This Proco customer figured they could use ductile iron flanges on their 443-BD expansion joint because the 78% sulfuric acid wouldn’t get on the outside of the process piping. After 3 years, turns out the best case scenario wasn’t real life. They’ve since switched to using 316 stainless flanges.

By |2019-03-01T05:35:28+00:00March 1, 2019|Projects|Comments Off on This Proco customer figured they could use ductile iron flanges on their 443-BD expansion joint because the 78% sulfuric acid wouldn’t get on the outside of the process piping. After 3 years, turns out the best case scenario wasn’t real life. They’ve since switched to using 316 stainless flanges.
Read More

A crude heater at an oil refinery where the original Carl Horecky was called in as a consultant with Horecky / Fahrig Associates to revamp the catcracker with his high temperature regeneration technology. Looks like these heavy-wall expansion joints might have seen more angular movement than they were designed for.

By |2019-02-23T02:34:10+00:00February 23, 2019|Projects|Comments Off on A crude heater at an oil refinery where the original Carl Horecky was called in as a consultant with Horecky / Fahrig Associates to revamp the catcracker with his high temperature regeneration technology. Looks like these heavy-wall expansion joints might have seen more angular movement than they were designed for.
Read More

This fiberglass/teflon composite expansion joint belt is on the stack-breach where a long run of duct work connects to the chimney. Even though this power plant is fueled by low-sulfur natural gas (as opposed to coal), there’s still SO2 gas in the stream and when it runs through the long duct the temperature drops below dew-point, causing the SO2 to combine with moisture in the ambient air and create H2SO4 (sulfuric acid). In this case the expansion joint hardware is acting like a heat-sink and increasing this effect. We’ll solve this problem by using Interep CustomFlex Insulation on the outside of the expansion joint to keep temperatures above dew point while still allowing for movement.

By |2019-02-18T01:40:41+00:00February 18, 2019|Projects|Comments Off on This fiberglass/teflon composite expansion joint belt is on the stack-breach where a long run of duct work connects to the chimney. Even though this power plant is fueled by low-sulfur natural gas (as opposed to coal), there’s still SO2 gas in the stream and when it runs through the long duct the temperature drops below dew-point, causing the SO2 to combine with moisture in the ambient air and create H2SO4 (sulfuric acid). In this case the expansion joint hardware is acting like a heat-sink and increasing this effect. We’ll solve this problem by using Interep CustomFlex Insulation on the outside of the expansion joint to keep temperatures above dew point while still allowing for movement.
Read More

This fan outlet duct has a fabric expansion joint (flex connector) belt attached to angle flanges. Originally designed as a molded-corner “U-Belt” it’s now a flat-belt with 90 degree corners. The aftermarket flanges use 1/4” welded studs which have broken off inside the duct, causing leakage. The backup bars which clamp the belt down are also undersized for this application. We’re going to pull the whole assembly out and replace it with a high-temperature Viton rubber U-Belt expansion joint.

By |2019-02-11T20:41:08+00:00February 11, 2019|Projects|Comments Off on This fan outlet duct has a fabric expansion joint (flex connector) belt attached to angle flanges. Originally designed as a molded-corner “U-Belt” it’s now a flat-belt with 90 degree corners. The aftermarket flanges use 1/4” welded studs which have broken off inside the duct, causing leakage. The backup bars which clamp the belt down are also undersized for this application. We’re going to pull the whole assembly out and replace it with a high-temperature Viton rubber U-Belt expansion joint.
Read More

Our externally-pressurized compensating bellows are perfect for steam applications where you need to handle large amounts of axial movement while protecting against lateral columnar instability (squirm). This one features copper pipe with sweat ends.

By |2019-01-30T15:41:55+00:00January 30, 2019|Projects|Comments Off on Our externally-pressurized compensating bellows are perfect for steam applications where you need to handle large amounts of axial movement while protecting against lateral columnar instability (squirm). This one features copper pipe with sweat ends.
Read More

Whether you’re running a simple-cycle or combined-cycle gas-fired power plant, odds are you have to run CEMS (continuous emissions monitors). Altech Environmental (Envea) can help you look at a new system, service and old system, or build a hybrid of the two.

By |2019-01-21T15:41:04+00:00January 21, 2019|Projects|Comments Off on Whether you’re running a simple-cycle or combined-cycle gas-fired power plant, odds are you have to run CEMS (continuous emissions monitors). Altech Environmental (Envea) can help you look at a new system, service and old system, or build a hybrid of the two.
Read More

If you look close you can see that the edge of this heavy-wall expansion joint was cut in order to fit next to the concrete structure. They welded the flow-liner in on both sides afterward to keep it from leaking. This works, but it adds additional stress the the EJ below it, which wasn’t originally planned for.

By |2018-12-12T21:40:55+00:00December 12, 2018|Projects|Comments Off on If you look close you can see that the edge of this heavy-wall expansion joint was cut in order to fit next to the concrete structure. They welded the flow-liner in on both sides afterward to keep it from leaking. This works, but it adds additional stress the the EJ below it, which wasn’t originally planned for.
Read More