Unitherm Insulation Systems

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Intumescent Coatings: The Nitty Gritty Details

If you’ve searched for any type of passive fire protection or petroleum facility fireproofing lately, you likely found a good amount of information about fire-retardant intumescent coating systems, but very few sites actually answer three common questions:

  • What are intumescent coatings and how do they work?
  • What are the benefits and drawbacks of using intumescent systems?
  • How do intumescent coatings compare to other fire protection options?

firepro, fire protection, intumescent coating, intumescent fire protection, ul1709Intumescent Coating Basics

As with any fireproof system, intumescent coatings are designed to delay the failure point of steel equipment or structures during a rapid temperature rise, or UL 1709 rated, fire. Applied as a spray coating or a molded on epoxy coating, intumescent systems chemically react and expand when exposed to a fire and to create a carbon-based layer of char.

Design installation of an intumescent coating system differs slightly based on the type of system purchased. In petroleum and petrochemical applications, most coating systems involve shipping equipment to the vendor for measurement and design purposes. Vendors create fitted, epoxy coating molds, prepare equipment surfaces and then permanently apply the systems to equipment.

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Safety Checklists for Manufacturers

safety, checklists, manufacturing safety, industrial safetyEven in the safest of facilities, failure to implement safety planning measures can lead to major injuries and in some cases, fatalities in the workplace. One of the most important planning tools is a clear safety checklist that lists the necessary conditions to ensure safety for all facility personnel.

Listing OSHA requirements and applicable safety laws that apply to your plan offers a solid starting point for creating a detailed safety checklist. Most likely, your company has already researched these requirements and taken steps to ensure compliance. Locate previous OSHA inspection reports to pinpoint any previous safety concerns.

Various industrial societies and safety research organizations offer safety knowledge and recommendations beyond minimum standard requirements. In addition to a wealth of free online information, both the American Society for Testing Materials and Underwriter’s Laboratories offer safety research, recommendations for testing safety products – think expert recommendations for building materials or fire protection products. Additionally, both organizations offer safety consultants and in depth training courses for plant managers, safety personnel or equipment operators.

When compiling a safety checklist, consider six main topics or sections to address:

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Failsafe Doesn’t Guarantee Safety

Many unfortunate disasters in the last few years have led to an increase in scrutiny of safety measures in oil, gas or petrochemical facility throughout the US and worldwide.

When discussing risk management efforts, many in the industry reference failsafe systems. While these systems can prove invaluable, they can also provide a false sense of security and allow facilities to overlook major safety concerns.

Failsafe equipment, defined by dictionary.com as “a secondary system that ensures continued operation even if the primary system fails,” may function as a backup solution, but does not necessarily ensure proper function of vital process controls during a fire. In any plant or refinery emergency, control is most important factor and often failsafe equipment lacks the technological sophistication to make critical decisions about when to initiate shutoff. Tripped prematurely, failsafe shutdowns might lead to even more unsafe conditions or costly facility issues.

Safety: Beyond Minimum Standards

With human life at stake, companies must consider safety concerns beyond the minimum requirements of OSHA, EPA or local industry standards. Failsafe equipment, which rarely includes a sufficient level of fireproofing, is often susceptible to damage and failure in the event of a high-temperature-rise fire.

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NASA’s Contributions to Fire Protection

The completion of NASA’s final space shuttle mission last month left some Americans feeling mixed emotions. For those of us in the petroleum or fire protection industry, the impact of the space program reachers much further than our nostalgic memories of shuttle launches.

Armed with some of the nation’s top scientists, engineers and researchers, NASA possessed capabilities to complete highly detailed material science experiments to aid in shuttle design. This invaluable knowledge revolutionized industrial fire protection worldwide.

NASA’s Glenn Research Center, which is still in operation today, often worked in unison with college and university scientists to test and analyze the effects of high temperature fires. Between 1995 and 2003, NASA partnered with universities to complete intensive flame spread research. The findings influenced recent standards and recommendations for building and construction materials published by the American Society for Testing Materials®, Underwriter’s Laboratories® and the National Fire Protection Association®.

Throughout the era of the shuttle program, NASA designed, engineered and tested several variations of their Thermal Protection System, which protected shuttles from severe temperatures during reentry to earth. A key component in the construction of these fire resistant systems, the shuttle tiles, have represented leading fire resistant technology for decades.

These “tile[s] performed wonderfully,” said former NASA shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore in a discussion about shuttle fire resistance. Over their many years of use, shuttle tiles evolved from low-temperature ceramic based tiles to high-temperature insulation tiles made from a fibrous, silica material.

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UniTherm Insulation Systems

711 Jones St.
Lewisville, TX 75057
Toll Free: 800.657.9542
Phone: 972.436.1401
Fax: 972.436.0112
info@unitherm.com