Heat Tracing Systems

Electrical Surface Heating Engineering Manual

HTS Global Technologies GmbH

www.hts-global.com, [email protected]
Worlwide Specialists in Electric Heat Tracing

Engineering Manual

The information and recommendations of this publication are based

upon research, Internatational Standards and Regulations, information of others and ourselves and are believed to be correct.
We are unable to predict all conditions in which our products are
being used and in which our products are used in combination with
products of other manufacturers or suppliers. We do not accept liability for any application results that are based upon this information as to the suitability of our products or any other manufacturer
products that may be used according to this information.
Only use approved materials according to the application and environmental conditions.
The information of this publication are subject to change without
notice.

HTS Global Technologies GmbH

www.hts-global.com, [email protected]
Worlwide Specialists in Electric Heat Tracing

Engineering Manual

Heating Fundamentals
This section deals with the basic fundamentals of
heat transfer and heat losses. The heat transfer process may be broken down into three basic modes.
Convection
Conduction
Radiation
Convection. Heat is absorbed and/or transfered
by circulating particles that come into contact with
other heated particles or substances, such as liquids and gases, for example hot air circulation.
Conduction. Heat is transfered within a medium from
molecule to molecule without changing the form of
the medium, for example water or oil. The rate of
heat transfer is dependent upon the amount of resistance between materials of different temperatures.
Radiation. The heat is tranfered through electromagnetic waves that a warmer substance
sends and a colder substance absorbs, such
as electrical trace heating on a pipeline.
Thermodynamic properties
The physical changes and weights of materials
are inuenced through its thermodymaic properties. This is mainly through the temperature characterized, which changes the materials pressure and volume characteristic. For this reason
temperature, pressure and volume belong to the
basic values of themodynamic material properties.
All
materials
have
individual
thermodynamic
properties
and
physical
characteristics. These constants and characteristics are
used in heat energy calculations. These are:
Specic heat (Cp)
Density ()
Volume (m3 , dm3 , l, cm3)
Thermal resistance ()
Specic heat. Materials contain or absorb different amounts of energy. The amount that the material contains or absorbs is called its specic
heat. The specic heat is based upon the amount
of energy required to raise the temperature of
one kilogramm material by one degree Celcius.
Density.
The density is the weight of a material
for
each
volume
measurement.
Volume. The most common measurements of materials in a certain space are cubic meter (m3), cubic decimeter (dm3) or liter (l), and cubic centimeter (cm3).

Thermal conductivity. This is the amount of energy

that transfers from one side of a cube, with 1m side
length, to the other side of the cube within one hour
and a temperature difference from these side of 1 Kelvin (K). The thermal resistance value () is the expansion value and the specic thermal resistance that
is dependent on temperature change and material.
Electrical Surface Heating
The main objective of any heating application is to
raise or maintain the temperature of a material, gas,
process, or to compensate for heat losses that are
not adequately prevented by the usage of insulation.
Some of the most common electrical surface heating
applications are:
frost protection of piplines
process heating
temperature maintenance of pipelines
anti-condensation heating
heating of transport containers
de-icing and ice prevention
vulcanization and curing processes
temperature maintenance of vacuum processes
process of thermoplastic materials
drying and solvent evaporation and recovery
temperature maintenance of hot water lines
Temperature maintenance requires the application of
heat energy to a surface that is equal or greater than the
heat loss between the surface and its surroundings.
Process heating requires the application of
heat energy to raise the material or system
tempertature or control a chemical reaction.
By a contant temperature application, the product
or material is kept at a certain temperature regardless of the ambient temperature. The most common applications are frost protection or where
products must be maintained at the desired process temperature. Heat loss calculations for this proceedure are based upon worse case conditions.
In process termperature applications the heat losses
are based upon two factors, heat raise and maintenance energy requirements. Heat loss calculations are
required for the energy necessary to raise the material
and product temperatures to the desired operating temperature over a specic time period and then maintain
the temperature as such over a specic cycle time.
Variable process applications involve heat loss
calculations based upon the energy necessary
for heat raise, temperature maintenance of material or product and safety factor for unknowns.

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Engineering Manual

Safety factor. In many heating applications the actual

values for calculation elements or other factors that
may effect the process are not known and may only
be estimated. For this reason a safety factor, 10% to
40% depending on the design estimation, is recommended in most heat loss calculations to compensate
for unknowns. The safety factor is multiplied to the
sum of the heat loss calculation.

Step1. Temperature difference

()= maintenance temp. - min. ambient temp

Step 2. Heat loss calculation for insulated pipelines.

For each pipeline of different diameter or insulation
thickness, a separate heat loss calculation will need to
be done. Refer to Table 1.
Q = 2 x x x T

Required Information for pipeline heat loss

calculation
The rst step in designing an electrical surface heating system is to determine the heat loss.
For temperature maintenance heat loss calculation
the following information is necessary:
Dimension, diameter and length of object to be heated
Number of ttings
Number of anges
Number of supports
Material type
Required maintenance temperature
Minimal ambient temperature
Location Indoor/Outdoor
Insulation material
Insulation thickness
Insulation thermal resistance
Wind speed, if necessary
For temperature raise heat loss calculation the following information is necessary in addition to the above
mentioned:
Requested nal temperature
Requested heat-up time period
Volume or ow quantity
Specic heat of the medium
Specic density of the medium
Weight of the pipe, tank or container
Calculating the heat loss for temperature maintenance of pipelines
Step 1. Calculate the temperature difference ().
This is the difference between the maintenance
temperatur (Tm) and the minimal ambient temperature
(Ta).
Step 2. Determine the heat loss. Calculations for the
heat loss are based upon the form and type of the
material, or application.
Step 3. By wind speeds above 32 kmh add a 5%
margin for each 8 kmh. The maximal safety margin for
wind speed is 10%.
Step 4. Additional safety margins. Multiply any additional safety margings required for unknowns.

ln

( )
D2

D1

= Thermal resistance in W/mK

D2 = Outer diameter with insulation
D1 = Pipe diameter
For heat losses of the pipline valves please refer to
Table2.
Step 3. By wind speeds above 32 kmh add a 5% margin for each 8 kmh. The maximal safety margin for
wind speed is 10%.
Step 4. Additional safety margins. Multiply any additional safety margings required for unknowns.
Example 1: The following infromation has been provided by the customer.
Diameter of the pipeline to be heated: DN 25
Material of pipeline: steel.
Length of pipeline: 50m.
Number and type of valves: 2 x Buttery valves
The required maintenance temperature: 60C.
The minimal ambient temperature: -10C
Location: outdoor.
Insulation material: mineral wool.
Insulation thickness: 30mm
Insulation thermal resistance: 0,037 W/mK
Wind speed: 20Kmh
Safety factor: 1,25
1) T = 60C - (-10C) = 70K
2) Pipeline Heat Loss
2 x x 0,037 W/mK x ( 70K)

Q=

ln
Q= 20,6 W/m.

0,110m
0,05m

3) Valve heat loss. According to the table 2, factor 0.7

Q = 2 x ( 20,6 W x 0,7) = 28,84 W
4) The wind speed is less than 32kmh. No additions
are necessary.
5) Saftey factor
Q= 20,6 W/m x 1,25 = 25,7 W/m
6) Total heat loss
Qtotal = (25,7 W/m x 50m) + 28,84W =1313,84 W

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Worlwide Specialists in Electric Heat Tracing

Engineering Manual

Calculating the heat loss for temperature raise

of pipelines
Step 1. Calculate the heat loss (without the safety
factor) according to the before mentioned instructions
Calculating the heat loss for temperature maintenance.

3)

Q = 0,75l/m x 0,92 kg/l x 1,67 KJ/kgK x 70K

3,6 Ks/h x 4h
= 5,6 W/m

4)

Q = 20,6 W/m + 4,52 W/m + 5,6 W/m

Step 2. Calculate the heat loss to raise the temperature of the pipeline.

= 30,72 W/m
Qtotal = 30,72 W/m x 1,25

Q = m x c x T
3,6 Ks/h x t
T
m
c
t

= 38,4 W/m

= Temperatur difference in K
= weight of material in kg/m
= specic heat of material in kg/litre
= time in hours

Step 3. Calculate the heat loss to raise the material

inside the pipeline.

Q = V x x c x T
3,6 Ks/h x t
T
V
c
t

= Temperatur difference in K
= volume in l/m
= specic heat of material in kg/litre
= time in hours
= specic density in kg/l

Step 4. Add the values of Steps 1 to 3 together and

multipy with the safety factor. This is the total heat
loss per meter pipeline.

Calculating heat loss for sandwich insulation

Sometimes the heating cable must be used for higher
temperatures than the maximal exposure temperaturer of the heating cable allows. A possible solution for
this situation is to use a sandwich (double) insulation.
The st layer is installed onto the pipeline and then
covered with a layer of alumimium foil or an intermediate lagging. The cable is then installed and secured
using a second layer of aluminium foil or self-adhesive
aluminium foil. Afterwards a second layer of insulation
is installed and then protected with a cladding.
Two things must be observed when using this
method:
1. the rst insulation must be rigid
2. the cable is not to be installed on the seam of
the rst layer of insulation

Example 2: Temperature heat raise

The customer from Example 1 decided that heat

raise was necessary and has provided the following
additional information.
Requested nal temperature: 60C (from Example 1)
Temperature difference: 70K (from Example 1)
Requested heat-up time period: 4 hours
Weight of pipe: 1,9 kg/m
Specic heat of pipe: 0,49 KJ/kgK
Volume of pipeline: 0,75 l/m
Specic heat of medium: 1,67 KJ/kgK
Specic density of medium: 920 kg/m3 = 0,92 kg/l
1) The heat loss from Example 1 is 20,6 W/m.
2)

Q = 1,9 kg/m x 0,49 KJ/kgK x 70K

3,6 Ks/h x 4h

Calculation of sandwich heat loss:

Q=

Maint. temp. - Min. ambient temp.

1
1
D
D
ln D3
+ 2
ln D2
2 1
2
1
2

( )

( )

= Thermal resistance of inside insulation

in W/mK
2 = Thermal resistance of outside insulation
in W/mK
D3 = Outer diameter with inside insulation
D2 = Outer diameter with outside insulation
D1 = Pipe diameter
1

= 4,52 W/m (J/s=W)

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Worlwide Specialists in Electric Heat Tracing

Engineering Manual
The intermittent temperature between layers may be
calculated as follows:

Texposure= Tm -

( Tm+Ta)

R1
R1+R2

Texposure= cable temperature exposure

Tm = maintenance temperature
Ta = min. ambient temperature
1
R1 = 2
1

ln

1
R2 = 2
2

ln

For temperature raise heat loss calculation the following information is necessary in addition to the above
mentioned:
Requested nal temperature
Requested heat-up time period
Volume or ow quantity
Specic heat of the medium
Specic density of the medium
Weight of the pipe, tank or container
Calculate the heat loss for temperature maintenance of the vessel, tank, or hopper

( )
( )
D2

D1

Step 1. Calculate the temperature difference ().

This is the difference between the maintenance
temperatur (Tm) and the minimal ambient temperature
(Ta).

D3

D2

= Thermal resistance of inside insulation

in W/mK
2 = Thermal resistance of outside insulation
in W/mK
D3 = Outer diameter with inside insulation
D2 = Outer diameter with outside insulation
D1 = Pipe diameter
1

Note: in order to determine the maximal exposure

temperature of the heating cable a recalculation
must be made at the maximal ambient temperature.
Repeat the calculation using the maximal ambient
temperature in place of Ta . A thermostat may
be necessary in order to protect the heating cable
depending on the maximal exposure temperature and
cable type.

Requred information for calculating heat losses

of vessels, tanks and hoppers

()= maintenance temp. - min. ambient temp

Step 2. Determine the vessel, tank or hopper surface

area. Most vessels and tanks have a combination of
forms and shapes. Each surface is to be calculated
separately and then added together for the total area.
Below are some basic forms with their corresponding
equasions:
Cylindrical tank with dished top and at bottom

For temperature maintenance heat loss calculation

the following information is necessary:
Dimension, diameter and length or surface area of
object to be heated
Number and size of supports
Number and size of manways
Number and size of ladders
Type of bottom (dish, spherical, cone, etc.)
Material type
Required maintenance temperature
Minimal ambient temperature
Location Indoor/Outdoor
Insulation material
Insulation thickness
Insulation thermal resistance
Wind speed, if necessary

Area = Top + Cylinder + Bottom

= (/4) (D2 + 4h2) + DH + D2/4

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Engineering Manual
Cylindrical vessel with cone
D

Cylindrical tank with at ends

H
s

Area = Ends + Cylinder

= 2(D2/4) +
Volume =

DH

[ (D2/4)h] 1000 dm3/m3

Area = Top + Side + Cone

Cylindrical tank with dished ends
=

D2/4 + DH + [(/2) (D+d)

Pyramid Hopper

l1

l3

Area = Ends + Cylinder

A1

= 2 [ (/4) (D + 4h ) ] + DH
2

hs1
A2

hs2

Rectangular vessel

l4

l2
H

Area = (l1+ l2)hs1 + (l3+ l4)hs2

L

Area = Ends + Sides

= 2(WH + HL + WL)
Volume = L x W x H

hs1 =

hs2 =

l3- l4)

l1- l2)

Volume = h
3

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+ h

+ h

A1 + A 2 +

x A2

(D-d)
+ h]
4

Engineering Manual
Step 3. Determine the heat loss for insulated
surfaces:
Q= A

x
( TDiso
)

Q = heat loss in W
A = insulated surface area in m2
T = maint. temp. - min. ambient temp. in K
= Thermal resistance in W/mK
Diso = insulation thickness in m

Note: By a cylindrical tank with dished top and at

bottom, the heat loss to the bottom may be
determined using the above calculation with:
= material thermal resistance in W/mK
Diso = material thickness in m
material = conctrete, tar, earth, etc.

Step 4. Determine the heat loss for uninsulated

tank surfaces:
Q = A x R x T

Example 3: Temperature maintenance heat loss for a

cylindrical tank with at ends.
Tank diameter: 2m
Height of tank: 3m
Position of tank: laying on 3m side
Maintenance temperature: +40C
Minimal ambient temperature: -10C
Number of support legs: 3
Insulation thermal resistance: 0,03 W/mK
Thickness of insulation: 80mm
Location: indoor
Safety factor: 25%
T = 40C - (-10C) = 50K
A= 2( (2m)2 /4) + x 2m x 3m
= 6,28m2 + 18,84m2
= 25,12m2
Qinsulated = 25,12m2
= 471 W

A = insulated surface area in m2

T = maint. temp. - min. ambient temp. in K
for heat loss indoors
R= 10 W/m2K
for heat loss by wind up to 5m/s
R= 30 W/m2K
for heat loss by wind up to 20m/s
R= 90 W/m2K
Note: Should the top of the tank surface not be insulated and the tank is not completely lled, the heat loss
(with an air thickness of 100mm) to the top may be
determined for as follows:
Q = A x 0,25 W/m2K x T
A = insulated surface area in m2
T = maint. temp. - min. ambient temp. in K
Step 5. Determine the heat loss for supports, manways,
and ladders.

Qlegs = 0,9 W/K x 50K x 3

= 135 W

Qtotal = 471W + 135W

= 757,5 W

Calculating the heat loss for temperature raise of

vessels, tanks, and hoppers
Step 1: Calculate the temperature maintenance heat
loss as previously described.
Step 2: Calculate the vessel, tank or hopper volume
when not provided by the customer.

for heat loss of ladders

Q= 4,5 W/K x T x number of ladders
for heat loss of Manways
Q= 18 W/K x T x number of manways
Step 6: Determine the total heat loss. Add each of the
calculated heat losses together and multiply by
the safety factor (SF):

(Q

insulated

) 1,25

Step 3: Determine the heat loss for temperature raise

requirements.

for heat loss of support legs

Q= 0,9 W/K x T x number of legs

Qtotal =

x 0.03W/mK
( 50K 0,08m
)

Qraise = V KsCp T
3,6 h
t
V= volume im litre
= material density in kg/l
Cp= specic heat of material in KJ/kgK
T= maint. temp. - min. ambient temp. in K
t= heat-up time in hours (h)

+ Quninsulated + ... SF
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Engineering Manual

Step 4: Determine the total heat loss for temperature

raise requirements. Add the heat loss for
temperature raise requirements and the total
surface heat loss of the vessel, tank or hopper
together.
Q=Q

+ Qraise
total

Example 4: Heat loss for temperature raise based upon

Example 3. The customer has provided the
following information:
ll volume = 8500 litre
= 0,92 kg/l
Cp= 1,67 KJ/kgK

Example 5: A customer is asking for an in-tank

heating for a 10000 l heating oil tank.
According to the table the customer will need the
following materials:
28 m 25 TTS-2-BOT
1 pc. Termination kit
1 pc. Ambient thermostat with PT100
1 pc. Junction box
2 pc. Mounting brackets, 1 pc. for the thermostat
and 1 pc. for the junction box.
1 pc. 16A (type C) circuit breaker
1 pc. 30 mA/100ms residual current device
Installation is to follow in that the heating cable be
placed through the tank cover, to the tank bottom
and then back out of the tank cover. The heating tape
would then be connected to the junction box and
afterwards the controller would be connected to
the junction box.

t= 8 hours

Information from Example 3:

T = 50K
Qtotal = 757,5 W = 0,757 KW

Calculating heat loss for at surfaces

x 1,67KJ/kgK x 50K
Qraise = 8500l x 0,92kg/l
Ks
3,6 h 8
= 22,67 KW
Q = 0,757 KW + 22,67 KW = 23,43 KW
Heat loss table and material for in-tank heating
ThermTrace self-regulating heating cable may be
used in order to prevent the separation of wax from the
heating oil inside of outdoor heating oil tanks by lower
ambient temperatures.

In order to calculate the heat loss for at surfaces, both

sides of the surface area including insulation (installed
on both sides) must be taken into account. Should each
side not be equally insulated, the heat loss must be determined accordingly and then added together.
Q=

A = surface area (top + bottom) in m2

= material thermal resistance in W/mK
T = maint. temp. - min. ambient temp. in K
Diso = material thickness in m
SF

For this application the 25 TTR-2-BOT, termination kits,

junction boxes, an ambient thermostat and mounting
brackets for the junction box and thermostat, are the
only materials necessary.
Below is a table in order to choose which heating cable
lengths necessary for up to 500l/h ow rate. Should
the ow rate be higher, please contact your local HTS
representative.
Volume
in litre
0...2000
5000
10000
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000

Heating cable
length in m
14
22
28
36
56
84
104
120

Power output
No. of 16A
@10C in KW heating circuits
0,35
1
0,55
1
0,7
1
0,9
1
1,4
1
2,2
2
2,6
2
3,0
2

x A x T
x SF
Diso

= safety factor

Example 6: The customer has requested that a piece

of sheet metal be heated.
Dimensions: 500 x 200mm
Insulation: mineral wool 0,035 W/mK
Insulation thickness: 25mm
Temperature difference: 30K
Safety factor: 1,25 (25%)
Q=

0,035 W/mK x 0,2m2 x 30 K

x 1,25
0,025m

Q = 10,5 W

Note: A 30 mA/100ms residual current device is necessary.

HTS Global Technologies GmbH
www.hts-global.com, [email protected]
Worlwide Specialists in Electric Heat Tracing

Engineering Manual

Calculating heat loss for temperature raise of at

surfaces
To determine the heating power necessary for heat
raise of at surfaces, determine the insulated surface
heat loss as in example 6 without and add this to the
material heat-up requirement.
Qraise = m x A x Cp x T
3,6 Ks/h x t

Maintenance temperature: this is the temperature at

which the surface temperature is to be maintained
in order to kept the product or material at a
certain temperature regardless of the ambient
temperature.
Maximum exposure temperature: this is the maximum
temperature that may occur during a certain
process, such as the vessel lling temperature or
when steam is used to clean the pipeline.

= Temperatur difference in K
= surface area in dm3
= weight of material in kg/dm3
= specic heat of material in KJ/kgK
= time in hours

Pipe or surface material: the surface material is an

important factor as to the design of electrical
trace heating, such as the installation of aluminium foil onto the surface before installing the
heating cable to a plastic type surface.

Example 7: The additional information has been

provided as follows.

Supply voltage: used to determine the type of

cable or installation of the cable according to the
supplied power, such as self-limiting heating
cable by 230V or PTFE cable in delta by 430V.

T
A
m
Cp
t

Type of material: Steel

m = 7,85 kg/dm3
Cp = 0,49 KJ/kgK
t = 2 hours
T = 30 K
dimensions = 5 dm x 2 dm
material thickness: 0,03 dm

Chemical environment: used to determine the type

of heating cable or tape construction, such as for
chemical or domestic environments.
Area classication: not all heating cables or tapes are
approved for Ex areas or all of their conditions,
such as temperature or gas classication.

A = 10 dm x 2 dm x 0,03 dm
= 0,3 dm3
3
3
Qraise = 7,85 kg/dm x 0,6dm x 0,49KJ/kgK x 30K
3,6 Ks/h x 2

= 69,24 W

Heat requirement: selection of the heating cable or

tape is based upon the power output at a certain
ambient or maintenance temperature.

Heat loss from example 6 without safety factor

Q = 10,5 W

Select the appropriate heating cable/tape

from our product catalogue based upon the
maximum exposure temperature, maintenance temperature and area classication.

Qtotal = Q + Qraise
= 69,2W + 4,8W
= 74W
Heating cable selection
In order to determine the correct heating tape or cable
according to the application the following infromation will
be necessary:
Maintenance temperature
Max. exposure temperature
Pipe or surface material
Supply voltage
Chemical environment
Area classication
Heat requirement

HTS Global Technolgies GmbH

www.hts-global.com, [email protected]
Worlwide Specialists in Electric Heat Tracing