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With the investment you’ve made into your fluid handling system, the last thing you want is to uncover issues that could jeopardize the system’s functionality and the well-being of your employees. However, it’s essential to acknowledge several common challenges linked to these vital systems. The good news is that many of these issues are preventable or reversible with the right solutions.
Follow along as we identify some of the top challenges faced by those in the fluid handling industry and how modern solutions can help prevent them.
While your system may not experience all the following challenges, preparing for each allows you to avoid potential problems and protect your fluid handling investment. Using tools like PIPE-FLO from Revalize, your team can accurately build, track, and troubleshoot your system to minimize or eliminate the impact of common issues like these.
Pressure drops are common occurrences in the design and operation of fluid handling systems. This phenomenon happens when fluid enters one end of a piping system, causing a pressure drop in the section it just left.
These pressure drops occur due to the friction between fluids and the piping components. If not addressed during design, these drops in pressure can lead to further issues like the degradation of seals and potential ruptures due to overpressure.
To prevent these pressure drops from occurring, your team must accurately design your system to fit your pressure needs. This includes choosing the right pumps with enough horsepower and pressure head specifications, and selecting the correct size pipe to handle sudden changes in pressure.
This need for accurate design makes solutions like PIPE-FLO essential to your toolbelt. PIPE-FLO allows your team to build an accurate model to ensure each system can handle any scenario. It also provides real-time feedback to assist in any necessary changes after your system runs efficiently.
Leakage is another common fluid handling concern, often caused by equipment wear, such as seal degradation or a poor connection due to incompatible equipment. These leaks can lead to wasted resources, potential damage to your system, and unexpected downtime.
The good news is that leaks are easily preventable through diligence in maintenance and upkeep. By creating a regular inspection schedule and employing best maintenance practices, your team can avoid potential leaks and resulting issues. Using active monitoring solutions like PIPE-FLO will also help you easily identify leaks you may have overlooked.
Without the correct pumps for your system, you risk wasting energy and missing out on optimal productivity. Pump inefficiencies can stem from various factors, such as selecting an oversized pump, eroded impellers, cavitation, or inadequate pump maintenance.
PIPE-FLO can help to eliminate these inefficiencies by offering your team direct insight into how actual pump models will fit into your fluid handling system. Your team can choose from a catalog of real-world pump options to see how they impact and optimize your system before purchasing and installing.
Keeping your fluid clear of contaminants is also crucial to the overall effectiveness of your fluid handling system. Contaminated fluid can lead to pumps getting seized due to sludge and cause general degradation and leakages across your entire fluid handling system.
Contaminated fluid can be caused by external sources — like air particles and moisture let in by eroded seals. Contamination can also be due to degradation of your equipment. If your piping system begins to corrode, contaminants could enter your fluid during transfer.
Using preventative measures such as filtration systems, you can minimize the impact of contaminants. Tactics like vigilant system design can also reduce your chance of contamination happening in the first place, preventing any future headaches.
As fluids increase in viscosity, they have the tendency to harden and cease flowing. This prevents your system from operating correctly and can lead to further damage caused by undue strain on your mechanical elements.
Temperature variations can impact the viscosity of fluids affecting the system’s overall performance. For example, low temperatures can lead to a much higher viscosity in certain fluids. High temperatures will have the opposite effect, causing fluids to become less viscous and produce unwanted heat in your system. As fluids move too quickly, they can also strain your parts and cause unforeseen pressure differences — leading to wear and tear. In extreme cases, fluids could even vaporize.
Ensuring that your system is properly equipped to handle external and internal temperature changes is essential to preventing temperature fluctuations. Using thermal analysis tools can assist in designing a system that keeps your fluids at the temperature you need, even with the influence of external factors.
Although avoiding every possible fluid handling problem may be a pipedream, adding solutions like PIPE-FLO to your process can significantly reduce the chances of them occurring.
With PIPE-FLO, you can more accurately build a system that works for your specific needs. PIPE-FLO also provides real-time updates after your system is built to help mitigate issues as they occur.
