Introducing SoundMet From BS Stainless. The New And Innovative Stainless Steel And Aluminium Pipeline Jacket Product For The Oil, Gas And Transportation Industries

Stainless steel and aluminium used for insulation jacketing is of major importance to many industries, particularly oil and gas processing and transportation, petrochemical processing and power stations. BS Stainless are currently finalising the details of a new jacketing system, which is the result of a powerful two-year project focussed on sound reduction, in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University.

Preston, Lancashire UK (PRWEB UK) - Oil and gas pipelines need effective acoustic insulation to ensure they function at an optimal level. Currently, the system employed involves covering the pipe with insulation material which is then wrapped with mass-loaded vinyl (MLV) for acoustic insulation before stainless steel or Aluminium jacketing sheet, secured with banding, is used for the final layer to hold everything together and provide weather protection. Our new proposal will seamlessly combine the jacketing and the acoustic insulation, providing both materials in a single product -Soundmet.

Between 5% and 10% of an average oil or gas plant will require acoustic insulation around areas of particularly loud noise such as compressors and pumping stations. As well as being uncomfortable and even dangerous for staff, these noise levels represent a waste of money as energy is lost to sound and vibration, decreasing efficiency. MLV is one of the safest and most effective acoustic damping materials, as opposed to traditional bitumen or lead, both of which are harmful to human health.

SoundMet is a BS Stainless trademark and had been designed with three main principles in mind - effective damping of sound and vibration, a reduction in man-hours, thus labour costs and the prevention of CUI. Ordinarily, the MLV (which is PVC loaded with Barium Sulphate) is wrapped around the insulation material before cladding is installed over the top - Soundmet, which integrates both the MLV and the jacketing metal into a single unit considerably reduce the amount of man-hours required to complete the job, representing a substantial cost saving. As the rates charged by installers can be prohibitively expensive, particularly in Australia, Canada, USA, Europe, Japan and Singapore, it is clear that Soundmet will provide instant financial benefits to its users.

The current system of jacketing for pipeline insulation uses sealant on the circumferential and longitudinal overlaps to secure the cladding. This results in a metal-on-metal bond which, while generally effective, can allow moisture ingress leading to CUI. With Soundmet, the bond is between the metal and the MLV, which has been proven to be a far stronger seal in pull-apart tests and also negates water ingress and prevents galvanic corrosion, greatly improving the life expectancy of the system it is applied to.

Innovative, unique and revolutionary, Soundmet acoustic insulation has been fully tested and analysed and is now in its final stages of development as we carefully design the necessary in-house machinery to manufacture the product on an industrial scale - we expect to be able to provide Soundmet regularly by early 2015.

Asked to comment on what Soundmet means for BS Stainless and its customers, Sales Director Mark Almond said, “Soundmet is an extremely exciting and revolutionary development for the BS Stainless brand and is another part of our continued, dedicated search for new and improved metal applications; this is the future of metal jacketing for acoustic insulation”. Contact Mark for further information call +44(0)1772337555

Soundmet is set to be a major talking point at the next Gastech conference, which takes place in Singapore in 2015. Another outcome of this project is an innovative painted jacketing – Coolmet, another BS Stainless trademark, which perfectly complements Soundmet for cryogenic insulation applications. More details on Coolmet are to follow soon - you can subscribe to the regular BS Stainless newsletter to make sure you don’t miss this update and other important news and information from BS Stainless.