Winter insulation of LNG plant based on grey correlation analysis and analytical hierarchy process

LNG plant is the combination of low temperature engineering and storage & transportation engineering, and it is characterized by complex process, various instrument inspection and control points and heavy equipment management, so its thermal insulation in winter is quite important. In this paper, Huanggang LNG Plant of Kunlun Energy was taken as an example. Its two working conditions, i.e., shutdown and production, were analyzed by means of grey correlation analysis and analytical hierarchy process based on weather record, maintenance record, winter insulation scheme and other related data over the years. And the winter insulation schemes for different working conditions were prepared. It is shown that analytical hierarchy process, together with weather change is applied to analyze the working condition of shutdown, formulate the winter insulation scheme scientifically and protect the equipment of LNG plant overall. Grey correlation analysis is adopted to dynamically analyze the working condition of normal production and prepare the winter insulation scheme whose human resource and material cost are the minimum. These schemes can be used as the reference for the winter insulation of similar LNG plants, but during the concrete application, they shall be adjusted appropriately based on the technological characteristics of the specific LNG plant and the natural environment where the LNG plant is located.