Abstract
Cooling systems are widely used across different industries in order to keep the industrial processes running and ensure safety. The cooling systems are a critical part of industrial furnaces, particularly Furnace Water Cooling Systems (FWCS) are used for providing process cooling water to water-cooled furnaces. When the cooling system is out of control, damage can begin to occur to the cooling system and the components it protects. One of the most common problems associated with cooling systems is water leakage. In This Master Thesis, literature study and analysis of information on accidents related to FWCS leakages showed that it is important to look for the opportunities of improvements within safety measures and initiate projects for implementation of possible feasible safety solutions along with the existing traditional flow-based leakage detection system. Nowadays, the market and associated industrial experience, offers several solutions for water leakage detection. In this Master Thesis we discussed a pressure-based method for very small leaks detection which has already been successfully employed by a Canadian company Nickel Smelter Vale Ltd. We suggested to implement a SIF based on this method as a pilot project for some critical water-circuits (in terms of both eruption and explosion problems) as an additional measure of risk mitigation.
