|
INFO;
|
|
Ultra Low Temperature engineering and processes are a specialized field. Expertise and competence is accumulated over time and experience rather than commercially available training or literature. System designs can be much more complicated than standard cooling systems. Basic two phase flow principles are similar in many respects but specialist gases and their characteristics mean that designing systems can be a difficult, time consuming and risky venture for engineers without sufficient application knowledge. Likewise, the components and fabrication materials used in ULT systems are similar to those used in standard systems but they are subject to more extreme conditions and as such they must be carefully selected and or modified to suit. Most component manufacturers rate their equipment to about –40 degrees Celsius. This does not mean they cant be used, it means that the manufacturer does not have the equipment or desire to test them at lower temperatures. In many cases careful selection, strategic positioning and/or minor modifications can make them very reliable for ULT applications. It is therefore of critical importance, for reliability and function, that sufficient experience goes into the design and component selection process. Most ULT applications are high value/high tech applications where reliability is critical. A good example of the need for reliability is in the production of pharmaceutical products, where a 24 process cycle (requiring ultra low temperature and high vacuum) can produce a product worth millions of dollars, and is repeated most days of the year. ULT REFRIGERATION (LTD) specializes in one off designs, for custom applications, and where integration with other processes is required. Another specialty is the development of prototypes, or initial builds, for mass produced equipment. The initial design of these system, as outline above, is a specialized area. However an engineer who is competent in the service and maintenance of standard cooling equipment can be trained in relatively little time on the special procedures required for ULT systems. We can provide this training for on-site engineers, or to outside (local) contractors who have been selected by the client for future service and maintenance of the equipment.
Equipment previously designed and commissioned by ULT REFRIGERATION (LTD) ranges from very small hermetic cascade systems to very large screw systems and semi hermetic cascade systems and multistage systems. There are many ways to achieve low temperatures and in many cases a variety of options are available BUT the best and most suitable configuration of compressor types, and system design, can result in over 50% savings in power consumption and also significant differences in capital cost, operating cost and equipment footprint. It is, in our honest opinion, very wise to carefully consider the actual equipment process in detail and also the simple things like equipment location and locally available equipment and resources. It is not unusual, especially for larger applications, to have the potential to save so much energy that those energy savings alone will pay for service, maintenance and even a new set of compressors every 20000 hours of operation.
|
|
ULT REFRIGERATION. LTD. |
|
Ultra Low Temperature — thermal engineering specialist A New Zealand company, providing international services.
|