In these times of rising material costs, many customers are interested in finding alternative materials or optimizing the usage of materials within their existing designs.  For example, we can use our expertise in thermal analysis to determine if an environment for which stainless steel was chosen may actually be of low enough temperature to justify the use of a less expensive carbon steel alloy.  Other examples include:

• The use of finite element analysis to reveal that a weight-critical  application for which carbon steel was chosen may actually be suitable for a lighter-weight alternative such as aluminum alloy.

• Existing designs of boilers and heat exchanger pressure vessels may be optimized to reduce the volume of steel or refractory, or the amount of welding required without reducing longevity,  performance, or safety.  In some cases performance may be enhanced by a reduction in the amount of material used, or safety may be improved in low-emissions applications by reducing the amount of refractory in a furnace and thereby eliminating the threat of re-ignition after flame failure.

• An application for which corrosion is a concern due to condensation of flue gas in a boiler, our combustion analysis  may reveal that the dew point will not be reached on the cold end such that less expensive materials can be used, or we may recommend and provide a more economical design by use of an intermediate heat exchanger to keep the metal temperature above the dew point prior to exiting the boiler.

In general, our material analysis will help you determine the best material or design approach from both technical and economic perspectives.