Can the air storage tank be used for more than ten years?

As a key equipment for storing compressed air, the safety of air storage tanks is directly related to production stability and personnel safety. Regarding the question of “Can the air storage tank be used for more than ten years?”, a comprehensive analysis is needed from various aspects such as design standards, safety risks, regulatory requirements, and testing and maintenance.

1. Design life and service life

The design life of air storage tanks is usually 10 years, but the specific life period needs to refer to the recommended value in the design drawings. The design life is comprehensively determined based on factors such as material properties, manufacturing process and service conditions. After exceeding this life, the strength and toughness of the tank body may decrease and cannot meet normal production and service needs.

2. Safety hazards that exceed ten years

1. Metal fatigue and corrosion: During long-term use, the metal material of the gas storage tank will fatigue due to alternating stress, and at the same time, corrosion may occur due to environmental factors, resulting in thinning of the tank wall thickness and reduced sealing performance.

2. Risks of leaks and explosions: The decrease in the sealing performance of the tank may cause gas leakage. If the leaking gas mixes with air to form an explosive mixture, it may cause an explosion when encountering the ignition source. In addition, the accumulation of internal sediments (such as oil and impurities) may also cause combustion or explosion under certain conditions.

3. Regulatory compliance risks: Using gas tanks that exceed their design life may violate relevant regulations and standards and face legal penalties and reputation loss.

3. Regulatory requirements and testing and maintenance

1. regulatory requirements: According to the “Special Equipment Safety Technical Supervision Regulations”(TSG21 -2016), gas tanks that exceed the design life must undergo a safety assessment by professional institutions and undergo changes in use registration before continuing to be used.

2. inspection and maintenance: In order to ensure the safe use of air tanks, regular testing and maintenance are required, including:

   • visual inspection: Check the surface of the tank body for cracks, deformation, corrosion and other defects.
   • pressure test: Conduct water pressure or air pressure tests regularly to check the pressure bearing capacity of the tank.
   • leak detection: Use leak detectors or soapy water and other methods to detect whether the tank and connection parts leak.
   • Safety accessory verification: Regularly check safety valves, pressure gauges and other safety accessories to ensure their normal operation.

4. Evaluation and decision-making

For air tanks that are more than ten years old, whether to continue to use them requires professional evaluation:

1. professional assessment: Entrust a special equipment inspection agency with inspection qualifications to conduct a safety assessment, including tank material properties, wall thickness, sealing performance, etc.

2. decision-making basis: According to the assessment results, if the tank can still meet the requirements for safe use, it can continue to be used after changing the use registration; if there is a safety hazard, it needs to be repaired, transformed or scrapped.

The air storage tank should not continue to be used directly after more than ten years. Instead, the service life can be extended only after passing professional testing and safety assessment and complying with regulatory requirements. In order to ensure production safety, users are advised to give priority to products produced by qualified manufacturers, strictly abide by maintenance and testing specifications, regularly inspect and maintain air tanks, and promptly discover and deal with potential safety hazards.