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Bob's bit
NEWS TechSeal says that it has developed a proprietary vulcanising technology to produce spliced FFKM seals and gaskets with solid profiles. These have strong bond integrity whilst still maintaining high-temperature and chemical resistance. The custom FFKM seals are ideal for use in several industries, such as the chemical processing, pharmaceuticals and semiconductor sectors. Contacts: Parker Hannifin Corp, TechSeal Division, 3025 West Croft Circle, Spartanburg, SC 29302, USA. Tel: +1 864 573 7332 Fax +1 864 583 4299, www.parker.com/techseal
degree of pigging efficiency can be achieved, making it particularly suitable for ready-foroperations (RFO) work, including mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) swabbing. Contacts: FTL Technology (UK), Bruntcliffe Avenue, Leeds 27 Business Park, Morley, Leeds, Yorkshire LS27 0TG, UK. Tel: +44 113 252 1061, Fax: +44 113 252 2627, Email: [email protected], Web: www.ftltech.co.uk, Web: www.varipig.co.uk Precision Polymer Engineering Ltd, Greenbank Road, Blackburn BB1 3EA, UK. Tel: +44 1254 295400, Fax: +44 1254 680182, Web: www.prepol.com
Parker Hannifin Corp, 6035 Parkland Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44124-414, USA. Tel: +1 216 896 3000, Fax: +1 216 896 4000, Web: www.parker.com
Idex Corp, 1925 West Field Court, Suite 200, Lake Forest, IL 60045-4824, USA. Tel: +1 847 498 7070, www.idexcorp.com
Pipeline pigging system is selfsupporting and self-centring
Pipe plugs are lightweight, safe and easy to install
F
TL Technology (UK), a business unit of US-based Idex Corp, and Precision Polymer Engineering Ltd’s sister company, is offering pipeline operators a versatile pigging system. Called the VariPig it was originally developed to meet the unique requirements of the Statoil Åsgard pipeline project, and address the anticipated high rates of wear that the sealing discs would have to withstand. It is based on a self-supporting and selfcentring suspension system. This enabled the pig to meet the challenging functional requirements of the project. A pipeline length of 710 km (440 miles) at a 1069-mm (42-inch) diameter, and a 500-m (0.3-mile) final stretch at a reduced diameter of 711 mm (28 inches), made drive-disc and support-disc wear a critical consideration. By carefully designing the suspension, the potential to overload the wheel assemblies was avoided when passing from the larger to the small diameter pipeline sections. Furthermore, a slow rotary motion was imparted to the whole pig train to even out wear on the discs. The issues faced and problems solved during the project resulted in the evolution and design of VariPig, and a new level of high efficiency pigging, says FTL Technology. Repeated testing has shown that the VariPig suspension system will run within 0.2% of pipe centre-line – 1.0–2.0 mm in a 1069-mm (42-inch) flow-line. This means that a high
T
relleborg Offshore and Construction’s Infrastructure business, a supplier of polymer-based products for deployment in highly demanding environments, has launched its latest range of pipe plugs which, it says, are lightweight, safe and easy to install. The company’s new production process means that the plugs are no longer completely manufactured by hand, resulting in a higher consistency of quality control and the ability to ensure finite detail within each plug. Produced using layers of rubber, reinforced with highquality aramid, material can be now applied more tightly so less fabric is required, resulting in a product that is lighter and more flexible than previously available versions. Jacco Vonk, Business Development Manager, Trelleborg Offshore and Construction, commented: ‘Pipe closures for maintenance or construction work are a common occurrence in sewage systems, so it is important that they are done quickly and efficiently to reduce delays or potential problems. In some instances, the pipe must be completely blocked off or the flow reduced. In these cases an inflatable stopper or pipe plug is ideal for the job.’ ‘In increasingly more challenging environments with even tighter budgets, it is important that working pipes are stopped for as little time as possible, and concerns over difficult or unsafe installations are reduced. This is why we have invested heavily in the design and
BOB’S BIT
T
here has been some severe testing of sealing capabilities around some parts of the UK ever since the heavy rain at Christmas. Unprecedented high rainfall continues as I write this, and many parts of the UK and Eire are under water. I have just seen a photo where the water level outside some patio doors is above the door handles. The only leakage appears to be through the keyholes, which is quite impressive. I hope for their sake that the doors continue to hold against the weight of the water. Even for those who have not been flooded, I wonder about longer term effects. The average vehicle bearing seals are no doubt very efficient against some occasional external water, but what is the potential effect of driving through 150–200 mm of water several times a day for six or eight weeks? We also have some impressive sealing topics for this month. I was very interested to read about the hot bolting service described on the front cover. This seems the sort of thing that I was always told should never be done. So if a safe system has been devised to enable hot work to replace corroded bolts this sounds an important step forward. I am somewhat intrigued how the correct bolt tension is achieved when the flange is under pressure and temperature, but I imagine that those more expert on bolted flanges than I know how to calculate such things. The news item on cold cure FIP elastomers also caught my eye. These have been around for some time, but do not appear to have made huge progress in the market place. I presume that the major potential of these systems is on low-to-medium volume components with complex shapes. What restricts their use? Perhaps the choice of elastomers is too limited. Our feature discusses an area that I know many of you find very interesting. The potential for using a diamond-based coating appears to offer a tribological wonder material. With hardness and conductivity orders of magnitude higher than other materials generally used, together with a much lower friction coefficient, it appears to offer considerable progress in potential seal reliability and performance. Do you remember when silicon carbide was a high-cost specialised material, as were PTFE and FKM? How long before diamond coatings become a standard specification for any high performance dynamic seal application? Bob Flitney
3 February 2014
Sealing Technology
degree of pigging efficiency can be achieved, making it particularly suitable for ready-foroperations (RFO) work, including mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) swabbing. Contacts: FTL Technology (UK), Bruntcliffe Avenue, Leeds 27 Business Park, Morley, Leeds, Yorkshire LS27 0TG, UK. Tel: +44 113 252 1061, Fax: +44 113 252 2627, Email: [email protected], Web: www.ftltech.co.uk, Web: www.varipig.co.uk Precision Polymer Engineering Ltd, Greenbank Road, Blackburn BB1 3EA, UK. Tel: +44 1254 295400, Fax: +44 1254 680182, Web: www.prepol.com
Parker Hannifin Corp, 6035 Parkland Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44124-414, USA. Tel: +1 216 896 3000, Fax: +1 216 896 4000, Web: www.parker.com
Idex Corp, 1925 West Field Court, Suite 200, Lake Forest, IL 60045-4824, USA. Tel: +1 847 498 7070, www.idexcorp.com
Pipeline pigging system is selfsupporting and self-centring
Pipe plugs are lightweight, safe and easy to install
F
TL Technology (UK), a business unit of US-based Idex Corp, and Precision Polymer Engineering Ltd’s sister company, is offering pipeline operators a versatile pigging system. Called the VariPig it was originally developed to meet the unique requirements of the Statoil Åsgard pipeline project, and address the anticipated high rates of wear that the sealing discs would have to withstand. It is based on a self-supporting and selfcentring suspension system. This enabled the pig to meet the challenging functional requirements of the project. A pipeline length of 710 km (440 miles) at a 1069-mm (42-inch) diameter, and a 500-m (0.3-mile) final stretch at a reduced diameter of 711 mm (28 inches), made drive-disc and support-disc wear a critical consideration. By carefully designing the suspension, the potential to overload the wheel assemblies was avoided when passing from the larger to the small diameter pipeline sections. Furthermore, a slow rotary motion was imparted to the whole pig train to even out wear on the discs. The issues faced and problems solved during the project resulted in the evolution and design of VariPig, and a new level of high efficiency pigging, says FTL Technology. Repeated testing has shown that the VariPig suspension system will run within 0.2% of pipe centre-line – 1.0–2.0 mm in a 1069-mm (42-inch) flow-line. This means that a high
T
relleborg Offshore and Construction’s Infrastructure business, a supplier of polymer-based products for deployment in highly demanding environments, has launched its latest range of pipe plugs which, it says, are lightweight, safe and easy to install. The company’s new production process means that the plugs are no longer completely manufactured by hand, resulting in a higher consistency of quality control and the ability to ensure finite detail within each plug. Produced using layers of rubber, reinforced with highquality aramid, material can be now applied more tightly so less fabric is required, resulting in a product that is lighter and more flexible than previously available versions. Jacco Vonk, Business Development Manager, Trelleborg Offshore and Construction, commented: ‘Pipe closures for maintenance or construction work are a common occurrence in sewage systems, so it is important that they are done quickly and efficiently to reduce delays or potential problems. In some instances, the pipe must be completely blocked off or the flow reduced. In these cases an inflatable stopper or pipe plug is ideal for the job.’ ‘In increasingly more challenging environments with even tighter budgets, it is important that working pipes are stopped for as little time as possible, and concerns over difficult or unsafe installations are reduced. This is why we have invested heavily in the design and
BOB’S BIT
T
here has been some severe testing of sealing capabilities around some parts of the UK ever since the heavy rain at Christmas. Unprecedented high rainfall continues as I write this, and many parts of the UK and Eire are under water. I have just seen a photo where the water level outside some patio doors is above the door handles. The only leakage appears to be through the keyholes, which is quite impressive. I hope for their sake that the doors continue to hold against the weight of the water. Even for those who have not been flooded, I wonder about longer term effects. The average vehicle bearing seals are no doubt very efficient against some occasional external water, but what is the potential effect of driving through 150–200 mm of water several times a day for six or eight weeks? We also have some impressive sealing topics for this month. I was very interested to read about the hot bolting service described on the front cover. This seems the sort of thing that I was always told should never be done. So if a safe system has been devised to enable hot work to replace corroded bolts this sounds an important step forward. I am somewhat intrigued how the correct bolt tension is achieved when the flange is under pressure and temperature, but I imagine that those more expert on bolted flanges than I know how to calculate such things. The news item on cold cure FIP elastomers also caught my eye. These have been around for some time, but do not appear to have made huge progress in the market place. I presume that the major potential of these systems is on low-to-medium volume components with complex shapes. What restricts their use? Perhaps the choice of elastomers is too limited. Our feature discusses an area that I know many of you find very interesting. The potential for using a diamond-based coating appears to offer a tribological wonder material. With hardness and conductivity orders of magnitude higher than other materials generally used, together with a much lower friction coefficient, it appears to offer considerable progress in potential seal reliability and performance. Do you remember when silicon carbide was a high-cost specialised material, as were PTFE and FKM? How long before diamond coatings become a standard specification for any high performance dynamic seal application? Bob Flitney
3 February 2014
Sealing Technology