Insulation

7.4. Thermal Insulation

Contents
7.4.1 What is my loss due to uninsulated surface?.........................................................2
Case Study-1........................................................................................................ 2
7.4.2 Which insulation material to select?.....................................................................4
7.4.3 What all surfaces should I insulate?.....................................................................8
7.4.4 Which cladding material should I select?............................................................11
7.4.5 Why economic thickness of insulation?..............................................................12
7.4.6 What should be my insulation thickness?............................................................15
Case Study-2...................................................................................................... 15
7.4.7 How do I check health of my insulation?.............................................................19
Case Study-3...................................................................................................... 19
7.4.8 What should be the surface temperature for personnel protection?.........................21
7.4.9. New technologies in thermal insulation..............................................................21

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7.4.1 What is my loss due to uninsulated surface ?

Case Study-1
Consider the heat losses through 6 (167mm) diameter steam line of 1m
length carrying steam at 7 barg pressure. An un-insulated steam pipe would
result in 250 Kcal/hr m of heat loss.

Proper insulation of steam lines can result in reduction of losses upto 90% as
well as reduction in surface temperature to a safer level.
Un-insulated pipe

For the same example as above, the heat loss increases subject to surface
temperature, the trend is tabulated below:

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Surface

Bare pipe

Temperature

Tamb +

Tamb +

Tamb +

Tamb +

Tamb +

temperature 5 oC

10 oC

15 oC

20 oC

30 oC

Heat loss Q

= 167 oC
250

26

37

50

60

80

(kcal/hr m)
Insulation

None

220

110

70

50

30

thickness
(mm)
Ambient temperature Tamb=30 oC
Annual loss due to un-insulation for a FO fired boiler (GCV=10200 kcal, Cost=
Rs 52/lit, boiler efficiency=75%) will be Rs. 15,515 per metre of pipe!!
For a 100 m pipe it will mount to loss of 15.5 Lakhs!

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Insulation thickness (mm)

250
200
150
100
50
0

Insulation
thickness (mm)

Heat loss Q (kcal/hr m)

300
250
200
150
100
50
0

Heat loss Q (kcal/hr m)

Thus, thermal insulation, by retarding heat flow, delivers the following

benefits:
Ensures steam quality by reducing condensation of steam in the lines
Lower radiation losses i.e. lower distribution losses reducing overall

cost of operation by cutting down fuel consumption

Gives better process temperature control, by reducing the temperature

drop of the fluid in a heated system.

Prevents safety hazards of scalding by lowering the exposed surface
temperatures of steam lines and additionally reduces the overall

ambient working temperature.

Provides fire protection to plant piping
Reduces noise
Absorbs vibration

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7.4.2 Which insulation material to select?

The following major insulation material used in thermal installations with
application temperatures:
Sr.

Insulation

Application

Standard

No

material

Temperature

densities

Thermocol

s
Upto 75 oC

.
1

Applications

Notes

(Kg/m3)
28,32,38,4

Cold storage,

Low cost,

Refrigeration

non toxic,

(Polystyrene
)

resistant to
water
penetration,
combustibl

3
4

PUR

-180 to 110

(Polyurethan

e Foam)
Nitrile rubber

Cold storage,

e
Low cost,

Refrigeration

combustibl

60,90

Cold storage,

e
combustibl

240

Refrigeration
used for

e
In-organic,

35,40,50

-40 to 116 oC

Calcium

100 to 1000

Silicate

oC

insulation for
boilers,

non
combustibl

ducting and

e, water

process pipe

absorbent

work. Also
used for
5

Rock Wool

-200 C to
900 oC.

60 to 160

refractory.
Insulation of

Chemically

Boilers,

inert, non-

Tankers, Heat

corrosive,

Exchangers,

non-

Vessels,

combustibl

Steam Pipe

Lines,used for
acoustic
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Glass wool

-200 C to

10 to 80

450 oC.

insulation
Thermal &

Inorganic,

acoustic

cannot be

insulation

used in

applications,

food

removable

industry

insulation
jackets, flange
& valve
7

Perlite

-250 C to

(expanded)

50 to 150

1000 oC.

Ceramic

Upto 1250

fibre

64 to 192

covers etc.
thermal

Chemically

insulation

inert, non

applications

combustibl

and refractory

materials
thermal and

High

acoustic

temperatur

insulation

e stability,

within process

Excellent

industries

thermal

(petrochemica

shock

l, power

resistence,

generation

Non-

etc.)

combustibl

e
* Asbestos and Vermiculite Insulation material has been banned for use.

Selection Criteria
Major properties to look at before selecting insulation are as follows:
Compressive strength:
Compressive strength is the maximum force required to deform a
material before the yield point is reached.

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Insulation with higher compressive strength has to be selected

where the degree of mechanical damage expected to withstand is

high.
Typically compressive strength decreases with increase in

temperature.
The data sheet provided by the manufacturer should be referred.
Also a higher density insulation material will have a higher

compressive strength.
Rockwool of 100 kg/m3 density has a compressive strength of 13
kN/m2 & of 200 kg/m3 density has a compressive strength of 16
kN/m2

Service temperature:

This is a range of temperature at which the material will perform

reliably. Selection of the insulation material should be made 25 %

more than the operating temperature.

Rockwool has a service temperature of -200 to 900 oC, whereas
glass wool works well for applications in range between -200 to
450 oC

Thermal conductivity (k value) :

Thermal conductivity gives a measure of the materials ability to

resist the flow of heat.

Lower values of k signify better insulating property. The lower

values of k means lower heat transfer rate.

K values changes according to changing temperature this can be
seen for Calcium silicate insulation.

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Water Absorption:
Water absorption is a materials ability to absorb a defined amount

of water when immersed for a period of time.

This poses a clear disadvantage of swelling that leads to

misalignment and cracking.

Lower values indicate better water resistance ability.

7.4.3 What all surfaces should I insulate?

As a rule all surfaces in contact with the outside atmosphere must be
insulated in order to maintain the temperature in pipelines and process
equipment.
Reusable insulation can be used in plants for insulating flanges, valves,
expansion joints, heat exchangers, pumps, turbines, tanks, and other
irregular surfaces.
It is a general practise to insulate the pipes but leave flanges, valves,
traps un-insulated.
Here all the four valves are left un-insulated along with the flanges.
Insulated pipes but un-insulated valves & flanges for following :

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Here the valves and flanges are left un-insulated but the pipe is well
insulated.
Insulated pipes but un-insulated valves & flanges

Insulating flanges and valves

With removable and reusable insulations available in market,
periodic inspection or maintenance of flange is not hampered

and replaced as needed.

These insulation pads are non-combustible capable of resisting
tears and abrasion. They resist oil and water and temperatures

of up to 870 C.
As a thumb rule, heat loss from un-insulated flange is
approximately same as heat loss from 0.5 m un-insulated pipe

Insulating steam trap

Effectively insulate inverted bucket traps with removable and

reusable insulation.
The following traps should be insulated:
Float trap
Inverted bucket trap
Orifice trap
The following traps should be left un-insulated:
Thermostatic trap
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Thermodynamic trap
Thermostatic traps work based on the temperature difference
between the steam and the condensate. If these traps are
insulated, it takes the condensate longer to cool which leads to

condensate build up causing water hammer.

Thermodynamic traps are similar, except they operate based on
differences in pressure instead of temperature. Unfortunately,
insulating these traps will have the same results as with a
thermostatic trap.

Here the valves and flanges are un-insulated.

Un-insulated flange, valve

Insulating Equipment
The insulation pads are flexible and vibration resistant and can be used
with equipment that is horizontally or vertically mounted or that is
difficult to access. Insulating pads can also contain built-in acoustical
barriers to help control noise.
A variety of different shapes and sizes of vessels means that insulation
would be custom made but certain typical methods of insulation are
shown below:

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7.4.4 Which cladding material should I select?

Cladding serves two purposes: functional purpose and aesthetic purpose.

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A cladding surface is usually used to protect the insulation from external environment
mainly from water ingress. It may consist of metal cladding or a coating system.
The main metals used for cladding are:
Surface
Aluminum
Steel, paint (matte
surface)
Galvanizes steel (new)
Galvanizes steel
(weathered)
Plaster
Glass Cloth
Non metallic surface

Emissivity
0.3
0.9-0.95
0.4
0.85
0.65
0.85
0.95

Depending upon the requirements of the application the metal may

be selected.
The cladding surface with low emissivity such as aluminium reduces
heat loss by inhibiting the radiation of heat from the surface to
surrounding ambient space.
The thickness of cladding depends on
the degree of mechanical damage, which the cladding is

expected to withstand.
For areas susceptible to heavy damage a thicker gauge of
cladding may be required.

7.4.5 Why economic thickness of insulation?

Economic thickness of insulation is nothing but when economics are
used to decide on selecting the insulation. Economics are used for
Evaluation of two or more insulation materials to arrive at the

lowest cost for same thermal performance

Selection of optimum thickness

Beyond optimum economic thickness additional insulation does not yield

the maximum return on investment.
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Labour and material costs increases with insulation thickness. Insulation

is applied in multiple layers often because single layer insulation are not
manufactured, this incurs higher labour costs than single layer.
Cost of lost energy decreases as the insulation thickness increases

The step by step go to chart to arrive at economic thickness is below:

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7.4.6 What should be my insulation thickness?

Case Study-2
Consider a 7 bar g steam pipeline of 6 diameter having 100 m length.
Evaluating the cost of energy losses when we use 1, 2 and 3 insulation
leads us to the most economic thickness as follows
Data collected from site:

Desired wall temperature= Tamb+10, Tamb +20, Tamb+30=40 oC,50

o

C,60 oC
Surface area= 26.38m2
Let us consider three surface temperatures of 40, 50 & 60 to arrive at the
economic thickness of insulation

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Data
Units
o
C
o
C
m2
kcal/(hmc)

Case-1
40
104.8
52.88
0.0378
0.95
0.2

Case-2
50
109.8
52.88
0.0378
0.95
0.2

Case-3

Surface heat transfer coefficient of hot bare

kcal/

surface (f)
Surface heat transfer coeff after insulation (Ref

(m2hdegC)
kcal/

3.11

3.56

3.88

Formula) (f)
Thermal resistance
Thickness of insulation (t=k*Rth)
Outer radius of insulation(teq=r2*ln(r2/r1)) (select

(m2hdegC)
m2hC/kcal
mm
mm

4.16
157.63
194

1.67
63.53
144

0.940
35.58
124

r2 so that teq=t)
Thickness of insulation
Total losses from un-insulated surface
Total loss from insulated surface
Energy saved by providing insulation

mm
Kcal/h
Kcal/h

110 (4.3)
2296.466
374.22
1922.246

60 (2.3)
2629.187
602.79
2026.397

30.59 (1.2)
2867.537
839.26
2028.277

1,16,448

1,16,556

Bare pipe wall temp with insulation

Mean temperature of insulation
Bare pipe surface area A
Sp. Conductivity of insulation material, k
Surface emissivity of bare pipe
Surface emissivity of insulation cladding

60
114.8
52.88
0.378
0.95
0.2

Calculations

Economics
Annual heat lost cost if furnace oil used(GCV

1,10,463

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10200,
cost 52/lit
=81%,
350 days
operation
Annual cost of
insulation
(
Simple payback
(months)
Since of insulation gives an attractive
payback we go with a surface temp of
You can also use the calculator to arrive at the insulation thickness.
Formulaes used:
Surface heat transfer coefficient = f= fconv + frad
Surface heat transfer coeff after insulation(f) Surface heat transfer coefficient of hot bare surface (f)
d1=bare pipe outer dia
L=Length of pipe
Th=bare pipe wall temperature
Tc=Desired wall temp after insulation
Ta= ambient temp
Th+Tc
Tm=
=Mean temperature of insulation
2
K=thermal conductivity of insulating material

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e=surface emissivity
Rth=Thermal resistance Rth=

ThTc
f (TcTa)

t=thickness of insulation of flat surface=k x Rth

r2
teq=equivalent thickness of a spherical surface=r2*ln r 1
(select r2 so that teq=t)
A=Insulated area
Loss from insulated surface=Q=f*A*(Th-Ta)

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Insulation

7.4.7 How do I check health of my insulation?

Using Thermo graphic inspection reveals the insulated and un-insulated areas along
with the temperature profiles.
Case Study-3
A case where the pipe was left un-insulated, however for the naked eye would
appear to be insulated just because of the external cladding covering it.
But when a thermo graph was used it clearly highlighted the un-insulated pipe under
the cladding, this clearly showcases the lengths upto which the plant might go in
hiding a shoddy job! This type of work can also be caught by using a temperature
gun and determining the surface temperature.
It is thus advisable to use a thermograph/temperature gun to check the insulation
health rather than believing just the outer appearances.
As observed appearances can be deceiving!
Steam pipe with cladding but no insulation!!

Taking care of wet InsulationInsulation material is porous and readily absorbs water. The steam
distribution network running through plants is susceptible to the ingress
of rain water. Insulation when wet transfers approximately 12 times more
heat than when it is dry. When insulation is wet it utilizes heat to vaporize
and drive the moisture outward i.e. a minimum of 630 kcal is consumed
to vaporize each kilogram of water contained in the insulation. The loss of
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energy due to wet insulation is twofold: the efficiency of the insulation is

greatly reduced until it is dried, and second, considerable heat is used to
dry the insulation.
To prevent insulation material from getting wet it should either be covered
with cladding or a coating. Protection of insulation has been covered in
sub point 7.4.9 of this chapter in greater detail.

Keeping the insulation dry reduces radiation loss and thus saves fuel. Heat loss by
radiation from steam pipe to water or wet insulation can be 30 times greater than that
to air due to higher thermal conductivity.
The effectiveness of most insulation materials depends on minute air cells which are held in
a matrix of inert material such as mineral wool, fiberglass or calcium silicate.
Thermal conductivity is a function of temperature. The thermal conductivity of water is 25
50 times that of air. Thus a waterlogged insulation will lose more amount of heat, thereby
decreasing the effectiveness of the insulation in restricting radiation losses.
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
Thermal conductivity (W/m degC) 0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Air Water

As see in the graph the thermal conductivity of water at ambient temperature is 0.6 W/m0C
and that of air is 0.025 W/m0C.
Care should be taken to protect steam lines running through waterlogged ground or in ducts
which may be subjected to flooding. Adequate mechanical protection should also be given to
protect the lagging from ingress of rain water.

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7.4.8 What should be the surface temperature for personnel protection?

According to ASTM C1057 personnel protection standard, the safe level of surface
temperature is kept at 60 oC. This allows to safely touch the hot surface with bare
skin for 3-5 seconds without burning the bare skin.

7.4.9. New technologies in thermal insulation

Nano paint as thermal insulation
Organic heat insulation using hemp or sheeps wool
Transparent insulation material

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