FURNACES
Touchstone has earned numerous awards as an industrial problem-solver,
new product developer, and applied research laboratory for hundreds
of manufacturers in a wide range of business sectors. Our unique
capability as an industrial problem-solver is based on the diversity
of our highly experienced technical staff, supported by over $10
million worth of in-house laboratory equipment and testing facilities.
The following examples illustrate some of our contributions to this
business sector:
- Touchstone was contacted regarding problem that involved the
failure of a cast iron steam boiler assembly. TRL concluded that
the failure seen in this boiler was most probably the result of
an initial failure of at least six of the internal stay bolts
and a portion of the corner of the casting. The final failure
would have occurred when the remaining section thickness could
no longer sustain the loading on the internal surface. The presence
of stay bolts indicated some understanding of the forces present
during use but the overall design did not appear to allow for
the rather unique properties of gray cast iron. The final report
stated that the use of internally cast-in-place staybolts was
inadvisable because of the mechanical properties of gray cast
iron, particularly, low elongation. There was no evidence that
this design had been approved by the ASME section VIII committee.
- The examination of a short circuit in an older, high efficiency
gas furnace found that the system designed to collect condensation
from the exhaust had become clogged by airborne soil and insect
debris. The inability to conduct condensed water properly allowed
the water to corrode an electrical connection and eventually prevent
the furnace from operating.
- A wiring malfunction found in a heat pump was traced to corrosion
damage at the location of a pass-through in the compressor housing.
The increase in electrical resistance finally caused several leads
to melt and prevent the unit from operating.
The above examples are only a sample of our work in this area.
We would be pleased to provide any additional information you may
require. We also invite you to review examples on our website of
work that we have performed in support of other business sectors.
Please contact one of our Project
Managers to discuss your manufacturing problem. We would welcome
an opportunity to add you to our rapidly growing list of satisfied
customers.
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