Unlock the full potential of your steam system and reduce losses

Unlock the full potential of your steam system with our comprehensive steam trap testing services. Periodical checks are not just a maintenance task. They are the key to reducing costs, enhancing sustainability, and ensuring the reliability of your processes.

Steam traps

Optimizing overall steam system efficiency is essential for maintaining smooth operations, minimizing energy costs, and promoting sustainability. In addition to the main process components, such as steam turbines, heaters, etc., attention should also be paid to an apparently small but crucial component in the periphery of the process – the steam trap.

Importance of steam traps

Often overlooked but indispensable, steam traps play a vital role in maintaining the delicate balance of steam-based processes by removing condensate, air, and other non-condensable gases. Proper functioning steam traps prevents the wasteful escape of steam, ensuring that energy is utilized optimally for heating, industrial processes, or power generation. By promptly removing condensate, steam traps help maintain the desired temperature and pressure levels within processes as well as preventing water hammer with accompanying erosion issues, thus promoting the longevity and reliability of the entire steam system.

Periodical testing of steam traps

Checking of steam traps is not just a maintenance task. Monitoring and periodical testing is the key to reducing costs, enhancing sustainability, and ensuring the reliability of your processes.

Good knowledge of steam traps

Knowledge of different kinds of steam traps is crucial for several reasons when testing these devices;

• understanding on how each type of steam trap (mechanical, thermodynamic, or thermostatic) functions helps in understanding how these traps should perform under normal operating conditions.
• each type of trap may exhibit unique failure modes. knowledge of specific types of steam traps allows for a more accurate diagnosis of common issues such as steam leakage, blockage, or backpressure problems.
• proper understanding on the correct manner of installing steam traps, the routing of piping and correct application of insulation, strainers and bypasses reduces the risk of malfunctioning and ensures proper functionality over time.

Why CerTa Veritas

With our extensive experience in performance testing of  power plants and its key components, our customers benefit from the specialized knowledge on steam generation and associated steam systems gained over the years worldwide.

Our comprehensive testing program

Our comprehensive testing program entails the following activities:

• Preparations: inventory of all steam traps presents and their technical details, i.e.
  • location + device identification number
  • manufacturer, model/type and size
  • trap application purpose, i.e. steam line, heat exchanger or heat tracing
  • nominal operating conditions
  • history with defects and maintenance issues.
• Testing:
  • a visual inspection of the traps with regard to signs of wear, leaks and corrosion, piping routing and installation faults
  • ultrasonic testing of the traps to verify correct functioning, extent of possible leakage or other operational issues such as condensate blocking
  • thermographic imaging of steam traps to visualize the temperature gradient across steam traps.
• Reporting;
  • concise reporting on measurement results and assessment on malfunctioning steam traps
  • including an estimation on loss of steam (t/h) and associated annual cost (€)
  • including a summary with findings and observations related to defective steam traps and possible causes for malfunctioning
  • Reporting;
  • concise reporting on measurement results and assessment on malfunctioning steam traps
  • including an estimation on loss of steam (t/h) and associated annual cost (€)
  • including a summary with findings and observations related to defective steam traps and possible causes for malfunctioning.

Key benefits

• Identification of difficult to find energy leakages
• Benefit from the specialized knowledge and experience of our technicians. 
• Unbiased assessment on the correct functioning of your steam traps, focusing solely on your system’s performance
• Free from conflicts of interest without upselling of maintenance services
• Receive reports with transparent findings, allowing you to make informed decisions based on accurate data.

For further information please contact:

sjoerd.vanrijen@certaveritas.com

albert.groenevelt@certaveritas.com