Thermal expansion of pipelines

Thermally stressed pipelines in power stations result in elongations, which can be up to one metre. Constant supports are used in order not to ensure the stability of the pipes. These elongations are compensated for by a spring system in the constant support. In the case of a relatively high loading of the pipe, the constant support can reach its performance limit. The load on the pipes must be reduced before this occurs. Previously, a person had to estimate the utilization of the constant supports manually. Technip uses draw-wire sensors from Micro-Epsilon, which automatically and continuously measure the utilization of the constant supports for this application. All constant supports can be constantly checked from one control room and interventions in the process can be made quickly if required.