An existing customer called to say that they were having a problem with humidity in their manufacturing area. Their existing hood was not capturing all of the steam generated from a water cooling process and it was causing problems for people, products and equipment. What the customer needed Eldridge to do was to design a steam capture hood that would capture 100% of the steam from the cooling process.
Extremely Humid Environment
The customer’s main line of business was applying red and gray oxide coatings to steel coils. After the coating is applied, the steel passes through an oven that bakes on the coating. When the steel exits the oven, it is cooled by water which generates a significant amount of steam. Although there was an existing capture hood, it was not working well. On the day that I visited, the air was very humid all over the facility. The customer said that workers regularly complained about the humidity and that they were having problems with rust forming on equipment and products.
Steam Capture Hood Design
There were two problems with the existing capture hood. The first is that it didn’t cover the entire area where the water was being applied. The second was that the capture velocity of the air was not high enough to capture the steam even for the area that it covered.
We started our steam capture hood design process by determining that it was necessary to have the hood cover the enter area from the end of the oven to where the steel was being recoiled. Then based on the height of the hood and the quantity of steam generated, we determined what the correct air velocity and volume need to be in order to capture all of the steam. We then sized a new exhaust fan and duct work to vent the captured steam to the outside.
Conclusion
On a return visit to the customer’s facility after our steam capture hood was installed, there was significantly less humidity in the air. The customer was happy that employees weren’t complaining and that there were fewer problems with rust on equipment and products.
When our customers have problems with their ventilation systems, our goal is to provide a solution that will create a successful environment where people are safe, comfortable and productive and products and equipment are protected. If you have a problem with your ventilation system, contact a ventilation specialist at Eldridge and we will create a successful environment in your facility.