Installation Guidelines for C&I

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General Guidelines on Installation of Thermowell

Always install the thermowell where there is a fast movement of gas or liquid. (The effect of film around the TW will reduce the speed response of the system) The thermowell shall be located as close as possible to the place where the temperature is desired and when the steam and water are mixed directly, thermowell must be far enough from the point of the mixing to ensure that the temperature measurement is based on the complete mixing. If the pipe is wrapped with insulation, a thermowell with sufficient extension length shall be used. The following points shall be considered while installing the TW: a) b) c) d) Immersion length. Type of mounting (elbow, perpendicular or angle). Height from floor for maintenance. Clearance above the thermowell assembly for maintenance.

Typical installation of thermowell is shown in the figure. TW assembly shall ladder or scaffold. operator should be easily removable for be mounted such that it is accessible without If a Dial thermometer is to be installed, the able to see it, should be easily accessible and maintenance and calibration purpose.

All thermowells are mounted in three methods: a) b) c) Perpendicular to the pipe. In a pipe elbow. At 45 deg. angle to the pipe.

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Of the above three methods, elbow mounting is the most popular because it can accommodate almost total immersion length, if necessary. In elbow mounting, the thermowell protrudes into the exact center line of the pipe and the thermowell will be in the direction flow area of the pipe. The perpendicular mounting will be more restrictive for a given size because the thermowell must not touch the far wall of the pipe. If the pipe is not enough to accommodate perpendicular thermowell an angle mounting can solve the problem. An angle mount usually provides an additional space for the thermowell. If the OD of the pipes are between 3 to 6, it is slightly more difficult to install the thermowell. To mount a thermowell, a small enlarged section can be fabricated as shown in the figure. This enlarged section and thermowell mounting will depend upon the immersion length required for the thermowell. Table 1 shows the minimum and the maximum immersion length at a given pipe size can accommodate for each type of thermowell. This is as per the recommendation given by M/s. MINCO PRODUCT INC. USA. A thermowell can break as a result of high flow velocity, excessive pipe vibration or corrosion that weakens the thermowell. In order to overcome the above, tapered shank cantilever type thermowells are used for most process applications because they provide more strength and resistance to vibration than straight-shaft designs. Its strength to weight ratio gives a TW a higher natural frequency, enabling it to withstand high flow velocities and survive corrosion wear. Table 2 shows maximum steam flow velocity for thermowells as per the recommendation of MINCO CWC PRODUCT INC. USA. Normally, the thermowells are made out of stainless steel from bar stock, of stainless 304 or 316 which is acceptable for most corrosive and high temperature and high pressure medium.

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When the temperature of the gas or air is quite likely to be different from that of the wall of the container, the sensing elements will be influenced by the wall temperature. Therefore, the unit will be protected against false sensing by placing a shield between the temperature sensing element and the wall. To increase the responses and speed of the sensing element in a thermowell, it should be ensured that the sensor ends is at the bottom of thermowell. Aluminium powder, mercury or oil may be used to speed up the heat transfer. The liquid should not react with either the bulb or the well. It should be ensured that the maximum temperature of the process is below the boiling point of the liquid and the minimum temperature is above the freezing point. If high pressure gas, such as hydrogen is used in the process, it may penetrate the well or the bulb or the sensor. To avoid penetration of the bulb, drill a small hole on the well to led the hydrogen escaped from the well. A low pressure infusion rate into the bulb will be negligible. In a larger sized diameter pipe, a temperature reading may be erroneous because the liquid does not, all the time, cover the thermowell to a proper depth when there is a variable level in a pipe, located to thermowell so that it will all the time have a necessary amount of surface in contact with moving liquid. When installing a capillary precautions to be observed: a) type thermometer, the following

Handle the thermometer tubing and bulb with care. Do not twist kink or stress tubing. Do not bend it unduly. Never cut tubing, or disconnect it from the bulb or case. Do not use the butting to support the instruments. Uncoil the tubing carefully to kinking it. Use atleast a 3 radius for all bends.

b) c)

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d) e) f) g)

Protect the tubing from mechanical damage by crushing, abrasion, strain or movement. Support the tubing every 2 feet if attached to a well or pipe. Tubing should never be attached to a heated pipe. Clause I & Clause II systems must be installed to avoid extremes of temperature caused by hot or cold pipes, ovens, chimneys, airducts, open windows or direct sunlight. Coil in excess tubing in an 8 to 10 coil near the instruments and tape in place. Do not cut off the excess tubing.

h)

In an oven or furnace, the temperature of air vary from point to point and it is necessary to determine the desired location of this temperature and the thermowell should be kept away from heating or cooling coil, extreme top and bottom of oven, etc. Unless these are desired points. If the process temperature continue to rise slow and if the instruments are in perfect condition, entrained air or gas might have formed around the thermowell, the film, of air or gas act as an insulation. When the volume becomes bigger the temperature difference may also increase. The formation of any scale or counting may also increase the difference. The TW should be located at a point of highest velocity in a liquid or gas. If the thermometer response is sluggish or showing slow deviation, probably the sludge on the bulb, the remedy is to clean the bulb. A thermometer, if used with TW always slow down the rate response, Unless the situation absolutely requires, TW should not be installed as indicated in general guideline on installation of temperature instruments.

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