Table of Contents
- What Equipment Goes Into B&W’s Air Blowing Services?
- Breaking Down B&W’s Air Blowing Process
- The Proven B&W Air Blowing Advantage
Although air blowing services are an effective method for removing post-construction debris and cleaning during MRO events, not all air blowing procedures are created equal. With decades of experience cleaning critical systems for clients around the world, see how we’ve elevated our air blowing procedure for piping with proprietary equipment and expert engineering.
What Equipment Goes Into B&W’s Air Blowing Services?
The key to B&W’s air blowing and pulse flushing services is our proprietary pulse unit. It’s a 20-foot container that consists of:
- A code-stamped 450 ft3 (12.7 m3) pressure vessel acting as the air receiver
- A code-stamped 30 ft3 (0.85 m3) pressure vessel acting as the pulse former
- A safety valve to prevent overpressurization
- A quick-opening valve useful for air blowing on short runs of piping
Our pulse unit has all the required valves, interconnecting pipe, gauges, controls and fittings fully assembled and ready for operation the moment it arrives at your facility. It’s also completely containerized and can be easily transported on a truck or a forklift around your facility to perform air blows on multiple systems.
To effectively clean large-bore piping systems up to one kilometer long, our team can also connect multiple pulse units and combine two 450 ft3 (12.7 m3) air receiver pressure vessels. When the two receivers are pressurized to 150 psig, 10,083 ft3 (285.5 m3) of compressed air is available for decompression air blowing or pulse air blowing.
Our engineers also design our own pneumatic quick-opening blow valves for decompression air blowing, debris separators and pneumatic target inserters that measure the cleanliness of your systems post-air blow. Our air compressors work together with our desiccant dryers to remove any water from your facility’s systems following hydrotesting or other procedures.
Breaking Down B&W’s Air Blowing Process
So, how do all of these parts work together to make our air blowing services happen? Here’s our air blowing process in a nutshell.
Step 1: Our engineers assess your systems and create a custom air blowing program that considers your facility’s unique requirements and specifies how to split up filters, filter separators, heaters, compressors and more. With over 20 years of experience performing air blows on a variety of systems, including fuel gas systems in power plants, we understand how stringent these air blowing requirements are, and we’re diligent in adhering to your facility’s criteria.
Step 2: The B&W team uses AFT Arrow, a hydraulic modeling software program, to model our air blows. This allows us to determine the maximum velocity that can get through your pipeline, compare the conditions of our air blows to the operating conditions of your system and more. We understand the importance of planning on the front end to eliminate costly delays and change orders down the road.
Step 3: Once your custom air blowing program is complete, our team travels to your site with our air compressors, air receivers, desiccant dryers, debris separators, pneumatic quick-opening blow valves, pneumatic target inserters, fully containerized pulse units and anything else we need to execute air blowing services on your facility.
Step 4: Upon arriving at your facility, we hook up our air compressor to both the air receiver that’s part of our pulse unit and the section of your facility that requires air blows. Our team inserts a metal plate target in the pipeline to assess the effectiveness of the air blows. Then, we pressurize the pipeline and release the quick-opening valve at the end of the line. All the air in the air receiver will run through the piping system, and the air that’s currently in the line will be released.
Step 5: Depending on how many components within your facility require air blows, our team continues to execute the process described in Step 4 as needed based on the criteria for your facility’s systems.
The Proven B&W Air Blowing Advantage
Some folks take an air compressor to a pipeline, pressurize it, release whatever air is currently in the pipeline and call it an air blow. At B&W, we disagree with that definition.
Since the highest velocity is typically at the end of your pipeline, pieces of debris at the start of the line probably won’t move all the way down and make it out of the system. That’s why our team utilizes both an air compressor and an air receiver to introduce new air to pipelines and remove even the smallest bits of debris from your piping systems.
Don’t settle for hammers, two-by-fours and other junk left behind in your piping systems. Even the smallest debris can cause a lot of damage to your facility’s components.
Whether you need air blowing for pre-commissioning cleaning services or maintenance cleaning services, count on B&W’s air blowing services for a thorough, precise clean every time.