Installation, Outdoor

production equipment of industrial enterprises that is located in open areas outside of the plant buildings. Outdoor installations are used at petroleum and chemical industry refineries and at enterprises in ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy. They are also used in the construction materials industry and in power engineering, food processing, wood chemistry, and other branches of industry. Among the industrial installations that can be adapted for outdoor use are blast furnaces, rotary cementation kilns, rotary dryers, and boiler units.

Appropriate devices are provided to protect outdoor installations against the effects of weather. For example, pipelines that transport quick-congealing products are equipped not only with thermal insulation but also, in a number of cases, with steam jackets—small-diameter steam-heating pipes contained in the same insulation as the main pipelines. Canopies, hoods, and visors are used to shield outdoor installations from atmospheric precipitation and solar radiation. The basic structures used in outdoor installations are also used for the construction of service platforms, stairways, and freight elevators. They are also used in mounting auxiliary equipment, erecting on-site shelters for personnel and for visual measuring devices, and securing thermal insulation and protective covers.

In conjunction with the automation of production processes and the use of remote control, outdoor installations help to reduce capital expenditures and shorten industrial construction time.

A variation on the outdoor installation is the semi-outdoor installation, which places only part of the production equipment outside the plant buildings.