JPH0989479A - Transportation pipe heating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To heat a transportation pipe uniformly in the longitudinal direction thereof and to keep the temperature of fluid such as heavy oil transported through the pipe at approximately constant temperature. SOLUTION: A long-sized heat pipe 2 is disposed along a transportation pipe so as to be in contact with the outer surface of the pipe. The heat pipe 2 has an outer pipe 3, into which working fluid is sealed, and a heating inner pipe 4, which is inserted into the pipe 3. There are provided a heat-sensitive element 74, which is provided on the outer surface 3a of the pipe 3 to sense temperatures of the surface 3a, and a temperature control valve 7 to feed, in its open state, steam from a steam feed unit 8 into the pipe 4 of the pipe 2. As the temperature of the element 74 rises, degree of opening of the valve 7 decreases gradually and on the contrary, if the temperature of the element falls, the degree of opening increases.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transport pipe heating device for heating a transport pipe for transporting a fluid such as heavy oil which has a solidifying property or a thickening property at a low temperature and causes a thermal decomposition at a high temperature.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a fluid such as heavy oil, which has a solidifying property or a thickening property at a low temperature and undergoes a thermal decomposition at a high temperature, has a high viscosity in the winter when the temperature is low, resulting in poor fluidity. Become. Therefore, when the fluid such as heavy oil is transported by the transport pipe, a measure is taken to heat the transport pipe to reduce the viscosity of the fluid and transport the fluid.

Conventionally, as a method of heating the transport pipe, there is a method of performing steam trace heating using a trap. For the steam trace heating, a heating method in which the latent heat is used by leaving only the vapor layer in the heating pipe, There was a heating method in which the condensate layer was retained in the heating pipe and the sensible heat was used effectively.

[0004]

However, in the heating method in which the latent heat is used by forming only the vapor layer in the heating pipe, the steam having a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure is at a temperature of 100 ° C. or higher, so that the heating pipe and the transport pipe are separated from each other. It was difficult to maintain the transport pipe in an appropriate temperature range because local heat was generated on the contact surface or the amount of heat was excessive. It should be noted that this can be solved by supplying steam at atmospheric pressure or lower, but the equipment becomes large in scale to stably supply the steam in the vacuum region.

Further, in the heating method in which the condensate is retained in the heating pipe, a temperature gradient occurs in the condensate retained in the downstream side,
It is difficult to determine the total amount of heat given to the transportation pipe, and it is difficult to predict the temperature of the transportation pipe, and thus the temperature of fluid such as heavy oil in the transportation pipe.

For this reason, an electric heater system for uniformly heating the transport pipe in the longitudinal direction has been proposed. However, this electric heater system may cause high temperature heating and requires explosion proof properties such as transportation of heavy oil. In that case, there was a problem that it could not be used.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to heat a transportation pipe for transporting a fluid such as heavy oil by uniformly and highly accurately controlling the temperature in the longitudinal direction and heating the transportation pipe for easy installation work. To provide a device.

[0008]

A transport pipe heating apparatus according to the present invention has a long heat having an outer pipe in which a working fluid is sealed and an inner pipe inserted into the outer pipe to send heating steam. A transport pipe heating device in which a pipe is arranged along the transport pipe to be heated and in contact with the outer surface of the transport pipe to be heated, the pipe being attached to the outer surface of the heat pipe to control the temperature of the outer surface. The temperature sensing element to be detected is closed when the temperature of the temperature sensing element rises above a predetermined set temperature, and is opened when the temperature of the temperature sensing body drops below the predetermined set temperature. And a temperature control valve for supplying steam to the inner pipe of the heat pipe.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A transport pipe heating device according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a transportation pipe heating device according to the present invention, which comprises a long heat pipe 2 arranged along a transportation pipe 1 to be heated. The heat pipe 2 includes an outer pipe 3 in which a working fluid is enclosed, and an inner pipe 4 inserted into the outer pipe 3. The outer pipe 3 is, for example, a corrugated pipe made of metal such as copper or aluminum, which is subjected to anticorrosion treatment, or a corrugated pipe made of metal such as copper or aluminum and a composite of polyethylene (PE) or the like covering the outer surface thereof. A resin sheath and the like are used.

Then, the openings at both ends of the outer tube 3 are covered with sealing lids. Further, as the working fluid, water, chlorofluorocarbon, or the like that evaporates due to heat conduction and heat radiation from the inner tube 4 and condenses on the inner surface of the outer tube 3 to make the temperature uniform over the longitudinal direction of the outer tube 3 surface is used. To be done. The inner tube 4 is made of, for example, a copper tube or the like, and is inserted into the outer tube 3 by penetrating the sealing lid of the outer tube 3. The heating steam is sent to the inner pipe 4. When injecting the working fluid into the outer tube 3,
The inner pressure of the outer tube 3 is
It is held at 10 ^-4 to 10 ^-5 Torr.

Therefore, in the heat pipe 2 constructed as described above, if heating steam is supplied to the inner pipe 4, the outer pipe 3
The working fluid sealed in is converted into steam by heat conduction and heat radiation from the inner pipe 4, and quickly flows between the inner surface of the outer pipe 3 and the inner pipe 4.

Then, the vapor is diffused over the entire length of the outer tube 3, the vapor is condensed near the inner surface of the outer tube 3, and the surface of the outer tube 3 is uniformly heated to generate heat. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the transportation pipe 1 whose outer surface 5 is in contact with the heat pipe 2 is heated.

The length of the heat pipe 2 is, for example, a long body of several meters to several kilometers, but several meters to several hundred meters.
The degree is suitable. When the heated transport pipe 1 is long, a plurality of heat pipes 2 ...
May be lined up.

Therefore, the one end portion 4a of the inner pipe 4 of the heat pipe 2 is, as shown in FIG.
It is connected to the steam supply unit 8. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the steam supply unit 8 includes a foreign matter removing mechanism 9
It has. The foreign matter removing mechanism 9 is, as shown in FIG.
A container 13 having a steam inlet 11 to which steam and condensed water from a steam supply pipe (not shown) are supplied, and a steam outlet 12 for supplying only steam to the inner pipe (steam pipe) 4 of the heat pipe 2.
Is provided. This container 13 has a first part 14 having a steam inlet 11.
And a second part 15 having a steam outlet 12. And
A condensate pool 18 is formed in the first portion 14 by fitting a partition cylinder 19 provided with a first screen 17 in the ejection port 16.

The first screen 17 is, for example, a punching plate in which a plurality of small holes are punched at the bottom of a stainless steel partition cylinder 19, and the rust and scale contained in the condensate and steam entering from the steam inlet 11. Filter foreign matter. In addition, the steam that has passed through the jet port 16 is discharged to the first screen 17
Are subdivided by and pass through the condensate pool 18 as bubbles 20.

By the way, in the bottom wall 14a of the first portion 14, when the amount of condensed water in the condensate pool 18 exceeds a predetermined amount, the condensate that has passed is discharged to the outside from the condensate pool 18. The discharge pipe 21 of is attached. That is, when the upper surface of the condensate exceeds the upper end of the discharge pipe 21, the condensate enters through the upper opening and is discharged to the steam trap 38 (see FIG. 5). Further, above the condensate pool 18, a plate 23 that returns the condensed water splashes 22 to the condensate pool 18 is arranged. Further, a first magnet 24 is attached to the discharge pipe 21, and the foreign matter having magnetism in the condensate pool 18, that is, the foreign matter made of a magnetic material is attracted by the first magnet 24. .

Next, the second portion 15 is provided with a second portion main body 25 having the above-mentioned vapor outlet 12 and a lid member 27 for covering the opening portion 26 of the second portion main body 25, and has a lower opening. The portion 28 is communicatively coupled to the opening 31 provided in the lid member 30 of the first portion 14 via the coupling cylinder 29. Further, the lid member 27 is provided with a second cylindrical screen 32. The second screen 32 is made of wire mesh, sintered porous material, or the like, and one end thereof is attached to the lid member 27.
The other end is attached to the inner flange portion 33 inside the second portion main body 25. Then, the lid member 27 is attached with the second magnet 34 arranged in the second screen 32.

Next, the operation of the foreign matter removing mechanism 9 configured as described above will be described. First, the condensate and steam (from a steam supply pipe (not shown)) enter the container 13 via the steam inlet 11. At this time, the gap 35 between the partition tube 19 and the inner surface of the first portion 14
Condensate invades into the first screen 17 through the gap 35.
Enter the condensate sump 18 via. The steam that has entered the condensate pool 18 passes (rises) through the condensate pool 18 as bubbles 20. The vapor entering the condensate pool 18 contains minute foreign matter that has passed through the first screen 17, and most of this foreign matter remains in the condensate.

Condensate is accumulated in the condensate reservoir 18,
When the condensate reaches a predetermined amount, that is, the upper surface of the condensate is the drain pipe.
When it reaches the upper end of the discharge pipe 21, it flows into the upper opening of the discharge pipe 21, and the condensed water does not accumulate above the upper end of the discharge pipe 21.
Further, the condensate in the condensate sump 18 is agitated by the rise of the bubbles 20, and most of the foreign matters floating in the condensate are discharged together with the overflow of the condensate. At this time, part of the foreign matter is
Those that are settled and accumulated on the bottom surface of 18 and have magnetism (made of magnetic material such as iron powder) are attracted to the first magnet 24. Further, a part of the condensate from the upper surface of the condensate becomes droplets and rises together with the steam, but collides with the plate 23 and returns to the condensate pool 18. That is, the foreign matter contained in the condensate splash is also returned to the condensate pool 18.

Next, the steam that has passed through the condensate pool 18 (there is almost no foreign matter remaining in this steam, but there may be some) is passed through the connecting cylinder 29 to the second screen.
Proceeding to 32, if there is a foreign substance in this vapor, the foreign substance adheres to the second screen 32, and the foreign substance having magnetism (the foreign substance made of a magnetic material such as iron powder) is attracted to the second magnet 34. . From the steam outlet 12, high-quality steam containing almost no rust, scale, etc. can be discharged, and this steam is supplied to the steam supply pipe 36 via the communication pipe 37 as shown by an arrow S in FIG. Supplied.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the steam supply pipe 36 has a pressure reducing valve 40, a pressure gauge 41, and a relief valve 42.
Etc. are provided, and the steam supply pipe 36 is connected to the inner pipe (steam pipe) 4 of the heat pipe 2 through the temperature control valve 7. In this case, high quality steam (that is,
Since steam that does not contain rust, scale, etc.) can be supplied to the steam supply pipe 36, malfunction of the pressure reducing valve 40, the temperature control valve 7, etc. can be avoided.

This temperature control valve 7 is, as shown in FIG.
It consists of a valve body 45 and a control thermostat 46. The valve body 45 has a valve box 49 having a supply port 47 and a discharge port 48,
A valve seat 50 formed in the valve box 49 and a valve body 51 that sits on the valve seat 50.
And a valve shaft 52 whose tip is inserted and fixed to the valve body 51.

A branch portion 53 is provided in the valve box 49, a stopper member 54 is fitted in the branch portion 53, and the valve shaft 52 is inserted into the stopper member 54. An elastic member housing 55 in which the valve shaft 52 is inserted is interposed between the stopper member 54 and the valve body 51, and the elastic member housing 55 is elastically fitted with the valve shaft 52 outside. The member 56 is internally provided. Further, between the stopper member 54 and the valve body 51, a bellows 57 that fits the elastic member storage body 55 is interposed.

The control thermostat portion 46 includes a casing 58 and a shaft member 59 which is enclosed in the casing 58.
And a bottomed tubular body 60 installed in the lower part of the casing 58,
And a bellows 61 that is inserted into the bottomed tubular body 60.

That is, the shaft member 59 has a resilient member 67 at its lower end.
The receiving member 80 is fixed, and the receiving member 80 is constantly in pressure contact with the bottom wall 62 of the bellows 61. The upper end of the shaft member 59 is inserted into the lid 63 of the casing 58. The shaft center of the shaft member 59 and the shaft center of the valve shaft 52 coincide with each other, and the upper end of the shaft member 59 receives the lower end of the valve shaft 52. Further, a screw portion 64 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the casing 58, and a female screw portion 65a of a tubular adjustment knob 65 is screwed on. Further, a slit 68 is formed from the middle to the upper part of the casing 58, and a receiving member 66 is attached so as to be guided in the vertical direction. The receiving member 66 receives the upper end of the elastic member 67.
Further, the protruding piece portion 69 that protrudes through the slit 68 of the casing 58 has the upper end inner flange of the adjustment knob 65 through the interposition member 70.
It is locked at 71. The casing 58 has a bellows.
A cylindrical insertion portion 72 that is inserted close to the inner surface of 61 is provided to avoid interference between the elastic member 67 and the bellows 61.

In the gap 73 between the bellows 61 and the bottomed tubular body 60, a tube body 75 having a temperature sensitive body 74 attached to the tip thereof is connected for communication. Here, the temperature sensor 74 is
For example, it is provided with a fluid that generates a pressure proportional to temperature, and in the tube body 75 and the gap 73,
For example, a gas such as carbon dioxide is airtightly filled.

Therefore, this control thermostat section 46
According to the volume change of the gas, the bellows 61 is operated to move the shaft member 59 up and down along the axis thereof. Specifically, when the temperature sensing element 74 is heated, the volume of gas increases, which causes the shaft member 59 to rise and the valve shaft 52.
Rises, the valve body 51 contacts the valve seat 50, and the valve 7 is closed. When the temperature of the temperature sensing element 74 decreases, the volume of gas decreases, the shaft member 59 descends, the valve element 51 separates from the valve seat 50, and the valve 7 is opened.

At this time, the position of the adjusting knob 65 with respect to the casing 58 can be adjusted by moving the adjusting knob 65 forward and backward, whereby the compression spring force of the elastic member 67 can be changed. That is, by adjusting the pressing force of the bellows 61 against the bottom wall 62 by the elastic member 67, the temperature sensor 74 is heated and the volume of the fluid (gas) in the gap 73 is expanded, and the bellows 61 is compressed. Thus, the stroke amount of the shaft member 59 moving upward can be adjusted. In addition, in FIG.
A stopper member 76 is screwed to the adjustment knob 65, and the adjustment knob 65 is fixed by tightening the stopper member. Thus, the shaft member corresponding to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 74
By adjusting the stroke amount of 59, the opening degree of the valve body 51 (with respect to the valve seat 51) can be adjusted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the temperature sensor 74 is attached to the surface 3a of the outer pipe 3 of the heat pipe 2 and detects the temperature of the surface 3a of the outer pipe 3 of the heat pipe 2. The opening degree of the temperature control valve 7 increases or decreases according to the temperature.
By the way, the attachment in this case means that the temperature sensitive body 74 is attached in contact with the surface 3a of the outer tube 3.

Therefore, if high-quality steam from the steam supply unit 8 is supplied to the inner pipe (steam pipe) 4 of the heat pipe 2 (in this case, the temperature sensing element 74 attached to the surface 3a of the outer pipe 3). Is not heated yet, the temperature control valve 7 is in an open state.), The surface 3a of the outer tube 3 is uniformly heated in the longitudinal direction, and the outer surface 5 of the transport tube 1 contacts the heat pipe 2. Be warmed.

The surface 3 of the outer pipe 3 of the heat pipe 2
Since a is heated, the temperature sensing element 74 attached to the surface 3a of the outer tube 3 is also heated, and the valve opening gradually decreases from the open state of FIG. 3 until the set temperature is reached. If it rises further, it will be in a closed state.

When the temperature control valve 7 is closed, steam is not supplied to the steam pipe 4, so that the temperature of the surface 3a of the outer pipe 3 decreases. When the temperature drops, the shaft member 59 operates and the temperature control valve 7 is opened again, steam is supplied again to the inner pipe (steam pipe) 4, and the temperature of the surface 3a of the outer pipe 3 rises again.

Arrows A, B, and C in FIG. 3 indicate the flow of steam, but the supply amount of steam is adjusted by increasing or decreasing the opening degree of the temperature control valve 7 so that the temperature of the surface 3a of the outer tube 3 is almost always maintained. It can be maintained at a constant temperature, so that the transport pipe 1 can be heated uniformly in the longitudinal direction to a substantially constant temperature.

By the way, as the amount of the working fluid of the heat pipe 2, for example, in the case of the heat pipe 2 of 60 m,
The optimum value is about 4-8%. That is, four 60m heat pipes 2 were prototyped, and the amount of hydraulic fluid in each pipe was 3%, 4
%, 8%, 17%, 30%, the temperature of the heat pipe surface was examined. At 30%, the temperature started to drop at a point 44 m from the base end, and at the tip it was almost room temperature.
Then, the temperature began to drop at 52m from the base end and reached about 21 ℃ at the tip. On the other hand, at 4% and 8%, the surface temperature was uniform at about 46 ° C over the entire length. It was found that at 3%, the surface temperature fluctuates between 32 and 55 ° C. Therefore, it was found that 3.2% to 8% is desirable.

In the present invention, the temperature of the heat pipe 2 is controlled by the temperature control valve 7 as described above.
Even when the valve 7 becomes uncontrollable due to dust or the like, the surface temperature of the heat pipe 2 (the surface of the outer pipe 3 is the surface of the outer pipe 3 because the tip of the inner pipe (steam pipe) 4 of the heat pipe 2 is open to the atmosphere. 3a temperature) does not exceed 100 ° C and is safe. (Of course, this upper limit temperature can be changed.)

When the pressure reducing valve 40 of the steam supply unit 8 has an abnormally increased pressure due to dust or the like, the relief valve 42 is activated to prevent the pressure from rising. Of course, even if the pressure is abnormally increased, the temperature control of the heat pipe 2 is performed by the temperature control valve 7, so that the control is not disabled.

As the outer tube 3 of the heat pipe 2,
Although the corrugated pipe is used in the illustrated example, a straight pipe may be used. However, when a corrugated tube is used as the outer tube 3, even if the inner tube (steam tube) 4 is loosened and comes into contact with the inner surface of the outer tube 3, local contact (no close contact in a long range) occurs and heat is directly applied. There is an advantage that it is difficult to escape because it is transmitted to the outer pipe 3 and the working fluid can be heated all around the inner pipe 4. Furthermore, if it is a corrugated pipe, the construction is easy even if the inner pipe 4 has a bent portion.

Further, when the object to be heated (transport pipe 1) exceeds the upper limit temperature (for example, 80 ° C.), an alarm device or the like is provided, or the temperature control valve 7 is blocked by dust or the like. In addition, it is free to install an alarm device or the like to notify the temperature drop. Further, when the temperature decrease of the transport pipe 1 becomes a problem, it is preferable to provide two or more sets of the transport pipe heating device for one transport pipe 1 so as to improve the reliability.

In addition to the above-mentioned uses, the present invention is also used for heating the pressure guiding pipes of the instrumentation system, for heating as a measure against freezing of water facilities, and for heating for melting snow such as roads in cold regions. It is applicable.

[0041]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects.

The transport pipe 1 can be uniformly heated in the longitudinal direction, and the temperature of fluid such as heavy oil transported in the transport pipe 1 can be maintained at a substantially constant temperature (for example, 40 to 100 ° C.) with high precision. be able to. Since the temperature can be controlled at a low temperature, the steam consumption can be reduced. That is, the energy saving effect is great. Since the outer surface 3a of the outer pipe 3 of the heat pipe 2 and the temperature sensitive body 74 are directly connected to each other, the responsiveness is excellent and the transport pipe for heating 1
Even if there is a change in the temperature of the fluid such as heavy oil supplied to the, the temperature of the fluid can be maintained in a constant temperature range with high accuracy. Therefore, the fluid can be smoothly transported without deteriorating the fluid and lowering the viscosity. It is not necessary to use so-called explosion-proof type, and no additional equipment is required for that.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a heat pipe.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a temperature control valve.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a steam supply unit.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a steam supply unit.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a steam supply unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Transport Pipe 2 Heat Pipe 3 Outer Pipe 3a Outer Surface 4 Inner Pipe (Steam Tube) 5 Outer Surface 7 Temperature Control Valve 8 Steam Supply Unit 74 Temperature Sensitive Body

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page (72) Inventor Masahiro Kida 4-1-2, Hirano-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (72) Masahiro Nakamoto, 2 Tagawa-kita, Yodogawa-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 1-30, Miyawaki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masakazu Maruoka 2-3-1 Tagawakita, Yodogawa-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A long heat pipe having an outer pipe in which a working fluid is sealed and an inner pipe inserted into the outer pipe and to which heating steam is sent, the heat pipe being provided along the transportation pipe to be heated and A transport pipe heating device disposed in contact with the outer surface of a heating transport pipe, wherein the temperature sensor is attached to the outer surface of the outer pipe of the heat pipe to detect the temperature of the outer surface, and the temperature sensor. When the temperature of the temperature sensing element rises above a predetermined set temperature, it is closed, and when the temperature of the temperature sensing element falls below the predetermined set temperature, it is opened and the steam from the steam supply unit is supplied to the inner pipe of the heat pipe. A transport pipe heating device, comprising: a temperature control valve.