Characteristics and Applications of Loading Arms
I. Various Characteristics of Loading Arms
High Sealing Performance
Equipped with a robust sealing system, especially the high-performance sealing rings, loading arms achieve excellent tightness during transportation, which is a significant measure for environmental protection.
Improved Transportation Efficiency
Loading arms are easy to operate-more user-friendly compared to conventional hose equipment or traditional transport devices. They are relatively more intelligent, saving substantial labor costs.
Wear and Corrosion Resistance
Loading arms rarely get damaged during use. As we know, the chemical industry transports highly specialized products, which often cause corrosion or wear to ordinary transport equipment. However, loading arms maintain good working conditions even after long-term use, ensuring high overall operational efficiency.
II. Applications of Loading Arms
Loading arms are retractable and movable pipes, widely used for loading and unloading liquids at petroleum and chemical terminals, handling media such as oil and water. They come in various types and offer higher safety and flexibility compared to old-fashioned hoses.
Railway and highway loading arms are specialized equipment for loading and unloading fluids into railway tank cars and road tank trucks. They can be divided into top-loading and bottom-loading types based on the loading method. The transportable media include petroleum products such as crude oil, gasoline, diesel, and lubricating oil; as well as chemical products such as concentrated sulfuric acid, liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), molten sulfur, asphalt, and carbon disulfide.
Loading arms mainly consist of fixed, rotating, operating, and balancing mechanisms, as well as oil pipes. The rotating mechanism (swivel joint) is meticulously manufactured from forged steel or aluminum alloy, with built-in double-row ball bearings and special stainless steel sealing rings, ensuring flexible rotation, reliable sealing, and long service life. The balancing systems-available in forms such as counterweights, torsion springs, compression springs, tension springs, lead screws, hydraulic balancing, and pneumatic balancing-enable operation with minimal force.
