The difference between electric heating cables used for heating pipes and tanks

In the field of industrial thermal management, electric heating cables are widely used for heating pipes and tanks. Although both are used to maintain temperature, the application of electric heating cables on pipes and tanks is also different due to differences in structure and function.

Shape and structural adaptability

1. Most pipelines are regular cylinders, so the installation of electric heating cables is relatively simple and standardized. Just spirally wind along the axis of the pipeline. According to the pipe diameter, heating temperature and electric heating cable power, the number of windings and spacing can be accurately calculated to easily control the heating effect. This is the case for long-distance oil pipelines, which evenly distribute power and maintain the appropriate temperature throughout the entire process.

2. The tank has a complex shape, such as a cylinder or sphere, which adds a lot of difficulties to the installation. The cylindrical tank needs to be wrapped vertically and horizontally to ensure even heat distribution; the spherical tank is more difficult and needs to be heated in different areas. Special techniques are required to make the electric heating tape fit tightly at the top and bottom where the curvature is large to prevent local overheating or insufficient heating.

Heat transfer characteristics

1. The medium inside the pipeline is usually flowing, which will affect the heating effect of the electric heating tape. For example, in a hot oil pipeline, the flow of oil will take away heat, so the electric heating tape needs to provide enough heat to make up for the heat loss to maintain the oil temperature in the pipeline at the set value. At the same time, the pipeline wall is relatively thin, and the heat conduction is relatively fast. The heat generated by the electric heating tape can be transferred to the medium inside the pipeline quickly.

2. The medium in the tank is either stationary or flows slowly, and the tank is large and the temperature changes slowly. However, the wall thickness of the tank may be thicker than the pipe, which makes the heat generated by the electric heating tape encounter greater thermal resistance in the process of transferring to the medium in the tank. Therefore, when heating the tank, a higher power electric heating tape or special heat conduction auxiliary measures may be required, such as adding a thermal conductive coating to the surface of the tank to improve the heat transfer efficiency.

Differences between installation and maintenance

1. During installation, pipes laid in rows can be batched using uniform standards, and the supporting structure is simple and does not interfere with installation. The tank is different. The height, shape and complex surrounding environment force people to build scaffolding to assist, and they must be extremely careful not to let the electric heating cable be scratched or pulled by the irregular surface of the tank.

2. For pipeline heating, once the electric heating cable fails, it is relatively easy to locate and repair. Because the linear structure of the pipeline allows the fault point to be quickly determined through segmented inspection and other methods. In tank heating, due to the large area and complex shape of the tank, it may be more difficult to find the fault point, requiring more complex detection equipment and methods, such as thermal imagers. And when maintaining the electric heating cable on the tank, due to factors such as the height of the tank, the operation is relatively difficult.

The characteristics of pipelines and tanks determine that there are significant differences in the application of electric heating tape to the two. Understanding these differences will help to use electric heating tapes more accurately in industrial production to ensure the heating effect of pipes and tanks and ensure the smooth progress of production.