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Pigs
Pigs
Pipelines operating at low flow rates (around 2 ft/sec or less) may allow solids to
settle in the pipe invert. PE has a smooth, non-wetting surface that resists the
adherence of sedimentation deposits. If the pipeline is occasionally subject to
higher flow rates, much of the sedimentation will be flushed from the system
during these peak flows. If cleaning is required, sedimentation deposits can
usually be flushed from the system with high pressure water.
Pressure piping systems may be cleaned with the water-jet process, or may be
pigged. Pigging involves forcing a resilient plastic plug (soft pig) through the
pipeline. Soft pigs must be used with PE pipe. Scraping finger type or bucket
type pigs may severely damage a PE pipe and must not be used. Usually,
hydrostatic or pneumatic pressure is applied behind the pig to move it down the
pipeline. Pigging should employ a pig launcher and a pig catcher.
A pig may discharge from the pipeline with considerable velocity and force. The
pig catcher is a basket or other device at the end of the line to safely receive or
catch the pig when it discharges from the pipeline.
Pipeline Cleaning
For as long as there have been pipelines, one of the most important tasks
related to them has been pipeline cleaning. Keeping pipelines clean is an
essential part of pipeline maintenance. In almost every industry, the condition
and maintenance of pipelines play an important role. These include pipelines for
the oil and gas industry, municipalities, power plants, mining, refineries,
chemical plants, pulp and paper mills, food and beverage, and cosmetic and
pharmaceutical uses.
Dacon Services offers cleaning and videopigging in addition to intelligent pigs equipped with
ultrasonic or MFL technology, in order to measure the wall thickness of pipelines.
Our pigs may be used to inspect pipelines with the following characteristics:
• Length: 0 – 60km
• Dimensions: 3″-64″ diameter
• Minimum bend: 1.5D
• Material type: Carbon Steel, austenitic steel, HDPE, HDPE Lined.
• Special: Pipelines with coatings, risers, subsea pipelines.
Ultrasonic Pigging (single probe): The pig is sent by fluid pressure and the ultrasound is sent
out through the pipe wall by the use of a rotating mirror. The pig continuously stores
measurements of the pipe wall, up to 1600 thickness measurements per second around the
circumference of the pipewall, which is illustrated as A, B and C-scan presentation using our
software.
Though the inspection speed of the single probe UT pig is somewhat limited, it still has a
detection capability of +/- 0.1mm in depth. This means the method is best suited for pipelines
up to 5000m.
Multi-Channel pig (Multiple Probes): The pig has multiple ultrasonic probes around the
circumference of the pig body, and can therefore operate at higher speeds. Optimum speed is
1m/s. This pig can therefore inspect longer pipe stretches on one battery charge. We use the
data to produce both A, B and C-scan presentations.
MFL pig: This pig is based on magnetism (magnetic flux leakage). This type of pigs will have a
much greater range and is better suited for inspection of long pipe stretches. Dimensions are
customized according to customer requirements.
DIVERSITY IN INTELLIGENT PIGGING SOLUTIONS
Dacon Inspection Services (Dacon) provide intelligent pigging solutions using a proprietary
ultrasonic system to all the major companies in the oil, gas, petrochemical and mining
industries globally. There is a constant thirst for new technology amongst our clientele, and
Dacon are constantly being asked to produce solutions for unpiggable pipelines, internally
lined pipelines, and non metallic pipelines.
HDPE Pipelines
One such request came from a multinational mining company in Indonesia. The mine had been
given permission to offload their treated tailings to a deep sea trench approximately 3.5 km
offshore, but as the tailings pipeline would traverse protected fisheries the Indonesian
government insisted they use non-metallic pipelines to reduce the environmental impact.
The mine management team opted to go with HDPE pipelines, but this meant there would be a
high erosion rate from the abrasive tailings mixed with water. The government stated that the
company should inspect these lines on a regular basis, and that once they reached a minimum
threshold they must be replaced. The mining company then approached Dacon to develop a
system capable of inspecting these pipelines.
There were many challenges in developing such a system. Firstly the pipelines were 48” in
diameter, with a nominal wall thickness of 110 mm (4.3”). HDPE has a very high attenuation of
ultrasonic signals, and it is very hard to get a signal from the outside diameter of a normal
thickness HDPE pipe, so this wall thickness was on the boundaries of possibility. Due to the
design and technology utilized by Dacon Ultrasonic Intelligent Pigs it was possible to develop a
tool that was able to address this issue and gather repeatable results.
The Dacon UT intelligent pig uses an Internal Rotating Inspection System (IRIS), which contains
a horizontally placed transducer contained within the central body of the pig. The transducer
sends its sound wave forward where it hits a 45° rotating mirror, which then directs the sound
wave perpendicular on to the pipe wall. From the inner pipe wall the next signal will travel to
the outer pipe wall. Every time the signal hits a surface it will reflect back the same way it was
sent allowing the computer to calculate the time of travel. This time of travel is then converted
to distance and measurement.
An ultrasonic reflection (echo) will take place at the inner wall (ID) and outer wall (OD) of the
pipelines. These echoes are reflected back, received and processed by the Data acquisition and
Central processing units. The time between these two echoes represents the wall thickness of
the pipe. The remaining wall thickness can be calculated by using the sound velocity in the
material, the sound velocity of any liquid which used as a propellant medium (this liquid will be
used as a couplant between the transducer and the pipe wall) and time of flight between two
echoes.
Using the above technology Dacon developed a highly sensitive low frequency system, which
experienced less signal attenuation and was able to get reliable signals from the OD of the
pipe. Specialist software was also developed to apply complex algorithms to the data, to be
able to visualize the erosion in the pipe, and give accurate remaining thickness measurements.
The tools are always run in triplicate to provide the ability to cross correlate results to confirm
the accuracy of the data.
HDPE pipelines fall outside of the normal codes and standards such as ASME B31.4 and B31G,
but these standards were applied to calculate wear rates and remaining life of each pipeline,
allowing the company to accurately estimate when the pipelines would need to be replaced.
It has been found that each pipeline lasts generally between 1-2 years depending on the ore
and production output. Working with Dacon, the company was able to establish a system of
when to install reserve lines, when to plan the next inspection, and when they must remove a
line, seamlessly switching to a strategically installed reserve line to avoid interrupting
production.
Due to the nature of the pipelines use (transporting slurry) it was expected that a significant
erosion groove would be encountered on the pipeline in the 6 o clock position. This can clearly
be found in the below illustration:
In addition to the expected erosion groove it was also found that additional erosion occurred
in the HDPE weld join areas due to turbulence in the pipeline caused by the water and slurry
mix travelling over the internal beading at the weld joints which is encountered when HDPE
lines are heat welded.
Logistical Challenges
The pipeline is open to the sea at the end, with the exit of the pipe approximately 130 meters
below the surface. A system had to be devised to safely retrieve the pigs, so Dacon added
pressure resistant buoyancy foam to the external bodies of the tools to allow them to float to
the surface and be retrieved by a support vessel and divers.
The pigs are fitted with air activated GPS systems to ensure they cannot be lost and flashing
beacons. The support vessel remains onsite above the end of the pipe via GPS, but the tools
can move underwater due to ocean currents and surface several hundred meters away. The
tools are all float tested before every inspection run. Given that the tools weigh approximately
550 kg, it takes a considerable amount of buoyancy force to keep them afloat.
The system has now been developed for smaller diameter HDPE pipes, and HDPE internally
lined steel pipes where both the liner and the steel can both be measured using advanced
algorithms and analysis tools. All data is downloaded immediately and scanned for major
defects, a site report can be issued within a few hours highlighting any major anomalies in the
pipeline, although full analysis takes longer and can normally be completed within two weeks
of demobilization.