Trace heating
Encyclopedia
Electric trace heating, also known as electric heat tracing, heat tape or surface heating, is a system used to maintain or raise the temperature of pipes and vessels. Trace heating takes the form of an electrical heating element
run in physical contact along the length of a pipe. The pipe must then be covered with thermal insulation
to retain heat losses from the pipe. Heat generated by the element then maintains the temperature of the pipe. Trace heating may be used to protect pipes from freezing, or to maintain process temperatures for piping that must transport substances that solidify at ambient temperatures. Electric trace heating cables are an alternative to steam trace heating where steam is not available or unwanted.
were run at high current densities to produce heat, and control equipment was adapted from other applications. Mineral-insulated resistance heating cable was introduced in the 1950's, and parallel-type heating cables that could be cut to length in the field became available. Self-limiting thermoplastic cables were marketed in 1971.
Control systems for trace heating systems developed from capillary filled-bulb thermostats and contactors in the 1970's to networked computerized controls in the 1990's, in large systems that require centralized control and monitoring.
One paper projected that between 2000 and 2010 trace heating would account for 100 megawatts of connected load, and that trace heating and insulation would account for up to $700 million CDN capital investment in the Alberta tar sands.
International standards applied in the design and installation of electric trace heating systems include IEEE standards 515 and 622, British standard BS 6351, and IEC standard 60208.
Other uses of trace heating cables include
during winter
months. When used in gutters the cable is NOT meant to keep the gutters free of ice and/or snow. The purpose is to keep a free path for the melted water to get off the roof and down the downspout or drain piping.
A similar principle can be applied to process piping carrying fluids which may congeal at low temperatures, for example, tars or molten sulfur. Hit-temperature trace heating elements can prevent blockage of pipes.
Industrial applications for trace heating range from chemical industry
, oil refineries, nuclear power plants, food factories. For example, wax
is a material which starts to solidify below 70 °C which is usually far above the temperature of the surrounding air. Therefore the pipeline must be provided with an external source of heat to prevent the pipe and the material inside it from cooling down. Trace heating can also be done with steam, but this requires a source of steam and may be inconvenient to install and operate.
In laboratories, researchers working in the field of materials science use trace heating to heat a sample isotropically. They may use trace heating in conjunction with a variac, so as to control the heat energy delivered. This is an effective means of slowly heating an object to measure thermodynamic properties such as thermal expansion.
Typically series elements are used on long pipe line process heating, for example long oil pipe lines and quay side of load pipes on oil refineries.
The benefits of this system over series elements is that should one small element fail then the rest of the system will continue to operate, a draw back of this system is that its length is limited to multiples of the notch distance, so when installing on site you normally have to install slightly beyond the end of the pipe work. It is still subject to overheating and burnout if overlapped, but this is generally bad practice to overlap when installing.
Self-regulating cable uses two parallel bus wires which carry electricity but do not create heat. They are encased in a semi-conductive polymer. This polymer is loaded with carbon; as the polymer element heats, it allows less current to flow. The cables are manufactured and then irradiated and by varying both the carbon content and the dosage then different tape with different output characteristics can be produced. There is then an inner jacket which separates the bus wires from the grounding braid. In commercial and industrial cables, an additional outer jacket of rubber or Teflon is applied. The benefits of this cable are the ability to cut to length in the field, It is more rugged but not necessarily more reliable than series or zone heaters, it cannot over-heat itself so in theory it can be crossed, but it is bad practice to install tape in this way. Self regulating heating cables have a specific maximum exposure temperature based on the type of polymer which is used to make the heating core which means that if they are subject to high temperatures then the tape can be damaged beyond repair. Also self limiting tapes are subject to high inrush currents on starting up similar to 'induction' motor
so a higher rated contactor is required.
or a solid-state controller. For self-regulating cable, the supply must furnish a large warm-up current if the system is switched on from a cold starting condition. The contactor or controller may include a thermostat if accurate temperature maintenance is required, or may just shut off a freeze-protection system in mild weather.
Electrical heat tracing systems may be required to have earth leakage (ground fault or RCD
) devices for personnel and equipment protection. The system design must minimize leakage current to prevent nuisance tripping; this may limit the length of any individual heating circuit.
somewhere in the line. This ensures that the temperature is kept constant and the line does not overheat or underheat.
If a line becomes frozen because the heating was switched off then this may take some time to thaw out using trace heating. This thawing out is done on the three phase systems by using an 'auto transformer' to give a higher voltage, and consequently higher current, and make the trace heating elements a bit hotter. The boost system is usually on a timer and switches back to 'normal' after a period of time.
Heating element
A heating element converts electricity into heat through the process of Joule heating. Electric current through the element encounters resistance, resulting in heating of the element....
run in physical contact along the length of a pipe. The pipe must then be covered with thermal insulation
Thermal insulation
Thermal insulation is the reduction of the effects of the various processes of heat transfer between objects in thermal contact or in range of radiative influence. Heat transfer is the transfer of thermal energy between objects of differing temperature...
to retain heat losses from the pipe. Heat generated by the element then maintains the temperature of the pipe. Trace heating may be used to protect pipes from freezing, or to maintain process temperatures for piping that must transport substances that solidify at ambient temperatures. Electric trace heating cables are an alternative to steam trace heating where steam is not available or unwanted.
Development
Electric trace heating began in the 1930's but initially no dedicated equipment was available. Mineral insulated cablesMineral-insulated copper-clad cable
Mineral-insulated copper-clad cable is a variety of electrical cable made from copper conductors inside a copper sheath, insulated by inorganic magnesium oxide powder. The name is often abbreviated to MICC or MI cable, and colloquially known as pyro...
were run at high current densities to produce heat, and control equipment was adapted from other applications. Mineral-insulated resistance heating cable was introduced in the 1950's, and parallel-type heating cables that could be cut to length in the field became available. Self-limiting thermoplastic cables were marketed in 1971.
Control systems for trace heating systems developed from capillary filled-bulb thermostats and contactors in the 1970's to networked computerized controls in the 1990's, in large systems that require centralized control and monitoring.
One paper projected that between 2000 and 2010 trace heating would account for 100 megawatts of connected load, and that trace heating and insulation would account for up to $700 million CDN capital investment in the Alberta tar sands.
International standards applied in the design and installation of electric trace heating systems include IEEE standards 515 and 622, British standard BS 6351, and IEC standard 60208.
Uses
The most common pipe trace heating applications include:- Freeze protection
- Temperature maintenance
Other uses of trace heating cables include
- Ramp and stair snow / ice protection
- Gulley and roof snow / ice protection
- Underfloor heating
- Door / frame interface ice protection
- Window de-misting
- Anti-condensation
- Pond freeze protection
- Soil warming
Freeze protection
Every pipe or vessel is subject to heat loss when its temperature is greater than ambient temperature. Thermal insulation reduces the rate of heat loss but does not eliminate it. Trace heating is used to replace the heat that is lost to atmosphere. If the heat replaced matches the heat lost, temperature will be maintained. Normally, a thermostat is used to energise when it measures temperature falling below a set temperature value - usually between 3°C and 5°C and often referred to as the 'setpoint'. The thermostat will de-energise the trace heating when it measures temperature rising past another set temperature value - usually 2°C higher than the setpoint value.Gutter and roof de-icing
Placement of heat trace cable on roofs or in gutters to melt iceIce
Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...
during winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
months. When used in gutters the cable is NOT meant to keep the gutters free of ice and/or snow. The purpose is to keep a free path for the melted water to get off the roof and down the downspout or drain piping.
Temperature maintenance
Hot water service piping can also be traced, so that a circulating system is not needed to provide hot water at outlets. The combination of trace heating and the correct thermal insulation for the operating ambient temperature maintains a thermal balance where the heat output from the trace heating matches the heat loss from the pipe. Self limiting or regulating heating tapes have been developed and are very successful in this application.A similar principle can be applied to process piping carrying fluids which may congeal at low temperatures, for example, tars or molten sulfur. Hit-temperature trace heating elements can prevent blockage of pipes.
Industrial applications for trace heating range from chemical industry
Chemical industry
The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials into more than 70,000 different products.-Products:...
, oil refineries, nuclear power plants, food factories. For example, wax
Wax
thumb|right|[[Cetyl palmitate]], a typical wax ester.Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents...
is a material which starts to solidify below 70 °C which is usually far above the temperature of the surrounding air. Therefore the pipeline must be provided with an external source of heat to prevent the pipe and the material inside it from cooling down. Trace heating can also be done with steam, but this requires a source of steam and may be inconvenient to install and operate.
In laboratories, researchers working in the field of materials science use trace heating to heat a sample isotropically. They may use trace heating in conjunction with a variac, so as to control the heat energy delivered. This is an effective means of slowly heating an object to measure thermodynamic properties such as thermal expansion.
Constant wattage "series"
A series heating cable is made of a run of high-resistance wire, insulated and often enclosed in a protective jacket. It is powered at a specific voltage and the resistance of the wire creates heat. The downside of these types of heaters is that if they are crossed over themselves they can overheat and burn out, they are provided in specific lengths and cannot be shortened in the field, also, a break anywhere along the line will result in a failure of the entire cable. The upside is that they are typically inexpensive (if plastic style heaters) or, as is true with mineral insulated heating cables, they can be exposed to very high temperatures. Mineral insulated heating cables are good for maintaining high temperatures on process lines or maintaining lower temperatures on lines which can get extremely hot such as high temperature steam lines.Typically series elements are used on long pipe line process heating, for example long oil pipe lines and quay side of load pipes on oil refineries.
Constant wattage "zone"
A constant wattage zone cable is made by wrapping a fine heating element around two insulated parallel bus wires, then on alternating sides of the conductors a notch is made in the insulation. The heating element is then normally soldered to the exposed conductor wire which creates a small heating circuit; this is then repeated along the length of the cable.The benefits of this system over series elements is that should one small element fail then the rest of the system will continue to operate, a draw back of this system is that its length is limited to multiples of the notch distance, so when installing on site you normally have to install slightly beyond the end of the pipe work. It is still subject to overheating and burnout if overlapped, but this is generally bad practice to overlap when installing.
Self regulating
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
so a higher rated contactor is required.
Power supply and control
Trace heat cables may be connected to single-phase or (in groups) to three-phase power supplies. Power is controlled either by a contactorContactor
A contactor is an electrically controlled switch used for switching a power circuit, similar to a relay except with higher current ratings. A contactor is controlled by a circuit which has a much lower power level than the switched circuit....
or a solid-state controller. For self-regulating cable, the supply must furnish a large warm-up current if the system is switched on from a cold starting condition. The contactor or controller may include a thermostat if accurate temperature maintenance is required, or may just shut off a freeze-protection system in mild weather.
Electrical heat tracing systems may be required to have earth leakage (ground fault or RCD
Residual-current device
A Residual Current Device is a generic term covering both RCCBs and RCBOs.A Residual-Current Circuit Breaker is an electrical wiring device that disconnects a circuit whenever it detects that the electric current is not balanced between the energized conductor and the return neutral conductor...
) devices for personnel and equipment protection. The system design must minimize leakage current to prevent nuisance tripping; this may limit the length of any individual heating circuit.
Control system
The three phase systems are fed via contactors similar to a three phase motor 'direct on line' starter which is controlled by a thermostatThermostat
A thermostat is the component of a control system which regulates the temperature of a system so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint temperature. The thermostat does this by switching heating or cooling devices on or off, or regulating the flow of a heat transfer...
somewhere in the line. This ensures that the temperature is kept constant and the line does not overheat or underheat.
If a line becomes frozen because the heating was switched off then this may take some time to thaw out using trace heating. This thawing out is done on the three phase systems by using an 'auto transformer' to give a higher voltage, and consequently higher current, and make the trace heating elements a bit hotter. The boost system is usually on a timer and switches back to 'normal' after a period of time.