Piping Lower Limit Surface Temperature

[glynnmack]

I'm aware of OSHA requirements to insulate hot piping (generally above 140 deg F) for personnel protection, but I can't seem to find any reference about a lower limit. Is there a code or industry practice for cold piping personnel protection? I imagine touching a pipe containing a fluid at absolute zero would burn, or perhaps cause frostbite.

Thanks for your help.

 

[MatthewL]

We use liquid N2 at the plant I work at, and our requirement is special PPE/insulation is required if the temp is below -25 F.

Matt

Quality, quantity, cost. Pick two.

 

[glynnmack]

Thanks, Matt. I did find this interesting NASA study, but it had some unique design conditions so I couldn't draw the most applicable conclusions. It also referenced ISO-13732-3, but I don't have access to that code. In my (limited, 6 years) experience in power plant engineering, I haven't run into this issue before, and I couldn't determine if it was just because the process temperatures were never that low, or some other reason, perhaps that hot burns occur more quickly requiring Personell Protection, whereas cold "burns" occur more slowly, so it's expected that a person would remove their body or hand from the cold source before any skin damage. I'm just curious and thought it was interesting.

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20100020960_2010020520.pdf