Mike Sondalini — Thought Leader

A confined space is anywhere not normally meant for human habitation in which access maybe restricted and the conditions in the confinement may be inadequate to support life or could cause engulfment. Obvious places are tanks, vessels, silos and below ground pits. The less obvious ones are cold rooms, areas of plant sandwiched between machinery and equipment, tip truck trays and open pit mines.

Keywords: risk assessment, hazard identification, job safety analysis, safe atmosphere.  [Read more…]

Sizing liquid flow pipelines easily. Designing pipe work for liquid flow requires calculating the pressure losses along the pipe due to pipe friction. Once the losses are known the right pipe diameter can be selected. If full engineering calculations are not possible the conservative approach is to select pipe sizes that produce a velocity of less than 3 m/sec.

Keywords: pressure loss, viscosity, friction factor. [Read more…]

Mag-flow meters are used to measure the flow velocity of conductive liquids. In a magnetic flow meter an electromagnet placed either side of the bore creates a magnetic field when the power is turned on. As the conducting liquid flows through the magnetic field a voltage is developed across the liquid. Insulated electrodes flush mounted in the wall of the meter detect the voltage. The magnitude of the induced voltage is proportional to the liquid velocity, the length of the meter and the strength of the magnetic field.

Keywords: electric current, isolation flanges, calibration. [Read more…]

What readers will learn in this article.

• The purpose of shaft couplings and how they work.
• What to consider when selecting shaft couplings.
• Maintenance issues with using couplings.

[Read more…]

Many of the chemicals we deal with each day are dangerous and need to be handled correctly and safely. Safe use of dangerous goods includes recognising when situations can arise where the consequence of a failure or error will result in danger to life, property or the environment. One of the methods used to minimise risk when dealing with dangerous goods is by separation and segregation.

Keywords: Hazard, storage facility, control, emergency plan, MSDS, material safety data [Read more…]

Steam is often used for heating liquids. Heat is provided to a liquid either through a heat exchanger or by direct injection of raw steam. The injection of steam directly into the process is known as steam sparging. The sparge design and location affect the efficiency of the process.

Keywords: boiling, heating water, temperature increase, injector, lance, boiler pressure, properties of steam.  [Read more…]

The differential pressure transmitter (PT) is used to detect a head of pressure.

The sensing element is connected to the process by pipework and flexes in proportion to the pressure. The resulting distortion produces an electric signal that is amplified and converted to a value on a read-out.

Keywords: pressure sensor, strain gauge, tank level, process pressure, pressure difference.  [Read more…]

Here are the things to watch out for when you need to fabricate platforms and walkways. 

Stairs, walkways, platforms, and ladders are required to be made to the Australian Standard AS 1657-1992. This standard specifies the design requirements and the materials of construction to be used.

Keywords: deflection, allowable load, live load, guard rails, connections, treads.  [Read more…]

Written with assistance from Ben Karel of Fusion Engineering Plastics 

Pty Ltd. Unit 1, 7 Dobra Rd, Yangebup WA ph (08) 9494 1004

Abstract

Welding can join thermoplastic parts together. It can be by melting the surfaces and pressing them together or by extrusion welding with a filler rod.

Several methods of welding are available. Proper manual techniques are critical to success as is the pressure testing of pressure parts.

Keywords: electro-fusion, butt welding, electro-socket welding, hot air gun, melt temperature. [Read more…]

Radar level detectors are becoming a popular technique for tank level detection of liquids.

The radar sends a sub-millionth of a second pulse from an emitter and the return signal is detected at a receiver.

The reflection’s time lapse is measured and electronically converted to a distance from the liquid surface. Installation peculiarities need to be understood and appreciated in order to provide a reliable operating set-up.

Keyword: antenna, spurious reflection, reference plane, emission cone.  [Read more…]