Hydroshield for Flare System Maintenance and Inspection

Purpose of hydroshield and operational conditions 

A hydroshield is a water curtain between an ignition source and an object and/or a person to protect against thermal radiation.  In this case, it is between a flare and a work area. The combustion of a gas/liquid mixture will give certain radiation to its surroundings.

In general, there are two operational conditions for which the radiation (kW/m2) needs to be determined:

• Normal process condition. This is when the plant is under normal process conditions; all processes are under control. In principle, this is a continuous process.
• Blow out / heavy flaring condition. This is when the process will be stopped, and all process materials in the system will be purged to the flare and will be flared. In principle, this is a temporary process that is unplanned.

Basics 

Typical project specifications for the use of the Hydroshield system: 

• In or close to the flare structure 
• Heat protection is required for emergency situations 
• Maintenance and inspection projects 
• Project duration of more than two weeks

System 

A team of two operators operates the system. It includes the following components: 

• Water bag 
• Two high pressure pumps for redundancy 
• Two generators 
• One water pipe or hose 
• Nozzle set 
• Several manifolds The system is operated by a team of two operators.

Engineering 

The engineering includes the following 

• Study of radiation 
• Work methods 
• Installation method 
• Safety engineering 
• Contingency planning

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