Abstract:

The icing of equipment and pipelines on ships affects the structural strength, stability, and power systems of the vessels when navigating in the polar regions. Anti-icing technology based on electric heating is effective for addressing the icing of equipment and facilities on the upper decks. This study analyzes the relationship between the coating layer and the convective heat transfer coefficient of the round pipe and the thermal balance performance of the electric trace heating handrail pipe. The research findings indicate that: (1) the temperature increase of the surface of a coated pipe is higher than that in an uncoated pipe and heat stored in the wall is also higher. The coating layer can increase the thermal resistance for heat radiation from the pipe and reduce the convective heat transfer coefficient of the round pipe. (2) Within the environmental range of –40 to –10 ℃, the difference in surface temperature rise of handrail pipes is not significant. At the same temperature, when the wind speed increases from 5 m·s^–1 to 7 m·s^–1, the magnitude of its surface temperature rise decreases by approximately 24%. Additionally, the surface temperature rise of coated handrail pipes is generally about 30% higher than that of uncoated round pipes. (3) The coating layer has a certain insulation effect; it changes the convective heat transfer coefficient of the pipe surface. Under similar environmental conditions, the surface temperature of the coated handrail is 1~2 ℃ higher than that of the an uncoated, thereby improving the anti-icing effect.

Key words: marine vessels, handrail pipe coating, convective heat transfer performance,  polar regions