Those windshield wipers slappin' outta tempo
Keepin' perfect rhythm with the song on the radio
I gotta keep rollin'...

("Driving My Life Away," by Eddie Rabbit, 1980)

 

A QUICK GLANCE BACK BEFORE MOVIN' ON

Stand up and pat yourself on the back!

The commitment and motivation that PTOA Readers and Students have maintained while continuing their self study of Process Technology is worthy of acknowledgement!

The effort has either introduced or expanded a knowledge base regarding the following Process Technology and Operations focus studies:

• Awareness of what Process Technology is including the lifestyle and typical career path of the Process Operator.
• Process Variables (with a strong emphasis on the PV Temperature).
• ISA Symbols and Process Industry Schematics.
• Process Industry Control Automation (Remote vs Control Room Instruments, Basic Control Loop Signal Types, DCS).
• Decoding hints for PFDs and P&IDs.
• Temperature Increasing Process Industry Equipment.
• Temperature Decreasing Process Industry Equipment.
• Conservation of Heat in Process Industries.
• Industrial Use of Phase/Physical State Changes.
• Interpreting Written Chemical Reactions.
• Industrial Reaction Chemistry and Reactors.
• Waste Heat Recovery Equipment and Systems
• Process Industry Jargon Re: All of the Above.

Boy Howdy!

That's a lot of information to get down in just 56 PTOA Segments!

And it's time to move on!

Gotta keep rollin'!

 

A MESSAGE FROM THE UNIVERSE 

Okay. The brief moment of glory is over.

The Universe has a message for everybody that will make us realize the insignificance and futility of it all:

Everything works as planned. 

Nobody can change the plan.

So just deal with it.

And those who can deal with it best are those who understand the plan and can therefore use the plan to their advantage.

In order to understand the plan, there are a few simple rules to master that are classified as ....

TRANSPORT PHENOMENA

Sounds Star-Trekkie, right?

Or maybe Twilight Zone if you are older?

However this lofty phrase literally just means:

"The facts that make things move."

And here are the facts of movement that are important for all Process Operators to understand:

 

THE HEAT TRANSPORT PHENOMENON

Heat cannot exist ... and ergo cannot be transferred ... unless there is a change in temperature.

Furthermore,  heat will always flow from the hotter area to the colder area.

THE FLUID FLOW TRANSPORT PHENOMENON

Fluids cannot flow unless there is a change in pressure.

And fluids will always flow from the area of highest pressure to the area of lowest pressure.

 

THE ELECTRICITY TRANSPORT PHENOMENON

Instrumentation Technicians and Electricians will need to understand The Electricity Transport Phenomenon at the gut level:

Electrical current cannot exist unless there is a change in voltage.

The current will always flow from the highest voltage to the lowest voltage.

The change in voltage (aka "voltage drop") is commonly called "Potential."

The more potential, the stronger the current.

 

NEXT UP: HEAT TRANSFER FOCUS STUDY AREA

The plethora (means "excessive amount") of temperature changing process industry equipment that has already been introduced to PTOA Readers and Students is a big hint that Heat Transfer is important in the process industries.

Heck, how many times did PTOA Readers and Students recently read the phrases:

"Process stream X indirectly transfers heat into process stream Y?"

and

"This fill-in-the-blank (e.g., cold cooling water, hot steam, increased surface area, flow through nooks and crannies, etc.) enhances heat transfer."

The answer is: many, many times.

Understanding how Heat Transfer works ...

and just as important ...

the impediments that prevent Heat Transfer from working as intended ...

will make PTOA Readers and Students valuable modern Process Operators.

Simultaneously PTOA Readers and Students will learn why specific materials of fabrication are chosen for temperature changing process industry equipment and how the geometrical designs of process industry equipment result in enhancing ... or intentionally decreasing ... the rate of Heat Transfer.

Now...there are plenty of Process Operators walking around that are clocking in hours blissfully ignorant of how the laws of nature have been harnessed in designs that optimize how the equipment they are responsible for works day in and day out.

However, there are plenty of Plant Owners who are clocking the hours until those Process Operators can be replaced with those that understand how to operate the plant more efficiently.

 

TURN THE PAGE ALREADY!

 

The PTOA Heat Transfer Focus Study Area will include:

• Requirements for Heat to Exist.
• Temperature vs. Heat.
• Heat Transfer via Conduction.
• Heat Transfer via Convection.
• Heat Transfer via Radiation.

The PTOA Heat Transfer Focus Study Area will continue by integrating the following topics:

• Process Operator duties regarding optimizing Heat Transfer in Temperature Changing Process Industry Equipment.
• Temperature Changing Process Industry Equipment that is dependent upon Heat Transfer via conduction to work as designed.
• Temperature Changing Process Industry Equipment that is dependent upon Heat Transfer via convection to work as designed.
• Temperature Changing Process Industry Equipment that is dependent upon Heat Transfer via radiation to work as designed.

'NUFF SAID!

LET'S  GET TO IT!

TAKE HOME MESSAGES: The next PTOA Focus Study Area features Heat and Heat Transfer by Conduction, Convection, and Radiation.

Heat Transfer cannot happen unless there is a change in temperature.

Heat will always transfer from the hotter area into the  cooler area and never the other way around.

PTOA Readers and Students are already capable of identifying common process industry equipment in an industrial complex and understand the purpose of the equipment,

 

©2015 PTOA Segment 00057
PTOA Heat Transfer Focus Study Area

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