Most engineers, architects, and end users are familiar with the use of insulation to reduce heating and cooling loads and control noise in building envelopes or residential structures. They may not be as familiar with mechanical insulations systems used for pipes, ducts, tanks, and equipment. The installed cost of these insulation systems is usually a small part of the total cost of a project, but yield significant results and savings. However, mechanical insulation is often overlooked, undervalued, or improperly specified and maintained in commercial and industrial construction projects.<\/p>\n
Designing insulation systems can be complicated. Insulation systems are intended to satisfy a number of design objectives. In some projects, multiple design objectives must be satisfied simultaneously. For example, the objective may be to minimize energy use and to avoid surface condensation on a chilled-water line. The chilled-water line may pass through various spaces within the project. Since the various spaces may have differing temperature and humidity conditions, it is likely that different insulation materials, thicknesses, and coverings may be required for a single line. Since projects may involve many lines operating at various service temperatures in various environmental conditions, it is obvious that a systematic approach is required for all but the simplest projects.<\/p>\n
In engineering schools, students are taught that the design process is divided into a number of phases along these lines:<\/p>\n
For a mechanical insulation design project, these phases could be expanded and restated as follows:<\/p>\n
For mechanical insulation, the design process boils down to developing answers to 6 basic questions:<\/p>\n
The critical first step in the design process is answering the question, why insulate? Insulation has many purposes and may be used to satisfy one or more of the following design objectives.<\/p>\n
In addition to these design objectives, there are a number of design considerations that may require attention when designing a mechanical insulation system:<\/p>\n
A thorough understanding of the design objectives and recognition of the design considerations are the first steps in the successful design of a mechanical insulation system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Most engineers, architects, and end users are familiar with the use of insulation to reduce heating and cooling loads and control noise in building envelopes or residential structures. They may not be as familiar with mechanical insulations systems used for pipes, ducts, tanks, and equipment. The installed cost of these insulation systems is usually a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[88],"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[],"class_list":["post-10257","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","author-christopher-p-crall"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n