INTERNATIONAL ISO

STANDARD 12241

First edition
1998-03-01

Thermal insulation for building equipment

and industrial installations Calculation
rules
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Isolation thermique des quipements du btiment et des installations

industrielles Mthodes de calcul

A Reference number
ISO 12241:1998(E)

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 ISO 12241:1998(E)

Contents
Page

1 Scope ...................................................................................................................... 1

2 Normative references ............................................................................................. 1

3 Definitions, symbols and abbreviations ............................................................... 1

3.1 Physical quantities, symbols and units .................................................................. 2

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3.2 Subscripts ............................................................................................................. 3

4 Calculation methods for heat transfer .................................................................. 3

4.1 Fundamental equations for heat transfer............................................................... 3

4.2 Surface temperature ............................................................................................. 16
4.3 Prevention of surface condensation ...................................................................... 19

5 Calculation of the temperature change in pipes, vessels and containers......... 19

5.1 Longitudinal temperature change in a pipe............................................................ 19

5.2 Temperature change and cooling times in pipes, vessels and containers ............. 20

6 Calculation of cooling and freezing times of stationary liquids ......................... 21

6.1 Calculation of the cooling time for a given thickness of insulation to

prevent the freezing of water in a pipe .................................................................. 21
6.2 Calculation of the freezing time of water in a pipe ................................................. 22

7 Thermal bridges ...................................................................................................... 22

8 Underground pipelines........................................................................................... 23

8.1 Calculation of heat loss (single line) ...................................................................... 23

9 Tables and Diagrams.............................................................................................. 26

ISO 1998
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International Organization for Standardization
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 ISO ISO 12241:1998(E)

Annex A: (informative) Comments on thermal conductivity ......................................... 30

Annex B: (informative) Examples .................................................................................... 32

B.1 Calculation of the necessary insulation thicknesses for a double layered wall of a
firebox ................................................................................................................................. 32
B.2 Heat flow rate and surface temperature of an insulated pipe............................................... 33
B.3 Temperature drop in a pipe ................................................................................................. 34
B.4 Temperature drop in a container ......................................................................................... 35
B.5 Cooling and freezing times in a pipe ................................................................................... 36
B.6 Underground pipeline .......................................................................................................... 37
B.7 Required insulation thickness to prevent surface condensation .......................................... 38

Annex C: (informative) Bibliography .............................................................................. 39

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 ISO 12241:1998(E) ISO

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO
collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
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Draft International Standards adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies
for voting. Publication as an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member
bodies casting a vote.

International Standard ISO 12241 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 163, Thermal
insulation, Subcommittee SC 2, Calculation methods.

Annexes A to C of this International Standard are for information only.

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 ISO ISO 12241:1998(E)

Introduction

Methods relating to conduction are direct mathematical derivations from Fouriers Law of Heat
Conduction, so international consensus is purely a matter of mathematical verification. No significant
difference in the equations used in the member countries exists. For convection and radiation, however,
there are no methods in practical use which are mathematically traceable to Newtons Law of Cooling or
the Stefan-Boltzman Law of Thermal Radiation, without some empirical element. For convection, in
particular, many different equations have been developed, based on laboratory data. Different equations
have become popular in different countries, and no exact means are available to select between these
equations.
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Within the limitations given, these methods can be applied to most types of industrial thermal insulation
heat transfer problems.

These methods do not take into account the permeation of air or the transmittance of thermal radiation
through transparent media.

The equations in these methods require for their solution that some system variables be known, given,
assumed, or measured. In all cases, the accuracy of the results will depend on the accuracy of the input
variables. This International Standard contains no guidelines for accurate measurement of any of the
variables. However, it does contain guides which have proven satisfactory for estimating some of the
variables for many industrial thermal systems.

It should be noted that the steady-state calculations are dependent on boundary conditions. Often a
solution at one set of boundary conditions is not sufficient to characterize a thermal system which will
operate in a changing thermal environment (process equipment operating year-round, outdoors, for
example). In such cases local weather data based on yearly averages or yearly extremes of the weather
variables (depending on the nature of the particular calculation) should be used for the calculations in
this International Standard.

In particular, the user should not infer from the methods of this International Standard that either
insulation quality or avoidance of dew formation can be reliably assured based on minimal simple
measurements and application of the basic calculation methods given here. For most industrial heat flow
surfaces, there is no isothermal state (no one, homogeneous temperature across the surface), but
rather a varying temperature profile. This condition suggests the need for numerous calculations to
properly model thermal characteristics of any one surface. Furthermore, the heat flow through a surface
at any point is a function of several variables which are not directly related to insulation quality. Among
others, these variables include ambient temperature, movement of the air, roughness and emissivity of
the heat flow surface, and the radiation exchange with the surroundings (often including a great variety
of interest). For calculation of dew formation, variability of the local humidity is an important factor.

Except inside buildings, the average temperature of the radiant background seldom corresponds to the
air temperature, and measurement of background temperatures, emissivities, and exposure areas is
beyond the scope of this International Standard. For these reasons, neither the surface temperature nor
the temperature difference between the surface and the air can be used as a reliable indicator of
insulation performance or avoidance of dew formation.

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 ISO 12241:1998(E) ISO

Clauses 4 and 5 of this International Standard give the methods used for industrial thermal insulation
calculations not covered by more specific standards. In applications where precise values of heat energy
conservation or (insulated) surface temperature need not be assured, or where critical temperatures for
dew formation are either not approached or not a factor, these methods can be used to calculate heat
flow rates.

Clauses 6 and 7 of this International Standard are adaptations of the general equation for specific
applications of calculating heat flow temperature drop and freezing times in pipes and other vessels.
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ISO 12241:1998 Thermal insulation for building

equipment and industrial installations - Calculation
rules
This is a free 6 page sample. Access the full version online.

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