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Wasay Abdullah (MT-PRD AMM)

Steam Hammering:

Steam hammering is the phenomenon which occurs in steam charging in the pipeline while there

is a presence of condensate in the line. This is because of sudden drop in pressure of steam as it

comes in contact of condensate. Water is heavy and incompressible. If you suddenly stop water

while it’s moving through a pipe, it can create a massive spike in pressure and break stuff.

Unlike water, steam is compressible. It’s “springy” and can absorb sudden changes in velocity

without a big change in pressure. The danger with steam is when it doesn’t want to be steam

anymore. That’s why, elbows, bents are more prone to be affected from this phenomenon.

This can also occur due to poor heating of steam network before the steam enters into the system.

Piping network remains cool and as soon as the hot steam enters, condensation takes place and

water gets accumulated in the lines forming a Slug. As the steam flow increases, steam carries

the water with it and lot of momentum is created and it hammers the line loops with tremendous

forces creating a lot of stress. Steam hammers can blow flange joints and can damage piping

supports and even piping itself. Poor condensate drainage in pipeline leads to this steam

hammering.

Steam Traps:

A steam trap is a continuous drainage, intermittent discharge device that is used to remove

condensates and non-condensable gases with a negligible consumption or loss of live steam.

Types of steam traps:

1. Mechanical traps:
These traps work on the principle of density difference between steam and condensate.

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 Inverted Bucket type:

the open float. It is capable of functioning under very high pressures because the same

operating pressure exerted both inside and outside the bucket. A small orifice called the

“bucket vent” located at the top of the bucket to ensure the non-condensable gases cannot

be trapped inside the bucket. Steam, air and condensate enter the trap through an inlet

tube beneath the bucket. Air and condensate discharge through an orifice at the top of the

trap. At the orifice is the valve linked by the lever to the top of the bucket so that the

valve is closed when bucket is in the up position.

The body of the trap is the cylinder which contains the bucket. During proper operation

this cylinder is always filled with the condensate to the level above the top of the bucket.

This condensate provides the constant water seal above and around the bucket preventing

live steam from escaping from under the bucket. Finally, in the cap of the the body is a

space above the water seal where any non-condensable gases which passes through the

bucket vent will collect while the valve is closed. Incoming steam is trapped between the

top of the bucket and the water seal below. The bucket becomes buoyant an float to the

point where the valve is pushed toward the orifice by the bucket clip extension. The

higher condensate velocity near the orifice propels the valve into the seat where it is

sealed and held shut buy differential pressure. Radiation causes the steam inside the

bucket to cool and condense. If the condensed steam is replaced by more steam, the

bucket remains buoyant and the valve closed. However, when enough steam is condensed

and is displaced by entering condensate, the bucket loose buoyancy. As more steam

condense, the bucket become heavy enough to pull the valve off its seat. With the
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discharge valve open, condensate flows down around the bottom of the bucket and out

through the discharge port. Air too rises to the top of the bucket where it flows through

the bucket vent and water seal accumulating at the top of the trap. When the valve opens,

air is pushed out of the trap ahead of the condensate.

 Float and thermostatic trap:

Float and thermostatic traps offer a combination of mechanical and thermostatic

operation. A closed float is used to sense the density difference between a gas and a

liquid. The float is attached to one end of a lever which pivots inside the trap. At the

opposite end of this lever is a valve that is seated when the float is at rest, condensate

enters through the inlet near the top of the trap and raises the float opening the valve. The

condensate drains from the trap through the outlet near the bottom leaving a condensate

seal between the inlet and the valve. Above this seal near the top of the trap, is a

thermostatic bellow. The bellows responds to temperature change, when this space is

filled with hot steam and the thermostatic valve is closed. Non-condensables such as air

mix with the steam and cool the space near the top of the trap. When the bellows element

cools sufficiently the thermostatic valve will open and vent these gases into a passage

leading to the trap discharge. At startup, the float is down, the float valve closed and the

thermostatic valve wide open. Non-condensable gases reaching the trap are immediately

vented through the thermostatic valve. At the top of the trap condensate collects at the

bottom of the trap until the float begins to rise opening the float valve. The float valve

normally drains continuously. The condensate level in the trap lowers and raises the float

height, thus modulating the discharge flow. When steam reaches the trap, it collects

above the condensate level and heats the thermostatic element closing its valve.

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2. Thermostatic steam traps:

the condensate changes state or flashes between the disk and the seat. The disk trap contains

only one moving part i.e. the controlled disc itself. When the trap is closed, the disc is on the

seat, ceiling both the inlet and the outlet orifices. The area containing the disc is called the

control chamber. It is a relatively large volume space with restricted Inlet and outlet ports. It

is the change of state which occurs here that normally controls the opening and closing of the

disc trap. On startup, condensate at the inlet port pushes the disc off the seat and flows freely

to the outlet port. Condensate passing into the trap, drops in pressure, if the condensate

temperature is sufficiently high to have reached the saturation for this reduced pressure some

of the condensate re-attaches back into steam. Since steam occupies a much greater volume

than condensate, flow velocity increases between the disc and seat, resulting in a pressure

reduction in this area. At the same time steam and some condensate collects on the side of the

disc opposite the seat and pressure here rises. The resulting differential pressure across the

disc creates a force which snaps the disc onto the seat. The steam in the control chamber

pushes on the total area of the disc while the inlet and back pressures affect only the smaller

areas of the inlet port and the discharge groove. This imbalance of force holds the trap shut.

Heat radiating from the bonnet causes condensing in the control chamber, reducing the

pressure above the disc. When the force above the disc is overcome by the forces below it,

the disc is pushed off the seat opening the trap and starting the next cycle. Since any gas

including air causes the trap to close some provision must be made to remove non-

condensibles from the control chamber.

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This is usually accomplished with a rough grind applied to the seating side of the disc or a

bleed passage machined between the control chamber and the outlet.