L’ISOLANTE K-FLEX LNG User Manual

L'ISOLANTE K-FLEX

LNG appLicatioNs MaNuaL

LNG APPLICATIONS MANUAL

The insulation LNG plants may forsee a multilayer design

according to the specific characteristics and the working

temperatures of the plants that need to be insulated.

In order to establish the correct scale of the insulation,

always refer to the project specifications and to the specific

“K-FLEX IN CLAD Piping Equipment Insulation Specification”

attached to this document.

L’ISOLANTE K-FLEX

INDICE

TOOLS NEEDED TO CARRY OUT THE INSULATION
ACCESSORIES

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

PREPARATIONS BEFORE STARTING
MULTILAYER INSULATION, PIPES
First layer
Middle layers
Installation K-FLEX IN CLAD covering
Pipe supports
MULTILAYER INSULATION, SPECIAL PARTS
Preformed “T” connection, first layer
Making the “T” connection sections on-site from sheets
Making the vapour barrier on the “T” connection
Preformed elbows: first layer
Elbows and “T” connections. Following layers (applies to the two, three or more layer designs)
Flanges
Insulation of the valves
Fixing the K-FLEX IN CLAD covering onto the “T” connection
Fixing the K-FLEX IN CLAD covering on flanges
Fixing the K-FLEX IN CLAD covering on valves
SPECIAL PREFORMED MULTILAYER SECTIONS

4

6

9

10
11
11
14
15
16
18
18
22

24
25
28
32
36
40
42
46
50

LIST OF DRAWINGS

STRAIGHT PIPE
PIPE SUPPORT
FLANGE
BLIND FLANGE
END CAP
ELBOW
“T” CONNECTION
CONCENTRIC REDUCTION

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

53

54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61

63

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1° LNG insulations are all multilayered
2° The first layer is never glued
3° The joints of the first layer always have an expansion joint
4° The first layer is always covered with an aluminium/polyester vapour barrier
5° The first layer does not adhere perfectly to the pipe: an excess of 2-5%

is necessary to allow for thermal contraction of the insulation during use
6° The following layers are installed in the same way as those for traditional

applications for cold (glue and anticondensation tape on all joints and staggering
of the joints between the various layers

TOOLS NEEDED FOR THE JOB

compass brushes

spatula

marker pen

4

knife-shapening stone

scissors

ruler

knife

scalpel

compass to measure

diameters

chalk

sand paper

5

ACCESSORIES

TAPE, COVERING AND ADHESIVES

L’ISOLANTE K-FLEX advises using two types of tape: K-FLEX ST
anticondensation tape and K-FLEX ALU AA 130 tape.

anticondensation tape
Measurements

Thickness mm: 3
Lengths m: 10, 15
Widths mm: 50, 75, 100

ALU 5 LAYER FOIL
Measurements

Thickness: 80 µ
Length m: 100
Width mm: 1.000

ALU AA 130 Tape
Self-adhesive joint covering tape
in smooth aluminium
Measurements

Thickness: 30 µ
Length m: 50
Widths mm: 50, 75, 1000

K-FLEX IN CLAD COVERING
Measurements

Thickness mm: 1
Length m: 10
Width mm: 1.000

K-FL

EX IN CLAD TAPE

Measurements

Thickness: 1 mm
Length m: 25
Widths mm: 50, 100

6

TUBES
thickness mm 9
thickness mm 13
thickness mm 19
thickness mm 25
thickness mm 32
thickness mm 40

L'ISOLANTE K-FLEX does not accept responsibility for consumptions that may differ to those indicated above

k-fleX adhesiVes

K-FLEX K 420 glue has been specifically designed for use with K-FLEX
elastomeric foam insulation material. The securely bonded surfaces and
joints are resistant to ageing and atmospheric agents and preserve the
technical characteristics of the insulating material.

K 420

ADHESIVE in tins of: 0,26 - 1 - 2,6 litres

INDICATED CONSUMPTION OF 1 LITRE OF ADHESIVE

glued to the heads

every 1.350 m

every 500 m
every 300 m
every 220 m
every 180 m
every 139 m

glued lengthways

every 150 m
every 100 m

every 80 m
every 60 m
every 40 m
every 27 m

MARINE SEALANT

Marine sealant is suitable for making elastic constructive joints and has
extremely good UV-resistance and ageing properties.
Product is based on Silyl Modified Polymers.

Packaging: cartridges 290 ml

SPECIAL K-FLEX THINNERS

Before covering the surfaces to be insulated, it is advisable to clean them
thoroughly with the special K-FLEX thinners.

1 LITRE TINS

7

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

9

PREPARATION BEFORE STARTING TO INSULATE

1 2 3

1. C

LEANING THE SURFACE TO INSULATE.

Thoroughly degrease the surface to be insulated with the producer’s spe­cified thinners

2)

STAGGERED LAYERS.

The insulation must be carried out, making sure that the end joints of tubes
(preformed up to a diameter of 168 mm) and of sheets (for diameters from
140-170 mm) are always staggered in order to ensure that the edges are
never aligned. In this way, starting to insulate from the pipe supports (fig.

1) where the sections are already staggered, the next layers are applied with
end joints that are not aligned.

5 6 7

4

3) CO

MPENSATION JOINTS.

Prepare a sufficient quantity of mineral fibre compensation joints according
to the following indications:
a) prepare several 30 mm thick mineral fibre strips;
b) cut sections with the same width as the insulation’s thickness eg. 50 mm
thickness, (fig. 2).
c) The mineral fibre strips should each be cut to a width of 50 mm. This
material will be used for making the compensation joints, (figs. from 2 - 4).

8

4. MAKING THE RIGHT SIZE TUBES FROM SHEETS

The insulation of the pipes can be carried out using preformed tubes, cut
out from sheets, or, when working on-site it is possible to use sheets for
insulating pipes of large dimensions. Usually preformed insulating tubes
are used for diameters from 140-170 mm whereas for greater diameters it
is easier to use sheets cut to size, as indicated further on in the manual, in
order to obtain the desired result, or one can even order the sheet section
already prepared for installing.

10

a) Cut a strip of K-FLEX ST elastomeric material of about 100 in width, fig. 5.
b) With the strip, measure the circumference of the pipe to insulate and
make a mark on the strip to indicate the correct circumference. Add to this
measurement an excess of 3% (fig. 6). NB: Gently lay the strip onto the
tube. Do not stretch, avoiding ending up with a section which is too short.
c) Lay the K-FLEX insulation sheet onto a flat surface and use the previously
cut strip to obtain the sheet sections needed to insulate the pipes, (figs.
7-8).

MULTILAYER INSULATION, PIPES

FIRST LAYER

9 10 11

1. APPLYING THE FIRST LAYER

a) apply the tube sections, previously cut out of a sheet, onto the pipes.
b) Seal the insulation together with 50 mm ALU AA 130 self-adhesive tape,
attaching strips every 30 cm perpendicularly to the cut, (fig. 9).
c) To make sure that the ALU AA 130 tape is correctly placed, press to­gether the logitudinal edges of the insulation so that they touch and secu­rely fixdown the tape, (fig. 10).

12 13 14

2.

INSTALLING THE COMPENSATION JOINTS

Between each insulated section, add a strip of previously prepared mineral
fibres, see pag. 10.
a) position the strip between the insulated tube sections, (fig. 12).

d) Once the tape is fixed perpendicularly, apply the tape along the complete
length of the tube to be insulated, over the joint, (fig. 11).
e) Rotate the logitudinal seal downwards, turning the insulation 180° to po­sition the tube’s sealed joint towards the ground.

b) It is advisable to install the elasto­meric material so that they come into
contact and then, using force, insert
the mineral fibres strip between the
end joints, (figs. 13-14).

11

MULTILAYER INSULATION, PIPES

FIRST LAYER

16

3. VAPOUR BARRIER

a) From a roll of ALU 5 layer foil, cut out a sheet with a width equal to one
and a half times the circumference of the insulated tube, (figs. 16-17).

18

17

19

b) Apply the sheet of ALU 5 layer foil onto the K-FLEX insulation, securely
fixing it down to obtain a tight fitting cover, (figs. 18-19).

12

All the edges of the vapour barrier must be staggered.

MULTILAYER INSULATION, PIPES

FIRST LAYER

20 21

c) It is important to stagger the edges of the insulation and the edges of the
ALU 5 layer foil in order to avoid continuity with the underlying edge. Every
sheet of ALU 5 layer foil should be positioned in such a way as to overlap
the following one by at least 100 mm between one section and another.
d) On both the longitudinal and end joints apply 50 mm ALU AA 130 self­adhesive tape to fix down the vapour barrier, (figs. 20-21).

13

MULTILAYER INSULATION, PIPES

MIDDLE LAYERS

22 23 24

INDICATIONS FOR CUTTING SHEETS TO SIZE

1. Repeat the procedure described above for carrying out the insulation of
the following layers, without adding any excess during the preparation of
the sheet sections.

2. Take care not to overlap the expansion joints of the following layers.

26 27

25

3. Use K-FLEX K-420 adhesive for sealing both the longitudinal and end join­ts of both the sheets and tubes, applying the glue with a brush on both the
sides to be sealed. Wait until the glue dries before installing the insulation
material, (figs. 22-24).

4. Install the insulation on the tube, taking care to avoid positioning the join­ts above those of the underlying layer. (first or second layer), (fig.25).

27a 27b

5. Apply, only on the second layer, 50 mm K-Flex anticondensation tape on
all the longidudinal and (fig. 26) head joints which were previously glued
together, (fig. 27).

14

6. For layers applied after the second one, it is not necessary to use (figs.
27 - 27b) anticondensation tape.

MULTILAYER INSULATION, PIPES

INSTALLING THE K-FLEX IN CLAD COVERING

28 29 29

1. PREPARATION OF IN-CLAD

From a roll of K-FLEX IN CLAD, cut a sheet with the same width as the
circumference of the insulated tube, adding an excess of roughly 50 mm for
the longitudinal overlap.

2.

INSTALLATION

a) Apply a layer of K-FLEX K-420 glue along the section of the tube to be
covered with K-FLEX IN CLAD.
b) Position the K-FLEX IN CLAD on the area where the glue has been ap­plied and from that point wrap the K-FLEX IN CLAD sheet around the whole
section.

31

32 33

30

c) Securely press down the K-FLEX IN CLAD covering along the whole circu­mference, in order to obtain a tightly fitting cover, fig. 29.
d) With a brush, apply K-FLEX K-420 adhesive on both ends in order to
obtain a perfect seal against water between the covering and the insulation
material, (figs. 30-32).

NB: Take care to stagger the edges of the insulation and the the edges of
K-FLEX IN CLAD to avoid continuity with the underlying edge.
Each sheet of K-FLEX IN CLAD should be positioned in such a way as to
overlap the next sheet by at least 50 mm. Use K-FLEX K-420 on both the
longitudinal and transverse overlaps.

34

3.

SEALING WITH MARINE SEALANT

In order to obtain a covering with a secure water barrier, use marine sealant
approved by L’ISOLANTE K-FLEX on all the joints:

- Between all the longitudinal and transverse overlaps of the K-FLEX IN
CLAD covering

- Betwen the pipe supports and the K-FLEX IN CLAD covering

- Between the overlaps of the valves, flanges, “T” connections and
terminals

- On the sections of the elbow covered with K-FLEX IN CLAD

- On all the overlaps and K-FLEX IN CLAD joints.

Proceed as follows on all the joints indicated in figures 33 and 34:

a) with the corect dispensor, spread a layer of marine sealant at least 10 mm
wide, (figs. 33 - 34).
b) check that there are no breaks in the seal
c) carefully follow the instructions indicated on the tin of sealant and check
the time required to obtain a secure and permanent seal.

15

MULTILAYER INSULATION, PIPES

PIPE SUPPORTS

35 36 37

4.PIPE SUPPORTS

For a correct installation of the PU pipe supports, proceed as follows:
a) On a work surface, position all the shell sections needed for the pipe
support
b) Apply Foster putty on the edges of the PU “shell” sections, (fig. 35).
c) On the tube, apply an elastic band as shown in figure 36, which will help
to hold the shells onto the tube.
d) Apply the support sections one at a time starting from the top and conti­nuing in a clockwise direction, rotating then downwards, (fig. 37).
e) Use the correct tools at the ends of the pipe support (10 cm from the
right and left edges) to secure the support onto the tube, using sufficient

39 40 41

38

force in order to achieve a tight fit of the longitudinal shell sections.
Position two aluminium sheets under the jack to avoid ruining the supports,
(fig. 38).
f) Wrap around the appropriate reinforced fiberglass tape three times in the
following three positions, (fig. 39).

- On the side of the left jack towards the centre, at about 10 cm

- On the side of the right jack towards the centre, at about 10 cm

- At the centre of the pipe support
g) Remove both left and right jacks.
Proceed in the same way for the following layers taking care to:

- apply the vapour barrier on the first layer, leaving 100 mm of overlap on

42

each side, and apply 1,5 rotations of ALU 5 layer foil. Finally, seal the vapour
barrier with reinforced fiberglass tape, (fig. 40).
h) For all the following layers (fig. 41) of the pipe support, the vapour bar­rier should be positioned only when the installer has attached the metal
collars, (fig. 42); afterwards, proceed with the covering as follows:

- Measure the distance between the end of the metal collar and the pipe
support, add 50 mm of excess for the overlap and cut out a strip of K-FLEX
IN CLAD.

- Install this strip, taking care to glue the longitudinal and transverse over-

16

laps with K-FLEX K 420 adhesive.

- Apply marine sealant to all the joints around the pipe support.

- to avoid water infiltrations, cover all the openings around the supporting
collar with marine sealant, (fig. 42).

MULTILAYER INSULATION, PIPES

PIPE SUPPORTS

43 44 45

CONNECTION BETWEEN THE PIPE SUPPORT AND THE TUBE SECTIONS
a) First layer

On the edges, apply mineral fibre strips as previously carried out for the
elastomeric material, (fig. 43). Cover everything with the vapour barrier as
shown in figure 44.

b) Following layers

Glue the two ends of the supports to the elastomeric material using K-FLEX
K-420 adhesive.
Only on the second layer, apply 50 mm K-FLEX anticondensation tape on all
the glued joints, (fig. 45). In a three layer installation, on the third layer, it is
not necessary to apply anticondensation tape.

47 48 49

46

K-FL

EX IN CLAD COVERING

The pipe supports should be covered externally with K-FLEX IN CLAD. Pro­ceed as follows:
a) Cut a section of K-FLEX IN CLAD equal to the external circumference of
the pipe support, plus 50 mm of longitudinal and transverse excess on all
sides, (fig. 46).

50

b) Wrap the covering around the pipe support, (fig. 47).
c) Apply K-420 glue on both the longitudinal and transverse overlaps of the
K-FLEX IN CLAD covering and also onto the areas below onto which the
overlaps will be glued, (fig. 48).

d) Join together the areas to be glued and apply enough force to ensure a
perfect sealing, (fig. 49).

C

OVERINGS

On both sides of all joints, apply a 10 mm layer of marine sealant, (fig.

50).

17

MULTILAYER INSULATION, SPECIAL PARTS

PREFORMED “T” CONNECTIONS, 1° LAYER

51 52 53

5. “T” CONNECTIONS
FIRST LAYER WITH “T” CONNECTION IN SECTIONS READY FOR INSTALLING

The “T” connection is made of two pieces ready for installation as shown
in figure 51. As previously indicated for straight sections, the installation
should be carried out following the multilayer design. The first layer must
never be glued; ALU AA 130 tape will be used to fix the “T” connection
sections to the pipe. Proceed as follows.

55 56 57

54

a) On the tube, apply the single precut “T” connection sections (fig. 51),
fixing them together with 50 mm ALU AA 130 self-adhesive tape along all
the joints (figs. 52, 53, 54). NB: first install the horizontal section (figs. 52
and above) followed by the vertical one (fig. 64 and following).
b) ALU AA 130 self-adhesive tape should be applied as shown in figures
55 to 58.

58

NB: The ALU AA 130 tape should be applied both longitudinaly and tran­sversely over the joints, as shown in figures 52 to 58.

18

NB: The prepared “T” connection sections needed for the installation are
already supplied with a 3% excess. During the installation, this excess
should be maintained. Therefore only seal down what is necessary.