Health and safety is an important issue for any plant operator, with a need to reduce potential accidents and increase operational efficiency. An operator working on a tall structure, carrying out maintenance activities is one area that creates a potential danger. A system to remove the need to climb flare stacks for maintenance whilst keeping it in service is therefore desirable. Hamworthy Combustion's TopDownTop TC system addresses this requirement.
The core of the system is a special bullet-design "shuttle" which grabs the thermocouple and runs into the guide mounted along the flare structure.
The shuttle is shaped to prevent the thermocouple from twisting on itself, maintaining correct alignment and free running during the raising and lowering operation. The system is supplied with Inconel full-length thermocouples, for enhanced protection against high temperatures.
The raising and lowering of the thermocouples is carried out at grade level by the operator using a proprietary-design manual winch. The winch torque is transferred to a single steel-wire, double-direction rope, in order to minimize the effort the operator has to deliver to the winch. Another special feature is the use of a multiple spring compensation system for the rope tension, which accommodates for any thermal elongation or contraction occurring to the stack. This keeps the system's tension in its optimum range. The regulation of the spring tensioning device is made at grade level - comfortably, quickly and safely.
All the main parts of the retraction system are manufactured in quality stainless steel, to prevent corrosion, minimise maintenance and to prolong operational lifetime.