Thin Aerogel Insulation Easy to Install on Underground Steam Lines

Flexible, waterproof aerogel a perfect fit in confined pipe tunnels

Flexible 6 mm Pyrogel® 6350 aerogel insulation was ideally suited for the many bends and twists in the MIT steam lines.

Anchor Insulation installers overcame the tight working spaces by using Aspen’s pre-fabricated “lobster tails” for elbows and cutting straight sections of aerogel blanket insulation on site to fit where needed – which meant they did not have to shut down to premeasure pipe sizes as with other insulation.

• Insulation of 10-in and 5-in underground steam distribution lines located in tunnels at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• 10-in piping was 204°C (399°F), 5-in piping was 99°C (210°F).
• Steam lines were located in confined spaces with difficult access.
• Tunnels are periodically flooded, creating wet, humid conditions.
• Existing calcium silicate was saturated with water, causing it to perform poorly and need replacement after one year.

Aerogel Solution

• Anchor Insulation designed and installed a solution of flexible, durable, hydrophobic 6 mm Pyrogel® 6350 aerogel insulation.
• Three layers of Pyrogel 6350 were used for 10-in piping, two layers for 5-in piping.
• Aerogel blankets were cut on site for straight pipe sections.
• Pre-fabricated “lobster tail” sections were used for elbows.
• Each layer was installed separately, using staples on each layer and then banding or wiring each elbow gore and banding straight pipes. All wire and banding was stainless steel.

Benefits

• Pyrogel insulation performance unaffected over time by the wet environment, due to hydrophobicity of aerogel.
• Aerogel easier to handle and install in limited spaces in manhole.
• Aerogel less dusty than other insulation materials.
• Installation was simple with blankets cut on-site with utility knife or scissors, and fitted lobster tail patterns for elbows.
• Anchor did not have to order specific pipe-sized preformed insulation or encounter delays if it did not fit pipes. Pyrogel was a “one size fits all” solution, cut from roll to fit all pipe sizes.

“It was a very congested space and conventional calcium silicate insulation is difficult to transport into a manhole. Pyrogel is very thin, very flexible, and lighter. Handling is much easier, especially in confined, tight areas.”

Jerry Fiske
Anchor Insulation Company