Anaerobic Thread Sealants Work to Eliminate Leakages
Leaks are serious business. Most leaks are located at pipe joints. Threaded joints in piping systems are unavoidable. Anaerobic thread sealants offer a number of benefits over conventional sealing methods.
Buford Brothers’ Compressor Department specializes in the sales and service of Quincy Air Compressors in Tennessee. Air compressors develop high pressures and temperatures and when coupled with vibration, air leaks and fastener loosening can occur anywhere throughout the system. Buford decided to use Loctite anaerobic thread sealant on all the threaded pipefittings in the system proactively and avoided losses of up to US$12,500 hp per leak. The University of Wisconsin in Madison has a central heating and cooling system in over 300 buildings. A supervisor had recently attended a Loctite Manufacturing Reliability Training where he learned about anaerobic adhesives, thread sealants and primers. “Now wherever we absolutely, positively don’t want any leaks, we use a thread sealant from Loctite.”
Leaks are serious business. The costs from leaks go far beyond the value of the estimated one billion liters of fluids and gasses lost. Anaerobic thread sealants can prevent leaks by serving as a protective umbrella over the many potential causes of leakage. These metal adhesives offer significant benefits over other sealing methods.
Most leaks are located at pipe joints. Threaded joints in piping systems are unavoidable. Pipe system designers seek to reduce the number of joints wherever possible, but without demountable joints, each repair would require the removal of massive pipe links. Unfortunately, these essential joints often are assigned improper pipe support and sealing methods, leading to leaks.
Engineers have multiple conventional options to seal pipefittings, including using trapped dope, fittings of a yielding metal, O-rings and tape. However so-called anaerobic thread sealants offer a number of benefits over any of these conventional methods of threadsealing.
Anaerobic adhesives and sealants are single component liquid resins that harden to a tough solid state when activated by a combination of contact with metal in the absence of air. The resulting cured material is a thermoset plastic that does not melt when heated and resists most solvents. Once cured, anaerobic sealants lock fittings, preventing loosening from vibration.
Air leaks can cost over $12,500 per year in wasted energy
Buford Brothers’ Compressor Department specializes in the sales and service of Quincy Air Compressors in Tennessee USA. Air compressors develop high pressures and temperatures and when coupled with vibration, air leaks and fastener loosening can occur anywhere throughout the system. According to Joe Venardi, Buford Brothers Outside Sales Representative, conventional threadsealing and threadlocking methods just don’t hold up. “When a customer goes to connect their air piping to their newly purchased air compressor and don’t use the proper chemical sealants, an air leak will show up very quickly,” he says. A single 1/4" (6.35mm) hole can lose 104 cfm (cubic foot per minute) or 2.94 m3/minute of air. At a line pressure of 100 psig (lbs. per square inch-gauge) or 0.69MPa this amount is equivalent to a 25 hp (18.75Kw) loss in the total output of a compressor. At an industrial plant operating at 8000 hours a year (at 8 cents/kwh), this amounts to more than $12,500 in wasted energy. Multiply that cost by the number of potentially leaking threaded fittings in a typical air system, and it is clear this loss can have a large impact on the plant operating costs.
The Solution
Buford decided to use Loctite anaerobic thread sealant on all the threaded pipefittings in the system, the high performance thread sealant locks and seals metal, tapered pipe threads and fittings like those found on air compressors. It is ideal for stainless steel, aluminum, galvanized metal and other inert metals, has excellent solvent resistance and it can withstand temperatures up to 400°F (204OC). It provides an instant seal up to 1,000 psi (6.89MPa） and seals up to 10,000 psi (68.9 MPa) when fully cured. In addition, Buford uses anaerobic threadlocker to ensure that the nuts and bolts on flanges stay secure.
“There are a lot of sealant products on the market and not all of them work as well as the product we choose from Loctite” Apart from selecting a reliable supplier, it is also important to select the right product for each application. Different operating conditions require a different quality of sealant or threadlocker. “At anytime we are setting up a new system for a customer, we always use threadlocking and thread sealing adhesives and sealants to prevent leaks. And we always keep a supply on our service trucks for proactive maintenance.”
Pipe sealant stops leaks in University’s chilled water piping
The University of Wisconsin in Madison USA employs 40 steamfitters to maintain its central heating and cooling system in over 300 buildings. In one situation, the maintenance team was replacing some 3" (7.62cm) diameter chilled water piping with a different style of piping. The threads had to be re-cut to make the fit and tape was used to seal the pipe joints. Later, repairs were necessary due to leakage. The repairs of these leaks were costing more than the original replacement of the pipes because maintenance personnel had to tear everything apart and start the repair over again. At $40 an hour, the cost was adding up rapidly.
The Solution:
Joe Baldwin, Craftsworker Supervisor, had recently attended a Loctite Manufacturing Reliability Training where he learned about anaerobic adhesives, thread sealants and primers. These products can be selected to seal stainless steel, galvanized and other inert metal fittings. It’s excellent for high pressure applications up to 10,000 psi (68.9 MPa) on NPT fittings ranging from 1/2" (1.27cm) to over 3" (7.62cm). The selected thread sealant withstands temperatures from -65°F to +400°F (-54°C to 204°C).
After the team started to apply these anaerobic thread sealants and threadlockers during any replacements or repairs, no leaks occurred and no callbacks were necessary. Now Joe and his team use these metal adhesives proactively. “Anaerobic pipe sealant may cost a little more when compared to traditional methods of pipe sealing such as tape and pipe dope, but it more than pays for itself because we use it oly once and never get a callback,” said Joe. “Now wherever we absolutely, positively don’t want any leaks, we use a thread sealant from Loctite.”
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Author(s):
• Girard S. Haviland –Henkel Loctite Application Engineer, North America
• Robert A. Valitsky – Henkel Loctite Technical Manager
• Dale Barsness - Henkel Loctite Application Engineer, North America
• CS Woo – Henkel Loctite Customer Services Manager, Asia Pacific
Company Information
Loctite® is the world’s leading brand of engineering adhesives and sealants. Since the original invention of anaerobic adhesives in 1953, the Loctite® brand stands for innovative technologies, superior performance, cost savings, and strong partnership with its customers. Today, Loctite® is the flagship brand of Henkel adhesive technologies and offers over 5,000 unique products through a wide distribution network covering 125 countries. Industrial users across the globe trust Loctite® products to improve reliability of their assemblies and reduce overall costs.
For more than 130 years, Henkel has been a leader with brands and technologies that make people's lives easier, better and more beautiful. Henkel operates in three business areas – Home Care, Personal Care, and Adhesive Technologies – and is ranked among the Fortune Global 500 companies. In fiscal 2008, Henkel generated sales of €14,131 million and adjusted operating profit of €1,460 million. With more than 55,000 employees in more than 125 countries, people trust in brands and technologies from Henkel. Henkel – A Brand Like A Friend.
Information for editors: http://www.iLoctite.com/press