Problem Summary

Anomaly Description:
The 14” Crude line that supplies to the refinery was inspected and it was noted that severe external pitting corrosion was found on the contact areas where the pipe meets the concrete sleepers. 178 support sections were identified with 27 of them having major wall thinning. Major findings had wall losses of approximately 70 percent.
2,7mm wall left from an original 9,52mm.

Root causes:
Improper design of sleeper support without consideration of any sacrificial wear material, for example a metal wear pad. The pipe is positioned directly on a 20mm diameter round bar. Because of the vibration and movement of the pipeline over the years, it has started eating away at the localised spots where the pipe meets the round bar.

Integrity concerns:
Further deterioration could lead to possible leaks on the pipeline. The pipeline supplies crude oil to the refinery which could result in major downtime and pose fire and environmental hazards. In major findings it is reported that the line is operating below the design minimum thickness due to design pressure.

  • Line Size: 14″

  • Design Pressure: 34.5

  • Operating Pressure: 2.59

  • Design Temperature: 60

  • Operating Temperature: 26

  • Material: SA-106 Gr B

  • Line Class: N/A

The Beruseal Solution

Beruseal engineered a diamond wrap composite repair according to ASME PCC2 to restore the pipeline wall thickness back to its original specification and enabled it to operate at full design conditions. Out of the 178 supports Beruseal wrapped, a total of 27 sections were below the pipelines T-min.

The remaining supports were fitted with a sacrificial steel wear pad and bonded with a steel epoxy putty.

The focus on both repairs was to remove the possibility of further external corrosion. For the repair to be implemented Beruseal worked in conjunction with a jacking company that specialises in the simultaneous jacking of a pipeline on multiple supports. The line was lifted 50mm off the support which enabled Beruseal to complete surface preparation to a bare metal finish and ensure a good bond of epoxy to the pipe material was achieved.

  • On-site repairs for maximum up-time productivity
  • Improved Safety by reducing noise & emissions
  • Equipment Integrity with international support & custom engineering

Get in touch with Beruseal