TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION SPECIFICATION NO.

IOCL/M&I/MECH/E/S/07
FOR FOAM SEALS
OF REVISION-00
Refineries Division FLOATING ROOF TANKS DATED: 19.01.2012

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
FOR
FOAM SEALS
OF
FLOATING ROOF TANKS

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 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION SPECIFICATION NO.
IOCL/M&I/MECH/E/S/07
FOR FOAM SEALS
OF REVISION-00
Refineries Division FLOATING ROOF TANKS DATED: 19.01.2012

1.0 GENERAL

This specification cover requirements that shall be met as a minimum for

core foam and casing for seals or floating roof tanks.

2.0 PRIMARY SEAL

Primary Foam Seal shall have following characteristics:

1. Appropriate Elasticity.
2. Little Permanent Compressive Strength.
3. Stronger resistance to oil and chemicals.
4. Excellent adaptability for processing.
5. Light Weight.

2.1 CORE FOAM

2.1.1 Core foam shall be of prime quality solid polyurethane foam and of
octagon shape. Foam shall be of light weight having appropriate elasticity,
little permanent compressive strain and shall have excellent resistance to
oil and chemical.

2.1.2 Core foam shall have the following properties in accordance with ASTM D-
3574.

i) Specific Gravity 0.018 to 0.022

ii) Permanent Strain

due to compression Not to exceed 10%

iii) Load at 25%deflection RMA value 6.81± 1.36 Kgs.

2.1.3 Rim space of 150 mm and 200mm shall be provided for tanks up to 30 m
dia. and above 30 m dia. respectively. Foam shall be of octagonal shape
and of size 254 mm and 305 mm (across flat ends ) for rim space 150 mm
& 200 mm respectively.

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Refineries Division
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION SPECIFICATION NO.
IOCL/M&I/MECH/E/S/07
FOR FOAM SEALS
OF REVISION-00
FLOATING ROOF TANKS DATED: 19.01.2012

2.2 FOAM CASING

2.2.1 The casing material shall be oil and water resistant.

2.2.2 Material for foam casing shall be Nylon fabric with Nitrile butadiene rubber
or polyurathene coating on either side.

2.2.3 Casing shall have the following characteristic.

a) Thickness of basic fabric : 0.4 mm to 0.5 mm

b) NBR/Polyurathene Coating : Either side of fabric with

an overall thickness of 2
mm as finished.

c) Hardness (Shore A) : 600 ± 5

d) Original Tensile Strength (ASTM D751) : 1150 Newtons/25mm

e) Elongation : 300% (min.)

f) Chemical properties : Un-extractable gumming

fabric

g) Weight per m2 : 1.140 Kg. To 1.200 Kg.

h) Surface appearance : Woven

i) Original adhesion (ASTM D413) : 80 Newtons/25mm

j) Adhesion after fuel ageging : 45 Newtons/25mm

k) Tensile strength after fuel ageing : 900 Newtons/25mm

l) Tensile strength after 50,000 flex : 1000 Newtons/25mm

m) Volumetric swelling ( ASTM D471)(*): 25% maximum

n) Vapour permeability : 0.10 gms/Sq.m/hour

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Refineries Division
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION SPECIFICATION NO.
IOCL/M&I/MECH/E/S/07
FOR FOAM SEALS
OF REVISION-00
FLOATING ROOF TANKS DATED: 19.01.2012

2.2.4 Casing material shall be examined for volumetric variation in different oils /
water as below :

A. Maximum volumetric variation after immersion in Aromatic

hydrocarbons at 500 C shall be limited to the following:

48 Hrs. 10
Days

a) in pure toluene +54% +57%

b) in a mixture containing +32% +33%

70% aromatic

c) in a mixture containing +10% +12%

30 %aromatic

d) Iso-octane fuel ASTM A +8% +12.5%

B. Maximum Volumetric variation in water at 700C shall be limited to

the following :

48 Hrs. 70 Days

+8% +12.5%

3.0 FABRICATION OF SEAL

3.1 Tests as specified above shall be carried out in a reputed laboratory and
furnish the result for review / approval.

3.2 Contractor shall use proper adhesive of approved quality. Contractor shall
give complete procedure for joining the pieces. The entire work shall be
carried out in a clean, dry area, free of heat, sparks of flame.

3.3 Minimum length of foam and casing for foam seal shall not be less than 3
meter. Total circumferential length of foam seal shall be such that a
Compression of 150 mm is achieved for every 3 meters length of foam
seal when installed.

Page 4 of 6
 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION SPECIFICATION NO.
IOCL/M&I/MECH/E/S/07
FOR FOAM SEALS
OF REVISION-00
Refineries Division FLOATING ROOF TANKS DATED: 19.01.2012

4.0 SECONDARY SEAL

4.1 Secondary seal shall have synthetic rubber wiper seal, continuous vapor
barrier membrane, galvanized compression steel sheet of 16G thickness,
stainless steel electrical shunt, rim mounting hold down bars, fasteners
and all necessary hardware for the installing on rim of external floating
roof of tank. Vapour barrier membrane shall have polyurethane coating on
both sides of nylon fabric for yielding necessary strength characteristics.
Minimum thickness of vapour barrier shall be 0.4mm. Also it should have
resistant to aromatic hydrocarbons, sunlight & ozone.

4.2 The secondary seal supplied with PVC Nitrile/Vinyl seal lip should be
suitable for MS, Naptha, HSD, Crude, Slop and Naphtha CRU feed and
should be tested for fire, sunlight & ozone retardant properties.

4.3 The secondary seal shall be designed to mount on the seal angle and to
exert sufficient sealing force against the tank shell to minimize the vapor
loss.

4.4 The specification of cloth should comply with the ASTM Standards and all
testing of the same will also be according to the ASTM Standards.

4.5 The ratio of the polyurethane material to reinforcement fabric should be a

minimum of 80% by weight.

4.6 Abrasion test data using Taber test method, with H-18 wheel at 1000 gram
load to be provided.

4.7 The seal material fabric shall not wick or brittle during its service life. The
seal material will be resistant to the effects of wind, rain, sand and be
suitable for service temperature ranging from –04 deg. C to + 80 deg. C.

4.8 The material of compression plates shall be confirming to ASTM A 924 G

90 coating (Galvanized steel) or equivalent & minimum thickness shall be
1.5 mm (16 gauge).

4.9 The lip of the secondary seal shall be made from Nitrile/Vinyl and shall
have a shore (A) hardness of 60+or- 5 and tensile strength of 80 kg/sq. cm
minimum, Elongation 300% minimum .The surface of the lip shall be
smooth enough to avoid rubbing of the internal painting of the tank shell.

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 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION SPECIFICATION NO.
IOCL/M&I/MECH/E/S/07
FOR FOAM SEALS
OF REVISION-00
Refineries Division FLOATING ROOF TANKS DATED: 19.01.2012

4.10 The earthing shunt shall be made from 18-gauge thick SA 240Gr. TYP304
Stainless steel & it shall be provided at an interval of 3 meters as per API-
2003.

5.0 GUARANTEE

The foam seal and casing shall be guaranteed for its durability and
satisfactory performance for a minimum period of five years.
.

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