Advanced Insulation launches new product

Acoustic Insulation is fast becoming a hot topic in terms of personnel safety in the oil and gas industry. Every day, workers are exposed to a variety of different mechanical noises including, loud turbines, pumps, valves and pipes. There is a call for continued innovation of effective noise control measures to combat noise-induced hearing loss, that is a significant problem for the industry.

“In an industrial environment, sound comes from a variety of sources, such as mechanical noise, fluid flow and gas release which all have different acoustic characteristics. It is important to understand them to be able to target noise attenuation and effectively insulate to specific problem areas,” commented Chris Read, Sales Support Manager at Advanced Insulation.

“The system provides high-performance acoustic insulation and combined thermal insulation for industrial applications, such as onshore refineries, offshore environments and a wide range of bespoke solutions for pumps, compressors and engines.”

ContraFlex is currently being installed on the INPEX CPF project, in South Korea, for 132 valves and flanges. This project led Advanced Insulation to develop the ContraFlex acoustic range in line with the ISO 15665:2003 the acoustic standard for Class A, B and C protection for piping, flanges, valves and NORSOK R-004.

Andrew Court, General Manager at Advanced Insulation Korea, added: “We’re seeing a large amount of acoustic solutions utilising a two-system approach to thermal insulation and acoustic insulation, which requires double the manpower and multiple layers. Some examples we’ve seen on site utilise a jacket for thermal insulation with a separate box on top for acoustics - we can provide the same properties all in one jacket. When it comes to maintenance, the ContraFlex Acoustic jackets can save a lot of time for the end user.”

The ContraFlex Acoustic Insulation Jackets combine the benefits of thermal insulation and acoustic protection, with infill materials able to withstand temperatures of up to 600°C.

The new system was designed to be fully adaptable, as conventional acoustic insulation methods are not only limited in terms of application space, but require a large amount of skilled labour and costs to install. The requirement for regular inspections was also taken into consideration and resulted in the ContraFlex Acoustic System utilising a dry fit removable application system.

In addition, Advanced Insulation is currently pursuing further testing in Peutz BV, Netherlands to become qualified for the Shell DEP standard for acoustics, an adaptation of the ISO 15665 standard to include a higher noise attenuation than tested previously.