Electric power radiant heater

pre-treatment processesheat treatmentfor heating

Overview
Sopara supports the defense, energy and nuclear industries with certified infrared heating solutions for critical, demanding thermal applications. Solutions are designed for environments where failures are unacceptable: nuclear reactors, submarine hulls and defense structures. They target continuous heating over several months, long-term traceability and operator safety.

Challenges
Process safety: specifications among the strictest worldwide; absolute continuity: thermal continuity can be an absolute requirement; personnel safety: reduced work at height thanks to self-supporting infrared systems; traceability: recording of cycles and parameters for durations compatible with very long industrial cycles.

Sopara solution
Self-supporting, contactless infrared systems designed for rapid deployment to ensure continuous, redundant and logged heating. Project approach includes FMEA (AMDEC) and thermal finite-element simulation to validate emitter placement and secure the design prior to fabrication.

Main features and benefits

• Zero contact, self-supporting system: installation in under one day on parts 4–6 m in diameter (typical).
• Redundant architecture: up to 800 emitters and 120 independent zones, individual wiring per emitter, isolation of a faulty emitter without stopping the zone.
• Control and traceability: programmable cycles (ramp, hold, cool), continuous recording on an independent recorder separate from the PLC, history available during and after the cycle.
• Multi-zone control: automatic multi-zone regulation, up to 3 measurement points per zone.
• FMEA & thermal simulation: failure modes analysis and 3D simulation before installation to de-risk the design.
• Energy performance: energy consumption typically reduced by 4–5x compared with flame burners depending on application context.

Typical applications

• Preheating and weld deposition on reactor vessels and large structures.
• Vertical welding on large structures (heights 5–6 m) with thermal compensation for expansion.
• Continuous heating of massive parts (4–6 m, 50–120 tonnes) during cycles lasting several months.
• Heating of rotating parts and replacement of gas burners on rotating components.
• Heat treatment of piping and small diameters, integration with automated welding cells and robots.

Performance evidence
Industrial examples reported: maintenance of 300 °C ± 10 °C on cycles where the client target was ± 30 °C; deployment in self-supporting configuration for multiple geometries; significant reduction of installation times and risks related to work at height.

Technical characteristics / specifications

• Type: self-supporting, contactless infrared systems.
• Installation time: < 1 day for parts 4–6 m diameter (depending on configuration).
• Part capacity: designed for parts 4–6 m diameter and typical masses 50–120 tonnes; systems adaptable to larger geometries per project.
• Emitters: up to 800 emitters per installation (industrial example).
• Zones: example 120 independent zones; individual wiring per emitter.
• Observed precision: industrial examples 300 °C ± 10 °C (customer target ± 30 °C).
• Control & measurement: up to 3 measurement points per zone; continuous recording independent of the PLC; programmable ramp/hold/cool cycles.
• Redundancy: isolation of a single faulty emitter from the control cabinet, automatic tailored failover.
• Project safety & quality: FMEA (AMDEC) for each project; thermal finite-element simulation for validation prior to installation.
• Energy performance: IR consumption typically divided by 4–5 vs. flame burners (depending on use case).
• Service duration & traceability: historization designed for long-term requirements (traceability measured in decades / prolonged industrial cycles).