319219
Entities
People
- Charles P. Marsh
- Matthew W. Streibich
Organizations
- Construction Engineering Research Laboratory