INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT – II

(PIPELINE OPERATION AND

MAINTENANCE)

Author
Rajib Kumar Dey
General Manager, ONGC Ltd. Uran
Maharashtra, India
Co-Author
Srivatsan K. Iyengar
TD Williamson India Pvt. Ltd.
Vadodara, Gujarat, India
 Carbon Composite Application

• Innovative Approach for Online Composite

Application as an Alternative to Conventional
Repair of Regeneration Column of Gas
Sweetening Unit

• This innovative approach was driven by the

intent of “No Shutdown, No Production Loss”.
 About the Regeneration Column
Regeneration Column and its Inspection:
• The Column was designed as per ASME Section VIII division 1 by M/S
Hyundai Heavy Industries Limited in 1989 and is operation since then.
Regeneration column has height of 19.7 meter with varying Inside
Diameters (ID) of 2.555 & 3.555 meters and was constructed using SA515
Gr 60 Carbon Steel and top 5 meter having 3.00 mm thick SS321 cladding.
Column is insulated with 105mm hot insulation for entire height.

• Uran Plant has two Gas Sweetening Units that remove acidic components
(CO2 &H2S) from the natural gas received from Western Offshore Fields.
Operation of these units is based on Shell Sulfinol Process.

• During the Turnaround in May 2010, significant loss in thickness was

observed at the top portion near Feed Tray of Regeneration Column C-
1302. Heavy external corrosion had occurred under the insulation and it
was observed that section near feed zone had been badly affected.
Regeneration Column deterioration
 Recommendation of Engineers India Ltd.

• Identified defective locations LTA1, LTA2, and LTA3 should be:

• Thoroughly cleaned,
• Preheated up to 1500celsius by gas torch
• And weld deposit should be carried out using SMAW process
with E-7018-1 Electrode(Offline)
• SHUTDOWN to repair – A huge commercial impact
 Challenge – An alternative

• Professional experience and practice

• Exchange /exploitation of knowledge within the group and
Experts engaged in Composite Application,
• Induction/utilization of Composite Application without any
interruption in the Process
• Integration of all above variables for On line Application of
Composite having no shut down and without consequential
financial loss.
 Advantages of On line Composite Application
over Conventional Repair

• On line repair with composite application on

affected segments without any shut down and
production loss of products that would have
adverse impact on supply to stakeholders.
• Enhancement in Operating life of Unit
• Conventional Repair would have led to Shut
Down minimum for a month.
• No financial loss
• Enabled Business Continuity through regular
supply to Consumers
 Application methodology
• Regeneration Column was stripped off of existing Hot Insulation,
surface was visually inspected for any imperfections or
abnormalities on the surface. Composite materials such as RES-Q
materials, HT Primer-700 part-A, Part –B, HT wet out Part-A, Part-B,
carbon based composite fabric, HT putty, under insulation,
preventive coating material Thurmolax-218 primer and Thurmolax -
219 top coat material.

• Surface was prepared considering the thinned areas LTA1 and LTA2.
Pitted surfaces were applied with filler putty and evenly
scrubbed off on proper curing. HT- 700 Primer was applied on
surface of column circumferentially around 700 mm height above
insulation ring-2 followed by application of RES-Q wrapping 7 layers
on both the repair locations(LTA1&2). Service Provider carried out
the Composite Application. Third Party Inspection was done by M/S
Global Tech Solutions.
Mock up test
 Application on Regeneration Column

• On satisfactory clearance on surface preparation (Cleanliness ST-2 and anchor profile 2-4mils)
the primer (HT Primer-700 was applied on the surface of Column circumferentially around
700mm height above insulation ring – 2 (Identified area of interest for repair) followed by
application of RES-Q ® wrapping 7 layers on both the repair locations (i.e. LTA-1 & LTA-2) and
rest of the area, 4layers were applied as per approved procedure No. TDWIL/P-1/RES-Q ®. A
2Inch and 6Inch overlaps were maintained circumferentially and longitudinally to achieve
proper adhesiveness and strength at joints. On satisfactory completion of RES-Q ® and proper
curing a hardness test was carried out and noted as 74 to 85 Shore D hardness. A detailed
RES-Q® applied schematic drawings were made for records which later became a part of the
final document dossier. (TPIA Remarks: Satisfactory)
 Inspection post application
• Visual Inspection of the RES-Q ®/Coating applied surface: On successful
completion of RES-Q ® and Coating application, TPIA had a walk through,
along with Service Provider to ensure that the entire scope of work is
completed and the visual inspection was carried out from bottom shell
section to top elevation of the Regeneration Column C-1302 and found
satisfactory.
• Service Provider advised to ensure proper housekeeping and make sure
the entire column is free from dust, loose particles and blasting abrasives.
Column was released for re-instatement of Hot Insulation by ONGC
• Results Tensile Tests: Parameters Composite Tensile Base Metal Tensile

Thickness mm 14.18 6.28

Width mm 38.00 12.44
Cross Section Area mm2 538.44 78.12
Ultimate Tensile Load N 415000 42000
Tensile Strength N /mm2 770 538
 Conclusion:
• Intangible Benefits:
• Absorption of knowledge, and Induction of globally practiced repair
methodology in place of conventional repair methodology of
replacements.
• Constant endeavor to bring in innovative practices
• Sustained supply of products to consumers
• Tangible Benefits:
• In case of Conventional repair, Gas Sweetening needs to be
shutdown. Expected time of repair would have consumed 30 Days.
• Per day loss would have been Rs. 3.51 Crore
• For 30 days loss would have accounted for Rs. 105.30 Crores
• Adoption of Online repair through Composite Application has saved
Rs. 105.30 Crores