Foreign Material Exclusion

Problem

Foreign materials in an open system can have numerous adverse affects on the operation of a nuclear plant, including but not limited to safety concerns, equipment longevity and proper operations, and economic concerns (i.e. loss of production due to downtime).

Solution

Garlock Flange Free™

• Garlock Flange Free™ anti-stick coating allows you to remove gaskets in seconds versus hours; using a fraction of the force required to remove untreated gaskets. There are no chisels, hammers or sprays needed. Gaskets coated with this revolutionary new material can reduce your facility's outage cycle, reduce the chance of process/system contamination, improve employee safety and increase profits.

Oil or Water Leakage

Problem

Bolted flange assemblies with inadequate bolting, poor flange designs, low gasket compression and irregular or corroded flange surfaces in both water and oil services result in leaks which increase maintenance time, reduce uptime, magnify costs and potentially harm the environment.

Solution

Garlock Multi-Swell™ - Style 3760

• - Gasket material creates its own load when it comes into contact with oil or water eliminating the most common cause of gasket failure - low loads
• - Low torque, tight seal even on poor or irregular flanges no oil weepage
• - Compensates for inadequate bolting designs
• - Reduced inventory and less confusion one gasket for oil or water applications

 

Radial Buckling

Problem

Radial buckling - the excessive flow toward the inside diameter of the gasket resulting in the protrusion of the winding into the process stream is responsible for a significant number of Foreign Material Exclusion (FME) issues. This leads to loss of bolt load and contamination of the process stream.

Contamination can range from the presence of metal fragments or flakes of graphite in the process stream to major situations such as a complete winding becoming unraveled and trapped in the piping system, pump or compressor.

Solution

Garlock EDGE® Metallic Gasket

• - STABL-LOCK™ prevents sealing element from flowing towards the process stream
• - Relief ports in the outer guide ring control sealing element flow
• - Controlled Density+™ winding requires lower compressive force to obtain a tight seal
• - Available in a full range of materials to handle extreme temperatures

 

 

Solution

Garlock Kammprofile Metallic Gasket

• - Solid metal-to-metal sealing
• - Serrated metal core with deformable sealing material
• - Superior blow out resistance
• - Stable in large diameters
• - Accommodates severe service conditions
• - Low gasket stress required to effect a tight seal
• - Easier to handle in contrast to large diameter spiral wound gaskets
• - Available in a full range of materials to handle extreme temperatures

Charge Pump Maintenance

Problem

Utilities are striving to improve charging pump performance and reliability along with reducing the significant maintenance costs associated with these pumps. Pump availability requirements combined with irregular modes of operation have made charging pump maintenance both frequent and costly. The terms high performance and reliability have been redefined as the levels of acceptable leakage have been reduced.

To remedy these issues some plants have gone to running centrifugal charging pumps, which are primarily designed as back up pumps. Often when centrifugal charging pumps are run continually, operational flexibility is significantly reduced. When the centrifugal charging pumps are used for normal charging duty, service water flows through the oil coolers and over time increases the delta-p across the coolers. When Delta-P reaches a certain amount, the pumps are tagged out and the coolers are cleaned resulting in increased maintenance and decreased time between outages.

Solution

Charging Pump Packing

• - Continuous PDP operation results optimizes system availability
• - Optimized PDP allows safety related centrifugal pumps to be secured improving overall system health, plant and community safety
• - Longer service life compared to conventional packing solutions resulting in fewer change out procedures and extended time between outages
• - Reduces energy consumption

Contaminates & Abrasives

Problem

Circulating water systems in nuclear power plants are frequently plagued by contaminants and abrasives associated with river, lake and ocean water used to cool the plant. The presence of solids in the water being pumped can quickly wear through conventional braided packings, infiltrate the system and contribute to premature seal failure on the pumps used in these systems. These conditions can also lead to a swift and catastrophic failure of any mechanical seal, resulting in a potential compromise in plant safety.

Solution

HYDRA-JUST® Engineered Sealing System

• - HYDRA-JUST® forms and maintains a bearing relationship to the shaft face in the seal chamber while preventing the process media and any contaminants from migrating into the stuffing box
• - Eliminates the potential for catastrophic failure even when installed in pumps prone to cavitation enhancing plant safety
• - Significantly reduced water consumption - average use with the HYDRA-JUST® solution is 3-10 gallons per hour
• - Lower price than mechanical seals - typically 25-50% less