Design and Thermal Analysis of Pipe Insulation

Abstract

Water pipelines in hilly areas often burst during winter because the water in the pipes freezes due to low temperatures. During the expansion of freeze water, the pressure inside the pipe rises suddenly, and therefore, because of this sudden pressure rise, pipe ruptures. Protecting pipes from breakage, a concept of piping insulation is introduced. Pipe insulation is thermal or acoustic insulation which conserves thermal energy. Through pipe insulation, the freezing time of water standby in pipeline increases and therefore reduces the risk of immediate freezing of water up to a certain extent. For eradicating this problem, the local water supply regulatory body needs to use insulations in the pipeline. Thermal insulating materials are advanced materials that could be applied on pipe surfaces to reduce heat transfer and hence increasing insulating capability of a material. The present article proposes the method for eradicating water freezing and pipe bursting problems using thermal insulation which could reduce the heat transfer losses. Insulation capability of proposed insulating materials is analysed using ANSYS. Six different materials have been selected for thermal insulation coating. The results have been compared between all selected material, and a suitable material has been proposed for pipe insulation.