An Efficient No-Shutdown Pipe-Fixing Freezing Design for Water Management System in Hospitals during COVID-19: A Case Study
Ensuring the uninterrupted flow of the complex piped water distribution networks to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan’s hospitals has become a priority. The process involved in the no-shutdown pipe fixing freezing method depends on the water supply system design and the conditions of the enviro...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-10-01
|
| Series: | Water |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/19/2725 |
| _version_ | 1797515647091998720 |
|---|---|
| author | Fei-Lung Liu Shu-Kai S. Fan Ebede Ndi Jih-Fu Tu |
| author_facet | Fei-Lung Liu Shu-Kai S. Fan Ebede Ndi Jih-Fu Tu |
| author_sort | Fei-Lung Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ensuring the uninterrupted flow of the complex piped water distribution networks to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan’s hospitals has become a priority. The process involved in the no-shutdown pipe fixing freezing method depends on the water supply system design and the conditions of the environment. Before carrying out repair works onsite, two experiments were undertaken to estimate the liquid nitrogen supply rate and make sure of its adequacy in relation to the fixing system’s heat transfer performance. Using an iron exhaust pipe and galvanized steel inlet pipe with jacket for a 50-mm-diameter water pipe, temperature variations and timelapse were recorded and analyzed. The results showed that the frost length on the water pipe surface at either side of the jacket was 1.2–1.8 times of the pipe diameter. The ice length (~45 cm) was longer than the jacket (~34 cm), and the water pressure at the jacket inlet side was 1 kg/cm<sup>2</sup> greater than at the exit. Injecting the right amount of liquid nitrogen into the inlet and at a proper speed between 0.7 and 0.8 kg/min will ensure a safe and smooth completion of the ice plug formation process. The design and processes have been used successfully in hospital water supply system fixing works. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:47:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-12b8a78b4d1c4b31adda8343dfc49d4f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:47:53Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-12b8a78b4d1c4b31adda8343dfc49d4f2023-11-22T17:01:42ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-10-011319272510.3390/w13192725An Efficient No-Shutdown Pipe-Fixing Freezing Design for Water Management System in Hospitals during COVID-19: A Case StudyFei-Lung Liu0Shu-Kai S. Fan1Ebede Ndi2Jih-Fu Tu3Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 106, TaiwanDepartment of Industrial Engineering and Management, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 106, TaiwanDepartment of Industrial Engineering and Management, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 106, TaiwanDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan 333, TaiwanEnsuring the uninterrupted flow of the complex piped water distribution networks to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan’s hospitals has become a priority. The process involved in the no-shutdown pipe fixing freezing method depends on the water supply system design and the conditions of the environment. Before carrying out repair works onsite, two experiments were undertaken to estimate the liquid nitrogen supply rate and make sure of its adequacy in relation to the fixing system’s heat transfer performance. Using an iron exhaust pipe and galvanized steel inlet pipe with jacket for a 50-mm-diameter water pipe, temperature variations and timelapse were recorded and analyzed. The results showed that the frost length on the water pipe surface at either side of the jacket was 1.2–1.8 times of the pipe diameter. The ice length (~45 cm) was longer than the jacket (~34 cm), and the water pressure at the jacket inlet side was 1 kg/cm<sup>2</sup> greater than at the exit. Injecting the right amount of liquid nitrogen into the inlet and at a proper speed between 0.7 and 0.8 kg/min will ensure a safe and smooth completion of the ice plug formation process. The design and processes have been used successfully in hospital water supply system fixing works.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/19/2725ice plugheat transferCOVID-19piped water supply systempipe freezingliquid nitrogen |
| spellingShingle | Fei-Lung Liu Shu-Kai S. Fan Ebede Ndi Jih-Fu Tu An Efficient No-Shutdown Pipe-Fixing Freezing Design for Water Management System in Hospitals during COVID-19: A Case Study Water ice plug heat transfer COVID-19 piped water supply system pipe freezing liquid nitrogen |
| title | An Efficient No-Shutdown Pipe-Fixing Freezing Design for Water Management System in Hospitals during COVID-19: A Case Study |
| title_full | An Efficient No-Shutdown Pipe-Fixing Freezing Design for Water Management System in Hospitals during COVID-19: A Case Study |
| title_fullStr | An Efficient No-Shutdown Pipe-Fixing Freezing Design for Water Management System in Hospitals during COVID-19: A Case Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Efficient No-Shutdown Pipe-Fixing Freezing Design for Water Management System in Hospitals during COVID-19: A Case Study |
| title_short | An Efficient No-Shutdown Pipe-Fixing Freezing Design for Water Management System in Hospitals during COVID-19: A Case Study |
| title_sort | efficient no shutdown pipe fixing freezing design for water management system in hospitals during covid 19 a case study |
| topic | ice plug heat transfer COVID-19 piped water supply system pipe freezing liquid nitrogen |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/19/2725 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT feilungliu anefficientnoshutdownpipefixingfreezingdesignforwatermanagementsysteminhospitalsduringcovid19acasestudy AT shukaisfan anefficientnoshutdownpipefixingfreezingdesignforwatermanagementsysteminhospitalsduringcovid19acasestudy AT ebedendi anefficientnoshutdownpipefixingfreezingdesignforwatermanagementsysteminhospitalsduringcovid19acasestudy AT jihfutu anefficientnoshutdownpipefixingfreezingdesignforwatermanagementsysteminhospitalsduringcovid19acasestudy AT feilungliu efficientnoshutdownpipefixingfreezingdesignforwatermanagementsysteminhospitalsduringcovid19acasestudy AT shukaisfan efficientnoshutdownpipefixingfreezingdesignforwatermanagementsysteminhospitalsduringcovid19acasestudy AT ebedendi efficientnoshutdownpipefixingfreezingdesignforwatermanagementsysteminhospitalsduringcovid19acasestudy AT jihfutu efficientnoshutdownpipefixingfreezingdesignforwatermanagementsysteminhospitalsduringcovid19acasestudy |