ECONOMIC INSULATION FOR INDUSTRIAL PIPING
Jayanthi Vijay Sarathy, M.E, CEng, MIChemE, Chartered Chemical Engineer, IChemE, UK
Thermal Insulation for Industrial Piping is a
common method to reduce energy costs in
production facilities while meeting process
requirements. Insulation represents a capital
expenditure & follows the law of diminishing
returns. Hence the thermal effectiveness of
insulation needs to be justified by an
economic limit, beyond which insulation
ceases to effectuate energy recovery. To
determine the effectiveness of an applied
insulation, the insulation cost is compared
with the associated energy losses & by
choosing the thickness that gives the lowest
total cost, termed as ‘Economic Thickness’.
Figure 1. Economic Insulation Thickness Selection
The following tutorial provides guidance to
estimate the economic thickness for natural
gas piping in winter conditions as an example
case study.
Design Considerations
To estimate the economic insulation
thickness, the following factors are to be
given attention – Energy costs
(steam/electricity), annual hours of
operation, operating surface temperature,
pipe dimensions, estimated cost of insulation,
and average exposure to the ambient. These
are critical to predict the thermal resistances
and heat transfer coefficients and the total
heat loss or gain, from or to the system.
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Lower heat transfer coefficients & thermal
conductivity offer a lower rate of heat
loss/gain. It is for this reason; materials that
provide low thermal conductivity are chosen
to provide insulation. To provide effective
insulation, the conductive heat transfer from
the metal has to be kept lower than the
convective heat transfer on the insulation’s
external side to prevent the outer insulation
temperature from increasing drastically.
Figure 2. Critical Insulation Thickness
From the above, when insulation is applied on
a bare pipe of a given nominal diameter, the
heat transfer rate increases as the insulation
radius/thickness increases. As the insulation
thickness increases, until reaching the critical
radius [Rc], there is a progressive fall in the
convective resistances causing higher heat
losses from the pipe.
Therefore for insulation to be properly
effective in restricting heat transmission, the
outer pipe radius R2 must be greater than or
equal to the critical radius [Rc] of the
insulation. If this condition is not satisfied, no
useful purpose will be served with the chosen
material of insulation.
Case Study & Assumptions
To demonstrate the economic insulation
calculations, a case study is made based on a
natural gas piping operating in cold winter
conditions. In addition, certain assumptions 𝐶𝑝,𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 1.006 (2)
are made for this example case study.
3. The thermal conductivity [W/m.K] of air is,
1. Ambient temperature [Ta] is taken as 00C &
𝑘𝐴𝑖𝑟 = −2.69 × 10−8 𝑇 2 + 9.04 × 10−5 𝑇 + 9.56 × 10−4 (3)
wind velocity is taken as 18 km/h (5 m/s).
4. The thermal diffusivity [m2/s] of air is,
2. The pipe inside heat transfer [HT]
coefficient [hi] is neglected since it is small 𝛼𝐴𝑖𝑟 = 1.99 × 10−10 𝑇 2 + 1.5 × 10−8 𝑇 − 7.96 × 10−7 (4)

compared to outer/ambient HT coefficient. 5. The dynamic viscosity [kg/m.s] of air is,

3. Radiation is accounted for with the
emissivity of the outer bare pipe taken as
0.9 while insulation emissivity is 0.13.
4. Heat transfer through pipe & insulation
material is assumed to be perfectly radial
& critical thickness is estimated at steady
state conditions, i.e., at equilibrium.
Design Data
For estimation of heat transfer coefficients,
the process data used is as follows,
𝜇𝐴𝑖𝑟 = −4.22 × 10−11 𝑇 2 + 7.19 × 10−8 𝑇 + 8 × 10−7 (5)
6. The kinematic viscosity [m2/s] of air is,
𝐴𝑖𝑟 = 1.02 × 10−10 𝑇 2 + 3.1 × 10−8 𝑇 − 2.69 × 10−6 (6)
7. The Prandtl Number of air is computed as,
𝑃𝑟 = −5.12 × 10−7 𝑇 2 + 3.7 × 10−5 𝑇 + 0.7642 (7)
Based on the above correlations, for an
ambient temperature of 273.15 K, the air
properties are as follows,
Table 2. Air Properties at Ambient Conditions

Table 1. Natural Gas Composition Parameter Value Unit

Component MW Mol% Density [air] 1.293 kg/m3

- [kg/kmol] [%] Specific Heat [Cp,air] 1.006 kJ/kg.K

Methane [CH4] 16.04 76.23 Thermal Conductivity [kair] 0.0236 W/m.K

Ethane [C2H6] 30.07 10.00 Thermal Diffusivity [air] 0.000018 m2/s

Propane [C3H8] 44.01 5.00 Dynamic Viscosity [air] 0.000017 kg/m.s

i-Butane [i-C4H10] 58.12 1.00 Thermal Exp. Coefficient [air] 0.0037 1/K

n-Butane [n-C4H10] 58.12 1.00 Kinematic Viscosity [air] 0.000013 m2/s

i-Pentane [i-C5H12] 72.15 0.30 Natural Gas Pipe Construction Details

n-Pentane [n-C5H12] 72.15 0.10 The construction details of the natural gas
Water [H2O] 18.02 0.25 pipe is as follows,
Table 3. Pipe Construction Details
Carbon dioxide [CO2] 44.01 3.00
Parameter Value Units
Hydrogen Sulphide [H2S] 34.08 0.07
Nitrogen [N2] 28.01 3.00 Pipe Material Carbon Steel

Total 100.0 Design Pressure 11.0 bara

The air properties between -250C & 500C are Design Temperature 100 0C

computed using fitted equations as follows, Pipeline DN 6.625 in

1. Air Density [kg/m3] is computed as, Pipe WT 3.58 mm

𝜌𝐴𝑖𝑟 = 0.0000158𝑇 2 − 0.0134𝑇 + 3.7622 (1) Pipe ID 161.1 mm

2. Air Specific Heat [kJ/kg.K] is computed as, Pipe Length incl. Fittings [Le] 1,000 m

Pipe Total OD [D3] 269.875 mm

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Pipe Thermal Cond. [kpipe] 45 W/m.K

Pipe Surface Emissivity[] 0.90 -

Ambient Temperature [Tamb] 0 0C

Wind Velocity [Va] 18 km/h

Insulation Material Urethane Foam

Insulation Thermal Cond. [kins] 0.018 W/m.K

Insula. Surface Emissivity [] 0.13 -

Figure 4. Hydrate P-T Curve

Results
With the methodology employed, the pipe
process results computed with Weymouth &
DAK-EoS are as follows,
Table 5. Pipe Process Results
Figure 3. Pipe Construction
Parameter Value Units
The Process data used for the case study is,
Pipe Inlet Velocity [V] 10.0 [m/s]
Table 4. Pipe Inlet Process Data

Parameter Value Units

Pipe Exit Velocity [Ve] 10.5 [m/s]

Pipe Exit Temperature [Te] 39.2 [0C]

Pipe Gas Flow Rate [Q] 12.0 MMSCFD
Pipe Exit Pressure [Pe] 19.07 [bara]
Pipe Inlet Pressure [P1] 20.0 bara
Pressure Drop [ΔP] 0.93 [bar]
Pipe Temperature [T1] 40.0 0C

ΔP per km [ΔP/L] 0.93 [bar/km]

Gas MW 21.16 kg/kmol

Pipe Inlet Cp 2.0967 kJ/kg.K The dQ vs. Insulation radius plot shows a
decreasing trend between heat loss from a
Compressibility Factor [Z1] 0.9539 -
bare pipe [Qbare] and heat loss from an
Gas Flow [Act_m3/h] 742 m3/h insulated pipe [QIns] with increase in
Gas Density [r] 17.04 kg/m3 insulation thickness.
Mass Flow [m] 12,643 kg/h

The gas compressibility factor, Z is predicted

using DAK EoS. Gas line pressure drop is
estimated using Weymouth equation. Due to
the presence of water in the natural gas
stream, ice & hydrate formation tendencies
exist. For a flow pressure of 16.14 bara, the
hydrate temperature is 9.520C.
Therefore insulation is to be provided to
ensure hydrate & ice formation does not take Figure 5. dQ vs Insulation Thickness
place. A Hydrate P-T plot is therefore A plot between the total annual costs &
presented as follows, insulation thickness shows that the annual
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total cost of the energy losses is the least at 2” temperature difference rather than to the
insulation thickness representing 53,694€. difference between two temperatures to the
fourth power.
Forced Convection
To calculate the external heat transfer
coefficient [ho], Nusselt number for forced
convection over circular cylinder with cross
flow can be estimated using Churchill and
Bernstein correlation [1]. This equation is
valid for all Re.Pr  2 and the correlation is
expressed as,
4⁄
1 1 5⁄ 5
0.62 𝑅𝑒 ⁄2 𝑃𝑟 ⁄3 𝑅𝑒 8
𝑁𝑢 = 0.3 +
2
1⁄ [1 + (282000) ] (10)
4
0.4 ⁄3
[1+( 𝑃𝑟 ) ]
Figure 6. Costs per Year vs. Insulation Thickness
Appendix A: Design Methodology Prandtl Number [Pr] of ambient air is,
To estimate the thermal insulation required, 𝐶𝑃,𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝜇𝑎𝑖𝑟
𝑃𝑟 = (11)
the heat losses & heat transfer coefficients are 𝑘𝑎𝑖𝑟

accounted based on 3 modes of heat transfer Reynolds number [Re] becomes,

driven by temperature differences – namely, 𝑉𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝐷3 𝜌𝑎𝑖𝑟
𝑅𝑒 = (12)
pipe wall conduction, free convection, forced 𝜇𝑎𝑖𝑟

convection & ambient radiation. For the bare
pipe & insulation cases, air flows over the
pipe surface thereby forming a film with a
certain temperature. This film temperature
determines the rate of heat losses through the
pipe surface/insulation. The air film
temperature [Tairfilm] on the insulation surface
is estimated iteratively. Therefore for the first
iteration,
𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑚,𝑖𝑛𝑠,1 = 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 [°𝐶] + 1°𝐶 (8)
Radiation Heat Transfer
To estimate the radiation heat transfer
between the ambient & concrete insulation
on the tank, the expression is written as, [1],
The above correlation is valid for all ranges of
Reynolds number (Re) and Pr  0.2, where all
properties are evaluated at film temperature.
It is to be noted that as per [1], Churchill &
Bernstein correlation is reasonable over a
certain range of conditions but for most
engineering calculations, the accuracy is not
expected to be much better than 20% because
these are based on more recent results
encompassing a wide range of conditions.
Natural/Free Convection
To estimate the heat transfer due to natural
convection, the correlation by Churchill & Chu
[1] can be used and is of the form,
2

2 1
ℎ𝑟 = 𝜀 × 𝜎(𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑚, + 𝑇𝑎 )(𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑚 + 𝑇𝑎2 ) (9) 0.387 𝑅𝑎 ⁄6
𝑁𝑢 = {0.6 + 8⁄ } (13)
9 27
0.559 ⁄16
Where,  = 5.6710-8 W/m2/K [1+(
𝑃𝑟
) ]

 = Surface emissivity
Where, Rayleigh number (Ra) is computed as,
The radiation mode expressed above is 𝑔×𝛽𝑎𝑖𝑟 ×[𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑚 −𝑇𝑎 ]𝐷33
written in a manner similar to convection, i.e., 𝑅𝑎 = (14)
𝛼𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝛾𝑎𝑖𝑟
the radiation rate equation is linearized Where,  = Thermal expansion coefficient
making the heat rate proportional to the air = Thermal diffusivity
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Therefore the combined heat transfer Insulation Economics
coefficient is computed as, The economic thickness of insulation depends
1⁄
4
𝑁𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 = [𝑁𝑢𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 4
+ 𝑁𝑢𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑑 ] 4
(15) on the insulating & maintenance costs and
also the annual value of heat loss. This would
𝑘𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑁𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑏
ℎ𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑏 = (16) depend on the cost of producing energy &
𝐷3
thermal conductivity of the lagging. Generally
Therefore the external heat transfer
thicker insulation will represent higher
coefficient, hair, overall, is computed as,
investment costs and lower heat loss costs.
ℎ0 = ℎ𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑏 + ℎ𝑟 (17) The annual heat losses are computed as,
Bare Pipe & Insulation Resistance 𝑄
𝐶𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑠 = (𝐴 ) [𝑘𝑊] × 𝑛 × 𝑄𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 /𝑘𝑊ℎ (27)
𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑠
The resistance offered by the bare pipe &
Where, n = number of annual hours
insulation is estimated as follows,
Insulation Costs is the product of insulation
𝐷
𝐷2 𝑙𝑛[ 2 ]
𝑅𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑒 =
𝐷1
(18)
volume and insulation cost per m3.
2𝑘𝑝𝑖𝑝𝑒
𝜋
𝐷 𝑉𝐼𝑛𝑠 [𝑚3 ] = 4 [𝐷32 − 𝐷32 ] × 𝐿𝑒 (28)
𝐷3 𝑙𝑛[ 2 ]
𝐷1
𝑅𝐼𝑛𝑠 = (19)
2𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝐶𝐼𝑛𝑠 = 𝑉𝑖𝑛𝑠 × [𝐶𝑖𝑛𝑠 ⁄𝑚3 ] (29)
Total Resistance – Bare Pipe & Insulation Labour Costs is the product of cost per unit
For bare pipe, the total resistance is metre & length of pipe
calculated as,
𝐶𝐿𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑟 = 𝐿𝑒 × [𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑏 ⁄𝑚] (30)
1
𝑅𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑅𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑒 + (20)
ℎ0 The cost of energy losses is quantified by the
For Insulated Pipe, the total resistance is Net Present Value (NPV) of the future energy
calculated as, costs during an insulation life of typically 5
𝑅𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑅𝐼𝑛𝑠 + 𝑅𝐼𝑛𝑠 +
1
(21) years. For this tutorial, a discount rate [i] of
ℎ0
15% is used. The number of annual working
Piping Heat Losses
hours is taken as 8,000 hours, cost of energy
𝑈 = 1⁄𝑅 (22) (electricity to run the gas compressor) is
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
taken as 0.10€/kWh and the insulation cost is
𝑄
(𝐴 ) [𝑊 ⁄𝑚2 ] = 𝑈 × (𝑇1 − 𝑇𝑎 ) (23) taken as 50€/m3. The annual value of the
𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑠
𝑄 𝑄 energy losses for 5 years is calculated as,
( ) [𝑊 ⁄𝑚] =( ) [𝑊 ⁄𝑚2 ] × 𝜋𝐷 3 (24)
𝐴 𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝐴 𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑠
1−[1+𝑖]−𝑛
𝑁𝑃𝑉 + 𝐼𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 𝑅 × (31)
𝑄 𝑖
𝑄𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑠 [𝑘𝑊] = (𝐴 ) [𝑊 ⁄𝑚] × 𝐿𝑒 (25)
𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑠 Where, R is the cost of energy losses
𝑄
𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑚,𝑖𝑛𝑠,2 = 𝑇1 − [( )
𝐴 𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑠
[𝑊 ⁄𝑚] × 𝑅𝑖𝑛𝑠 ] (26) The annual total cost is computed as,
𝐶𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑁𝑃𝑉 + 𝐶𝐼𝑛𝑠 + 𝐶𝐿𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑟 (32)
The above set of heat transfer calculations are
performed first for a bare pipe & then The Insulation thickness corresponding to the
performed for various insulation thicknesses lowest total cost will be the economic
to estimate the heat losses, QLoss [W/m2] and thickness of insulation.
QLoss [kW], QLoss [kWh/year] which is References
computed by multiplying QLoss [kW] with the 1. “Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer”,
annual working hours. Incropera, DeWitt, Bergman, Lavine, 6th
Edition.
Page 5 of 6
Appendix B: Heat Transfer Coefficients

Appendix C: Economic Analysis

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