There are four main categories of failure modes that can occur in glass lined equipment: mechanical, thermal, electrical, and chemical. These issues, however, can be eliminated or drastically reduced through the identification of the various types of glass failure and by asserting the best practices to avoid them.

Allowing a hard object heavier than 1 pound to fall from greater than 9 inches can cause glass damage.

Avoid mechanical impact on glass lined equipment

Padding the floor and agitator blades when working inside equipment, and cover open manholes and nozzles during maintenance work.

Training people not to KNOCK to glass lined equipment.

Avoiding glass lined vessels brushing or striking anything during maintenance work.

Using a filter to remove particulate matter from the water when use water clean the glass lined surface, and impinging water pressures should less than 137 bar (2000 psi) at a hose nozzle with distance more than 30cm (12 inch). Moving the water lance continuously to minimize focusing the jet in one spot. Avoiding water jet contact with repair areas such as plugs and patches.

Avoid abrasion of the glass lined surface by evaluating slurring for their abrasive effect before equipment use.

Collapsing bubble locally generate impact forces on glass lined surface during operating

If cavitation can be heard (usually a buzzing sound), adjust sparging and reduce agitator speed until the sound disappears.

Avoiding low boiling point compounds of process fluids to be in solution.

Avoid operating at higher pressure.

Using sparkers with small holes directed away from vessel sidewalls

For condensable vapor additions, incorporating a small amount of noncondensible vapor such as nitrogen to prevent bubble collapse.

Avoiding the practice of prying against a glass surface with a screw driver or other device.

Using a flange spreader to separate flanges.

Applying zero bending load on nozzles by supporting connected piping.

Supporting excessive hanging weight on the bottom outlet nozzle.

Using an approved line blinding method.

Using approved gaskets and torque procedure.

Allowing glass lined nozzles to experience bending moments greater than 100 ft-lb per inch of nozzle diameter may cause cracks in the glass.

Ensuring piping connected to glass vessels does not result in stresses and moments on the nozzle by using stress analysis and proper alignment.

Supporting piping and components attached to all nozzles.

Having a short section of piping connected directly to the vessel flange, breaking the line one flange away from the vessel first of all, and connecting the short pipe to the vessel first when reinstalling.

Adequate saddle supports when storing, transporting, or operating horizontal vessels.

Vibration: Operating conditions that result in excessive vibrations are not eliminated and result in failure of internal steel members by fatigue.

Positioning h, d, beavertail (wide eye), finger and fin baffles radially in line with agitator shaft

Ensuring appropriate agitation for the reaction based on stress analysis and mixing requirements.

Sizing dip tubes for process conditions.

Locating dip tubes behind a baffle in the direction of flow.

Designing dip tubes to be shorter than the length of nearby baffles.

Using dip tubes for their proper purpose, not as baffles.

Using proper sparging design when injecting steam or hot gases.