US-built box crane - WorldCargo News Online

TANK CONTAINERS
Perolo’s fusible link device activates closure of tank footvalves in the event of fire
Fort Vale has also developed a
version of the valve specifically for
the US tank truck market. This is
provided with Truck Trailer Manufacturers
Association (TTMA) outlet
drilling and TTMA-recommended
elbow dimensions.
Dry options
The dry bulk tipper and fixed
chassis road tanker market is another
sector to which Fort Vale engineers
have been devoting attention.
Although dry bulk tanks are
predominantly manufactured in
aluminium, there has been a drive
among some leading manufacturers
of such vehicles to change
some of the components to stainless
steel in order to provide a
longer service life.
Fort Vale’s new range of equipment
for the dry bulk tanker market
includes a 600mm discharge
cone, manifold and a blower relief
valve, which features a cowl facility
to deflect air flow downward.
All these components are manufactured
in accordance with Europe’s
new Pressure Equipment
Directive (PED) and can be CEmarked
where applicable.
Finally, as part of the response
to the UK Health & Safety Executive
(HSE)’s Safe Working Practice and
Working at Height initiatives, Fort
Vale has launched a cable-operated
airline ball valve. The unit is connected
to a bottom, framemounted,
manually-operated handle
assembly via a push-pull cable.
“The development of each of
these new Fort Vale components
for the tank container and road
tanker sectors is in line with the
company’s philosophy,” concludes
Day. “That is, to offer an innovative
original product, which provides
cost savings to the operator,
lessor and manufacturer.
“Fort Vale remains committed
to ensuring that its products meet
all current design regulations and
perform fully in accordance with
them. The company continues to
invest in the latest technology and
in a programme of personnel development
and training of its staff
to achieve and exceed these goals.”
Perolo in new guise
Perolo SA of Blaye, some 45 km
from Bordeaux and a long-established
supplier of tank container
and road tanker components, was
the subject of a management
buyout earlier this year, as Gardner
Denver relinquished control to an
in-house team led by Thierry
Bourguignon.
Product development has continued
apace under the new ownership
arrangement, one of the
new products being Hastelloy inserts
for footvalves, echoing developments
at Fort Vale. In respect
of footvalves per se, Perolo has introduced
3in and 4in versions of
its Chemflow 90deg footvalve, a
new unit which completes the
company’s range of equipment for
road tankers serving the chemicals
and foodstuffs sectors.
In response to recently introduced
US regulations, Perolo is
marketing its fusible link device
that activates closure of tank
footvalves in case of fire. The attachment
of the safety system to
the remote control cable ensures
the automatic and immediate closing
of the footvalve when the
temperature reaches 121degC.
Another recent addition to
the package of Perolo safety components
is a high-flow version of
the company’s 3in Superventix
safety relief valve. The flanged
vent valve has been configured
specifically to protect against accidental
overpressure during the
operation of higher capacity tank
containers.
Whereas a number of manufacturers
have recently augmented
their product lines with Tefloncoated
equipment, Perolo has
taken similar steps using Halar,
another specialist engineered thermoplastic
lining designed to protect
against the corrosive attack of
some aggressive products that not
even stainless steel can withstand.
The company is introducing
Halar-coated versions of a wide
range of its equipment.
Relief from Girard
In a similar vein, the most recent
addition to the range of stainless
steel tank container pressure/
vacuum relief vents supplied by
US-based Girard Equipment Inc
is the new Teflon-lined (IMF-TL)
relief valve. All internal wetted
parts are covered with a 0.125in
Girard has recently introduced the IMF-TL Teflon-lined vacuum relief valve
thick Teflon lining to protect the
steelwork from chemical attack by
the more aggressive products carried
in tank containers,
The valve is designed for use
without the need for a rupture
disc between the vent and the
cargo space. The vent is compatible
with a wide variety of seals,
irrespective of manufacturer.
Girard has been fabricating,
testing and certifying pressure/
vacuum relief vents and related
pressure control devices for tanks
for over 30 years. The 316 stainless
steel units are electro-chemically
polished to reduce the possibility
of contamination, while
seals are arranged so that there is
metal contact between the pressure
pallet and the valve body following
initial seal contact. This arrangement
promotes longer seal
life and serves to minimise leakage,
even following total seal failure
such as would occur in a fire.
This summer, Girard introduced
a new air-operated version
of its hydraulic vapour recovery
adaptor for road tankers. Designed
to be compatible with Girard’s existing
hydraulic product line, the
adaptor is configured with the
same housing and seal sets. Girard
points out that the new air-operated
model is particularly suited
for use with tank trailers engaged
in the carriage of acids and other
corrosives as such vehicles often
do not have hydraulic systems. The
vapour recovery adaptor is designed
so that the air pack can be
removed and serviced, if necessary.
Heat tracing
A relatively new name in the tank
components sector, Eltherm of
Germany provides electrical heat
tracing systems, based on the fitting
of resistance heating cable
around the outside shell of the
pressure vessel, to enable the close
temperature control of tank container
cargoes.
The increasing sophistication
and high-value of many of the
cargoes carried in dedicated tanks
today requires control of the temperature
variation to within
±1degC. To manage this degree
of control Eltherm has adopted
the PTFE, FEP and PFA resistance
cabling it originally developed
for industrial production
applications to meet the needs of
tank operators.
Rolf Viehmann, marketing
manager at Eltherm, points out
that the advantages of his company’s
heating cables in tank container
applications include high
PTFE heating cable from Eltherm
enables close temperature control of the
tank contents
chemical and vibration resistance,
ease of repair and maintenance,
efficient heat distribution, resistance
variation without the need
for a transformer, moisture resistance
and a low power output,
which prevents the occurrence of
heat spots on the container shell.
In addition to the cabling,
Eltherm also provides ancillary
equipment such as measuring and
control devices. As tank containers
requiring such sophisticated
heating systems are usually dedicated
to a specific product with
its own unique carriage requirements,
Eltherm advises tank
manufacturers and operators in
WorldCargo
news
the planning phase when the tank
design is still on the drawing
board. ❏
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Fort Vale Engineering Ltd.
Head Office & Manufacturing
T : +44 (0)1282 440000
F : +44 (0)1282 440044
Email: sales@fortvale.com
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© Fort Vale Engineering Ltd. 2005
September 2005 55