Partial Shell Plate Replacement in Distillation Towers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for replacing shell plates in large vessels or towers, such as those in petroleum refining apparatuses, are inefficient due to long construction periods, high costs, and safety risks, as they require extensive space and crane usage, and often fail to effectively address corrosion issues.
Innovation Solution
A method involving partial cutting and removal of cylindrical shell plate sections, followed by sequential attachment of new partial plates, allowing for replacement without disassembling the entire structure, reducing construction time and costs, and enhancing mechanical strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the entire tower or vessel is replaced using a large-sized crane, then the shell plate can be completely renewed, but the construction period extends to several months and very large space is required for installation
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the shell plate replacement into multiple small segments rather than replacing the entire shell plate at once. The circumferential direction is divided into multiple replacement regions, with each region being replaced independently through small openings. This segmentation allows the replacement work to proceed in stages without requiring complete disassembly or large cranes, thereby significantly reducing the construction period while maintaining replacement completeness.
2Reliability
If the entire tower or vessel is replaced using a large-sized crane, then the shell plate can be completely renewed, but very large space is required for installation of the crane and temporary storage
Solution Approach 1:
The replacement work is divided into multiple small circumferential regions, each accessed through small openings. This eliminates the need for large cranes and extensive construction space that would be required for complete replacement, allowing the work to be performed in a confined area around the tower or vessel.
Solution Approach 2:
Only the necessary small openings are created in the shell plate to access the replacement regions, rather than removing the entire shell plate or large portions of it. This extraction approach minimizes the space required for construction equipment and temporary storage while still enabling complete renewal of the shell plate material.
3Reliability
If the corroded cylindrical shell plate portion is integrally taken away and replaced with a new integral portion, then the shell plate can be renewed, but the construction period requires about three to four months and very large space is required
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of removing and replacing the shell plate as one large integral component, the invention divides the replacement into multiple small circumferential segments. Each segment is replaced independently through small openings, allowing parallel work progression and significantly reducing the overall construction period from three to four months to a much shorter duration.
4Ease of manufacture
If stainless plate lining or metal spraying is applied to the corroded portion, then the shell plate can be protected, but work reliability is low and repair is required in the future
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the fundamental parameter of shell plate maintenance from surface treatment (lining or spraying) to complete material replacement. By removing the corroded shell plate material and installing new shell plate material in segments, the solution achieves high reliability comparable to new construction while maintaining the simplicity and low cost of repair operations.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a method of partially replacing a shell plate of a tower or a vessel, capable of partially replacing the shell plate of the tower or the vessel in a short construction period at low construction cost.The method of partially replacing a shell plate of a main distillation tower is a method for replacing a cylindrical shell plate portion 2 serving as one portion of the shell plate 1 of a main distillation tower, wherein two facing parts located in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical shell plate portion 2 to be replaced are partially cut off and removed, new partial shell plates 3 are respectively attached to openings 6 generated by the removal, and the removal and the attachment are repeated, so that the cylindrical shell plate portion 2 is replaced. The new partial shell plate 3 is obtained in a case where the cylindrical shell plate portion 2 is substantially equally split into a plurality of sections in the circumferential direction.