Knowledge Sharing On Electrical Heat

Tracing
 Introduction to Heat Tracing

The term heat-tracing refers to the continuous or intermittent application of heat on the piping,
equipment, and instrumentation where fluid (water or other product) may be exposed to low
temperature/freezing conditions. Whenever the contents of a pipe or vessel are maintained at
temperatures exceeding the ambient temperature, there will be a flow of heat from the product to
the external air. Insulation will slow the heat loss, but will not prevent it. Heat tracing is a method to
provide the supplemental heat just enough to compensate for the heat loss due to lower ambient
temperature. Heat tracing is commonly used where higher temperatures must be maintained for the
purpose of reducing product viscosity and/or preventing wax or hydrates from forming in the product.
The design is more complex compared to freeze protection in a way that additional heater circuits
and more specialized controls may be needed. Sometimes, heat tracing is used for raising the
temperature of a product following short shutdown periods, but this is not the primary objective.
Types of Heat Tracing Systems

 Steam tracing

 Electrical heat tracing

Steam tracing

 Steam tracing is described by attaching a carbon steel, copper or stainless

steel tubing containing low pressure saturated steam to the product pipe. The
two pipes are then insulated together and jacketed, if necessary. The tracer
tube size varies from ¼ - ½” diameter for winterization or instrumentation
tracing, and 3/8” to 1” diameter for process pipe tracing
Electrical heat tracing

 Electrical heat tracing is a system incorporating electrical heating cables

attached to the product pipe or the equipment surface. The majority of
commercial electric heat tracing systems use the resistive type heater,
wherein the heat is produced in proportion to the square of the current (I)
and the resistance (R) of the elements (I2 R). Other specialized electric
tracing systems make use of impedance, induction, and skin conduction
effects to generate and transfer heat.
Electric or Steam Heat Tracing

 The most significant factor in deciding steam or electric tracing is the initial
investment on equipment, installation and the operating costs. These costs
depend on factors such availability and reliability of energy supplies, cost of
labor and local tracing practice. In general
Advantage of Electric Tracing.

 Electric tracing offers convenience of installation and provides better

temperature control and much more efficient utilization of energy. Auxiliary
equipment is not required, so the total operating costs include only the
electrical usage for the electric heat tracing and the control system.
OVERVIEW OF ELECTRIC HEAT-TRACING

 Electric trace heating (also known as electric heat tape) takes the form of an
electrical heating element and run in physical contact along the length of a
pipe. Heat generated by the element will maintain the temperature of the
pipe and the wrapped thermal insulation retains the heat losses from the pipe
TYPES OF ELECTRIC HEAT TRACING
SYSTEMS
 Electric trace heating cable can be divided into four distinct product
classifications:
 Series circuit, Mineral insulated (MI) cables (constant watt output)
 Parallel circuit heating cables (constant watt output)
 Self-regulating heating cables (variable watt output)
 Skin effect heating
SERIES CIRCUIT MINERAL INSULATED (MI)
CABLES
 Series resistance-type heater cables use single or multiple resistive
conductors to create a heating circuit. Power output of these cables is
relatively constant and as voltage is applied, the power output is determined
by a combination of the length of the cable and the overall resistance of the
conductor.
 Series resistance cables are available with flexible, polymer outer-jackets as
well as with a metal jacket commonly known as mineral insulated (MI) cable.
A mineral Insulated (MI) cable essentially consists of one or two conductors of
copper or alloy embedded in dielectric magnesium oxide insulation and
surrounded by an Incoloy 825 sheath. These cables are recognized for their
high temperature service and excellent protection against corrosion.
Main Features Of Series Circuit MI
tracing
• Power output of these cables is relatively constant, and they do not exhibit self-
regulating characteristics.
• Suitable for high temperature and harsh environments.
• Voltage up to 600VAC.
• Wattage output up to 80 W/ft.
• Long circuit lengths (up to 4000 ft.)
• Uniform power along the entire length
• Copper construction: Maintain up to 300°F, Exposure up to 482°F.
• Alloy construction: Maintain up to 1500°F, Exposure up to 1750°F.
• Series circuit heaters are most commonly used in a 3 phase configuration for heating of long
pipelines.
• No start-up current. A
Advantages and Disadvantages

 Advantages
• Extremely long circuit lengths are possible;
• Can have very high watt output which can be used in some process heating applications (as high as
1500°F for MI cable);
• Relatively low cost per feet length.
Disadvantages
• Available in standard lengths; field adjustments are difficult and costly.
• A single break in the cable causes the entire system to fail
• Cannot be used on plastic pipe
• Cannot be overlapped – will burn out from excessive heat
• Relatively inflexible – difficult to install
• Caution must be exercised for installing these cables in a hazardous area, as these cables do not self-
regulate and may have exceedingly high sheath temperatures during operation.
PARALLEL CIRCUIT HEATING CABLES
(CONSTANT WATT OUTPUT)
 Parallel circuit cables are constant watt arrangement designed to put out a certain amount of
wattage per linear foot of cable.
 These are generally constructed of two #12AWG polymer insulated parallel bus wires with a
nickel alloy heating element wire wrapped alternatively along the insulated bus wires. These
connections are made at the 'NODE' point where the nickel-alloy heating element is either
welded or connected by rivets. The entire element assembly is then dielectrically insulated with
an additional polymer jacket
Advantages and Disadvantages

 Advantages
 The constant wattage output makes maintaining higher and more accurate process temperatures easier.
• Operates on standard voltages and easily controlled
• System continues to operate even if any element fails.
• Available in wide variety of wattage outputs and design temperatures up to 500°F
• Ideally suited for applications where a particular watt density is required at all times such as freeze protection
and many other low temperature process control applications.
Disadvantages
• Excess heat output may overheat pipe contents, if not controlled, these are susceptible to burnout.
• Cannot be used on plastic pipes
• Lower temperature limits than MI cable
• Zone heaters use thinner resistive wires than series heaters and are more susceptible to damage from impact
• Spiraling of cable around the pipe work should be avoided to minimize the possibility of induced currents in the
pipe work.
SELF-REGULATING HEATING CABLE

 Self-regulating heating cables are the latest advance in electric cable products. They
are designed and built to regulate their output per the process needs; i.e. as the
process temperature drops, the cable's output increases; conversely, as the
temperature rises, the cable's output decreases.
 Self regulating heating cable consists of a polymer core extruded onto two parallel
conductors. The core contains semi-conductive material that is high in carbon content
usually “graphite”, which allows electricity to flow from one bus wire to the other and
create infinitely parallel resistors. The core's resistance changes proportionally with
temperature and the output varies along the length of the cable depending upon the
temperature of the core of the heater. The principle of operation is that “when the
temperature of the core increases or decreases, a change in the chemical composition
takes place, which results in a higher or lower resistance and more or less heat output”.
This self-regulating characteristic allows the cable to adjust its watt output at any point
along the entire length of the heater circuit, helping to eliminate hot or cold spots.
Advantages and Disadvantages

 Advantages
 Variable output, less chance of overheating.
• Maintains uniform temperature profile throughout the pipeline which results in greater energy
economy
• Intrinsically safe and can be used in hazardous areas.
• Cut-to-length in field, easy installation.
• The tracer once installed, generally do not require any replacement for the entire life of the
plant. The self regulating type tracers are usually guaranteed for more than 40 years of working life.
• Flexible and can be overlapped without burnout
• Works well for freeze protection and low temperature applications that do not require very tight
control
• Low temperature cable can be used in a wide range of applications, including applications
involving nonmetallic piping and equipment.
 These cables may be cut to any length without changing the overall resistance
of the cable.
• Adjust the power output i.e. increases power as temperature falls and
decreases as temperature rises.
• Standard 120V and 240V operation.
• Maximum circuit lengths are typically 150 to 600 ft.
• Maintain up to 250°F, exposure up to 375°F.
 Disadvantages
 Most self-regulating cables are designed to give their rated wattage at 50°F. The
wattage output will exceed the rated wattage when the cable temperature is below
50°F and the lower the cable temperature the larger this wattage i.e. amperage is
“inrush” (a high start up current is the result). Circuit breakers of sufficient
capacity to allow for the inrush current of initial start-up must be installed for
protection against over-current.
• Precision tight temperature control is also more difficult with self-regulating cable,
because the wattage output is always changing seeking 50°F on the cable not the pipe
or fluid in the pipe. Since there is no direct feed back for the pipe temperature, these
cables are not well suited for process control.
• Cannot be used on 480V.
• Low design temperatures.
SKIN EFFECT HEAT TRACING

 In Skin-effect Tracing System (STS), heat is generated on the inner surface of

a ferromagnetic heat tube that is thermally coupled (welded) to the pipe to
be heat traced. A non-magnetic conductor material (copper or aluminum) is
placed inside the heat tube and connected to the tube at the far end. The
tube and conductor are then connected to an AC voltage source in a series
connection. When the voltage is applied in this manner, the current in
conductor flows in one direction and returns through the steel tube in the
opposite direction. The full current flows in inner surface of the steel tube
and in its outer surface the current is virtually absent. This method of heating
is called skin-effect heating because the return path of the circuit current is
pulled to the inner surface (approximately 1 mm) of the heat tube by both
the skin and the proximity effect between the heat tube and the conductor.
When the system is powered by high voltage (3 to 5kV), heat output occurs in both conductors. If
the system is properly designed, 60 to 80% of heat output takes place in the steel tube, and only
20 to 40% in the inner conductor.
Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages
• Most economical method for extremely long pipe lengths (up to 30 miles) can be traced with a single electric
supply point. This makes it most suitable for cross-country pipelines.
• Because of the welded contact between the tube and the pipe, higher heat transfer rates are attained.
• Because the full current flows in the inner surface of the skin heater’s tube, and in its outer surface the
current is virtually absent, the outer surface of heat producing element (skin tube) has zero potential to ground.
The tube is earthed and there are no electrical potentials, which make the system safe for maintenance staff.
Disadvantages
• Involve considerable custom design.
• Do not lend easily to the production of uniform heating, and IEEE rates the method as providing only moderate
system efficiency
• Installations cannot be modified, and the complete system fails with a single line break.
• Skin effect heat-tracing is generally not cost-effective for pipelines shorter than 5000 ft.
• Not practical for non-metallic or complex piping
Typical Installation of Tracers