Leak Sealing Clamp Installation

Techfield Engineers is involve in Pipeline cleaning(Pigging) services. Pipeline Pigging refers to the practice of using devices or implements known as 'pigs' to perform various cleaning, clearing, maintenance, inspection, dimensioning, process and pipeline testing operations on new and existing pipelines.For existing operational pipelines pigging is normally performed without stopping the flow of the product in the pipeline. The 'pigs' can be of differing materials and configurations such Polyurethane Open Cell Foam, Cast Polyurethane and Rubber.

How does the Pigging process work..

By inserting the Pig into a Pig Launcher (or Launching Station) and then applying flow under pressure to the rear of the device it will move into the pipeline. The force applied by a pig as it traverses a pipeline can be calculated by multiplying the cross sectional area of the back of the pig by the pressure applied to the rear of the pig.

Once a pig has launched and is moving through the pipeline the differential pressure can be calculated by subtracting the pressure in front of the pig from the pressure acting on the back of the pig. The pig speed can be calculated by tracking the pig at various points along the pipeline and calculating the time it takes to arrive at each point against the input pressure and flow rate and then converting to velocity.

Generally the outside diameter of most pigs will be sized to be larger than the internal bore and the resultant 'interference' enables the pig to scrape and remove debris as it traverses the pipeline. The degree of effectiveness in cleaning or clearing a pipeline is determined by the type of pig employed along with other influencing factors such as flow rate, pig speed, pressure, temperature, volume of debris to be removed, length of the pipeline, number of pigging runs, number and type of bends, pipeline elevations. pigging frequency and others.

When the pig reaches the other end of the pipeline it is captured in a Pig Catcher (or 'Receiving Station') which is isolated via a shut-off valve, allowing the pig to be safely removed.