Company: A major steel company in the US.
Challenge: The customer approached Conax regarding the thermocouple they used in their coke plant compressor bearing housing. The spring-loaded device is sealed so lubricating oil would not penetrate into the thermocouple enclosure. However, oil was leaking into the enclosure and shutting the compressors down. The thermocouple manufacturer could not solve the problem, and Conax was asked to submit a new design.
Solution: After reviewing a sample thermocouple, Conax submitted a design featuring a SLANS spring-loaded mounting system with a Viton O-ring. Because a 0.250″ diameter was required to connect into the compressor bearing, and the customer wanted a 0.125″ diameter probe for faster response, a 0.25″ stainless steel support tube was added to the assembly.
Impact: Problems with oil leaking into the housing have been alleviated without impacting response time.