METHOD FOR THERMALLY INSULATING WELDED JOINTS OF PRE-INSULATED PIPES

Abstract

The invention relates to pipe heat insulation and in particular to methods of heat insulation installation on welded joints of subterranean pipes for transporting oil and oil products. The method includes applying an anticorrosive layer on the welded joint using heat-shrinkable polymeric tape, mounting heat insulating polyurethane foam pipe coverings on the tape, using tie straps with locks to secure the pipe coverings, gluing hot-melt adhesive tape at the edges of a pipe protective envelope to overlap the envelope and the pipe coverings, installing a metal casing symmetrically relative to the center of the weld joint, and sealing the metal casing and the envelope with a heat-shrinkable polymeric fabric. The technical result provides anticorrosive protection and heat insulation of the welded joint of steel pipelines, provides improved heat insulation installation on the pipeline, and reduces the cost of installation and labor intensity.

Claims

1. A method of providing heat insulation of a welded joint of pipes to be laid below ground and having factory heat insulation, a protective metal envelope, and factory-fitted anticorrosive free end portions, comprising: positioning a gasket having heat-shrinkable polymer tape about the welded joint; positioning a heat-insulating coating having polyurethane pipe coverings about the gasket, the polyurethane pipe coverings including at least two segments of a shape that defines an opening for receiving the welded joint, the polyurethane pipe coverings having geometrical dimensions that are similar to a space between the factory heat insulation of the pipes, the heat insulation coating being aligned with the protective metal envelope of the pipes; covering transverse joints of the polyurethane foam pipe coverings with a sealant; fastening the polyurethane pipe coverings with tie bands having locks; installing a metal casing such that it overlaps the protective metal envelope of the pipes and is positioned around the heat-insulating coating, the metal casing having loose ends that overlap near a top of the welded joint; and sealing a joint between the metal casing and the protective metal envelope using a heat-shrinkable polymer tape.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising sealing a joint between the protective metal envelope and the polyurethane pipe coverings using a hot-melt adhesive tape.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a tool joint between the ends of the factory-fitted heat insulation and adjacent polyurethane pipe coverings by forming a stepped shape in a longitudinal direction in the factory-fitted heat insulation and the adjacent polyurethane pipe coverings.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising tying the polyurethane pipe coverings together using temporary belts until they are adjacent to each other and to adjacent edges of the factory-fitted heat insulation prior to fastening the polyurethane pipe coverings with the tie bands, and removing the temporary belts after fastening the glass foam pipe coverings with the tie bands.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein sealing the joint between the metal casing and the protective metal envelope using a heat-shrinkable polymer tape further includes sealing a first joint between the metal casing and a first protective metal envelope using a first polymer tape, sealing a second joint between the metal casing and a second protective metal envelope using a second polymer tape, and placing a third polymer tape to overlap the first polymer tape and the second polymer tape.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: abrasive blast cleaning the welded joint and the end portions of the pipes prior to positioning the gasket about the welded joint; placing four contact thermometers equidistant about a perimeter of the welded joint; drying the welded joint to a predetermined temperature based on measurements from the four contact thermometers; and applying a uniform layer of primer to the cleaned and heated welded joint and end portions of the pipes prior to positioning the gasket about the welded joint. Method of claim 1, characterized in that before installing the gasket, the surface of the weld joint and adjoining area is prepared by cleaning the metal surface by abrasive blast method, and drying to a predetermined temperature with the control on the four equidistant points around the perimeter of the weld joint with the help of a contact thermometer.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: heating a loose end of the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape; fastening the loose end of the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape to an upper generatrix of the end portions of the pipes; wrapping the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape around the end portions of the pipes such that the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape has a sag; positioning a second loose end of the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape over the first loose end such that the second loose end overlaps the first loose end by at least 100 millimeters (100 mm); heating the second loose end and fastening the second loose end on the first loose end; securing the overlap of the first loose end and the second loose end using a locking plate having a higher adhesive layer melting temperature than that of the gasket; and shrinking the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape by heating the sag such that the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape has a thickness of at least 2 mm when a diameter of the pipes is less than or equal to 820 mm and has a thickness of at least 2.4 mm when the diameter of the pipes is greater than 820 mm.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a quality of the gasket by inspecting an appearance of the gasket, measuring an amount of overlap of the gasket on a factory-fitted anticorrosive coating of the pipes, measuring a thickness of the gasket, measuring a dielectric continuity of the gasket to ensure it is at least 5 kilovolts per mm, and measuring an adhesion of the gasket to the welded joint and to pipe sections that include the factory-fitted anticorrosive coating to ensure it is at least 70 Newtons per centimeter.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising cutting the polyurethane pipe coverings to have a width that is within 7 mm of a distance between factory-fitted heat insulation of the pipes.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the heat insulation coating has a thickness that is less than a sum of a thickness of the factory-fitted heat insulation and a thickness of the protective metal envelope.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising validating an installation by visually inspecting an appearance of the heat insulation coating, measuring a size of overlap of the metal housing on the factory-fitted protective metal envelope, and measuring a distance between each of the fasteners and between an edge of the metal housing and the fasteners.

12-19. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The features of the disclosure are illustrated by the following drawings.

[0026] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a welded joint heat insulation design without a housing installed;

[0027] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the mounting of a metal housing for heat insulation of the welded joint of FIG. 1 for above surface pipes;

[0028] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating edges of pipe coverings and adjacent factory-fitted insulation, the edges having a stepped shape;

[0029] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a metal casing positioned about the welded joint of FIG. 1 and a metal envelope of adjacent pipes;

[0030] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a stepped shape formed in edges of an insulating pipe covering and adjacent edges of a factory installed insulation; and

[0031] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating heat-shrinkable polymeric tapes of heat-shrinkable fabric installed outward from the metal casing of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The drawings include the following elements along with their corresponding reference numbers:

[0033] 1. welded joint,

[0034] 2. steel pipe,

[0035] 3. factory heat insulation of a steel pipe,

[0036] 4. protective metal polymeric envelope (external) of a steel pipe,

[0037] 5. factory anticorrosive coating of a steel pipe,

[0038] 6. welded metal end sections of pipes,

[0039] 7. gasket of heat-shrinkable polymeric tape for preliminary anticorrosion protection of the welded joint,

[0040] 8. pipe covering made of polyurethane foam that forms a heat insulation coating when assembled,

[0041] 9. tightening metal bands with a lock that are to be mounted on the pipe covering,

[0042] 10. a joint between the factory heat insulation 3, the protective metal polymeric envelope 4 and the pipe coverings 8,

[0043] 11. hot-melt adhesive tape, glued on the joint 10,

[0044] 12. the metal casing made of galvanized metal sheet,

[0045] 13. fasteners,

[0046] 14. end edges of the pipe factory heat insulation and adjacent pipe covering having a stepped shape in longitudinal section,

[0047] 15. and 16heat-shrinkable polymeric tapes that are installed on the metal casing 12, forming the heat-shrinkable fabric.

[0048] Locking plates that are mounted on heat-shrinkable polymeric tapes and temporary straps with a tensioning mechanism that are mounted on the pipe covering and on the galvanized metal casing are not shown.

Definitions

[0049] A protective metal envelope of a metal pipelining (factory-fitted) is a cylindrical structure mounted on the outer surface of the pipe heat insulation to protect it from mechanical damages and environmental impacts and includes an anticorrosive coating.

[0050] Polyurethane foam pipe coverings are segments of polyurethane foam that are made by pouring the foam into a mold of a predefined shape and hardening the foam.

[0051] An exemplary method of installation of fire and heat insulation of welded joints of pipes for below surface pipelining is implemented as follows.

[0052] The disclosure is intended primarily for use in subsurface pipelining in severe climatic conditions (such as those reaching minus 60 degrees Celsius (.degree. C.)) of a pipeline system for transporting oil and oil products. The pipeline system for these conditions is constructed of pre-insulated pipes (sections) having a diameter of up to 1,020 millimeters (mm) and having a factory heat insulation 3 positioned about steel pipes 2 that have an anticorrosive coating 5. A protective metal polymeric envelope 4 is positioned outward from the insulation 3. Pipes have end sections 6 that are free from the factory heat insulation. A portion of the end sections surface has an anticorrosive coating 5 and a portion has no anticorrosive coating. The end sections of the pipes 6 are welded into the pipeline system in the field. If there is a positive opinion on the quality of welded joint of pipes (i.e., the welded joint 1 has been determined to be acceptable), welded joint heat insulation works are launched (i.e., steps to install a thermal insulation are performed).

[0053] The steps for installing the heat insulation of the welded joint 1 include applying a preliminary anticorrosive protection of to the welded joint using a gasket 7 made of heat-shrinkable polymeric tape. To do this, the surface of the welded joint is prepared at a distance of not less than 200 mm from the joint. The surface of the welded joint is cleaned of to remove dirt, dust, grease, moisture, and the like, and is then dried by heating with a gas burner to a predetermined temperature. The predetermined temperature depends on the grade of the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape, c. The temperature is checked using multiple contact thermometers positioned at four equidistant points around the perimeter of the welded joint. If the surface is heated above the desired temperature, heating is stopped to reach the temperature normative values such that the temperature can be reduced to the predetermined temperature. The metal surface is cleaned using a blast abrasive method, which includes cleaning of the area of the factory-fitted anticorrosive coating of the pipe that is adjacent to the cleaned area, at a distance of not less than 100 mm from the edge of the anticorrosive coating of the pipe anticorrosive coating. Next, the prepared surface is coated with an even layer of primer, such as a two-component epoxy primer (comprising an epoxy resin and a hardener). The time from the start of mixing of primer components to its application on the pipe surface should not exceed the time indicated in the manufacturer's technical documentation for the primer.

[0054] The gasket made of heat-shrinkable polymeric tape is mounted on the surface that is coated with primer. For this purpose, the cleaned surface in the area of the welded joint is heated to the temperature specified by the manufacturer of the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape (such as between 95.degree. C. and 105.degree. C.) using a gas-burner, for subsequent application of heat-shrinkable polymeric tape. The heating temperature parameters of the cleaned pipe surface are determined based on the parameters of the particular brand and composition of the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape. The heat shrinkable polymeric tape is a two-layer insulating material consisting of a heat and light stabilized, electronically or chemically sewed, longitudinally oriented polymeric layer of the tape and an adhesive layer (adhesive) that may include hot-melt polymer compounds specified by the manufacturer. While applying heat-shrinkable polymeric tape on the surface of the welded joint, the welded joint temperature is also measured using a contact thermometer in four equidistant points around the perimeter of the welded joint. The thickness of the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape gasket is chosen depending on the diameters of the pipes used (see Table 1 below).

[0055] TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 The thickness of the coating area of welded joints depending on the pipeline diameter. Minimum coating thickness, mm, Pipeline diameter, mm not less than Up to 273 1.2 Over 273 to 530 1.8 Over 530 to 820 2.0 Over 820 2.4

[0056] The gasket of heat-shrinkable polymeric tape 7 is mounted around the welded joint 1. The polyethylene coating is on top and the lower adhesive layer is applied to the welded joint, with the upper end overlapping the lower one. The size of the overlap should be at least 100 mm. When mounting the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape, the lower end is heated using a burner flame on the side of the adhesive layer, preventing the shrinkage of polyethylene, and is then pressed to the surface of the welded joint coated having the primer. The size of overlap of the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape on the factory-fitted anticorrosive coating adjacent to the welded joint area is at least 50 mm for pipelines having a diameter up to and including 530 mm, and at least 75 mm for pipelines having a diameter greater than 530 mm.

[0057] The heat-shrinkable polymeric tape is wrapped around the insulated surface with a sag located at the bottom of the forming pipe. Then, its second end (top) is also heated with a burner on the side of the adhesive layer and placed overlapping over the lower end. The overlap of the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape ends is rolled using a roller to remove any air bubbles. Thus, the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape, when closed in a ring, has the sag of the fabric that will be later shrinked. Then the area of the upper end of the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape overlapping the lower end is fastened with a locking plate, which is a measuring section of a reinforced heat-shrinkable tape having a higher adhesive layer melting temperature than the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape gasket. The locking plate is heated with a burner flame and is mounted directly on the overlap of the tape ends with the adhesive layer downwards and the polyethylene layer upwards. This provides the advantage of preventing the opening of the overlap of the tape ends during installation and shrinkage of the tape. After installation, the locking plate is heated with a yellow burner flame until the overlapping contours are visible underneath. Afterwards, the assembly is rolled to the surface of the pipe using a roller to remove any air bubbles and to level the entire material. The shrinkage of the heat-shrinkable polymeric tape gasket is started immediately after the installation of the plate using a burner, evenly distributing the flame, from the bottom of the forming pipe, that is, the area of the maximum tape sag. A preferred shrinkage is performed from the center of the tape to one side and then from the center of the tape to the other side, moving the burner around the diameter of the pipe, while avoiding overheating of the tape fabric. If a uniform and simultaneously intensive heating is performed, the tape shrinks without air bubbles and buckles.

[0058] After applying anticorrosive protective coating on the welded joint in the form of the gasket 7 made of heat-shrinkable polymeric tape, the coating is inspected. In particular, the following features of the coating are inspected: its appearance, the size of overlap on the factory-fitted anticorrosive coating 5, the gasket thickness, its dielectric continuity (which should be of at least 5 kilovolts per mm (kV/mm)), and the adhesion of the gasket to the welded joint and the pipe section with factory-fitted anticorrosive coating (which should be of at least 70 Newtons per centimeter (N/cm)).

[0059] After the inspection, the heat-insulating pipe coverings 8 are installed. The pipe coverings 8 resemble segments of a hollow cylinder and are made of polyurethane. The assembled heat insulation coating made of pipe coverings may be a hollow 2-segment cylinder (when the outer diameter of the pipe 2 is up to 820 mm), a hollow 3-segment cylinder (when outer diameter of the pipe 2 is between 820 mm and 1,020 mm), or a hollow 4-segment cylinder (when the outer diameter of the pipe to exceeds 1,020 mm).

[0060] The pipe coverings 8 are chosen to have geometrical dimensions that provide the smallest possible gap (less than 0.7 mm) between the pipe coverings 8 and the factory-fitted insulation 3 so that a smooth outer surface is formed with the factory-fitted insulation 3. For that purpose, the distance between the ends of the factory-fitted insulation 3 is measured, and if the pipe coverings' width is bigger than the measured value, the pipe coverings are cut to the desired size. In order to form a smooth outer surface of the mounted pipe coverings and the protective metal envelope 4, the thickness of the pipe coverings at the joint 1 may be less than the total thickness of the factory-fitted insulation layer and the protective metal envelope 4. The size of the pipe coverings 8 may be similar to the gasket 7 made of heat-shrinkable polymeric tape and the pipe coverings 8 may be mounted on the welded joint.

[0061] Experimental development carried out in Transneft R & D, LLC showed that the optimal number of pipe coverings is the number indicated in Table 2, depending on the diameter of the pipe.

[0062] TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 The number of pipe coverings depending on the diameter of the pipe. Pipe diameter, mm Number of pipe coverings, mm Up to and including 820 2 Over 820 to 1,020 inclusive 3 Over 1,020 4

[0063] When installing two pipe coverings, their joints should be in the positions corresponding to 3 and 9 o'clock (corresponding to positions on a clock face). When installing three pipe coverings, their joints' positions should correspond to 2, 6, and 10 o'clock. When installing four pipe coverings, their joints' positions should correspond to 2, 5, 8, and 11 o'clock. Heat insulation coating can be collected from pipe coverings with their transverse joints, and the pipe coverings can have male and/or female tool joints along the entire length of the end surface. This allows for their installation to be close to each other.

[0064] The transverse joints are protected with a sealant. Afterwards, temporary belts are mounted on the assembled pipe coverings 8 and tightened to couple the joints of the pipe coverings, reducing the likelihood of damage to the pipe coverings. After that, at least three metal bands 9 having a lock are mounted on pipe coverings. One of the metal bands 9 is in the middle of the welded joint, and two other metal bands 9 are positioned at a distance between 150 mm and 200 mm from the pipe covering edge. The metal bands are tightened using a tensioner.

[0065] Next, the joint 10 between the factory-fitted heat insulation 3 with a protective metal envelope 4 and the pipe coverings 8 are sealed with a hot-melt adhesive tape 11. Afterwards, the metal casing 12 is installed symmetrically with the welded joint and overlaps the protective metal envelope 4 of the metal pipe 2. Before installing the hot-melt adhesive tape 11, the metal protective envelope 4 is marked to show the boundaries of positioning of the galvanized metal casing 12, ensuring equal overlap on the protective metal envelope 4. Next, the hot-melt adhesive tape 11 is positioned on the marked boundaries, overlapping the heat insulation coating made of pipe coverings 8.

[0066] The hot-melt adhesive tape 11 is installed by heating the metal protective envelope 4 by holding a burner flame to the marked boundaries and applying the hot-melt adhesive tape in two layers, overlapping the tape, on the pipe coverings 8. The combined two layers of hot-melt adhesive tape may be 200 mm plus or minus 5 mm wide and 2.0 mm plus or minus 0.2 mm thick. Then, the metal casing 12 made of galvanized sheet metal is wrapped around the portion of the pipe having the heat insulating coating made of pipe coverings 8. The loose ends of the metal casing 12 are placed on the side of the upper forming pipe with an overlap oriented downward. The overlap should be in the positions corresponding to 1 to 2 o'clock or from 10 to 11 o'clock and should be at least 100 mm. This metal housing is pre-bound using belts with a tensioning mechanism (not shown) to fully extend around the heat insulation coating 8. Afterwards, the housing edges are heated using a gas burner flame to melt the hot-melt adhesive tape positioned underneath, and the belts with tensioning mechanism are finally tightened and then removed after bonding the sheet with tie bands with locks or using fasteners 13. Fasteners, such as galvanized self-tapping screws having a press washer are positioned at every 80-100 mm and at 10-20 mm from the housing edge. The deviation of the placement of fasteners from the line should not exceed 5 mm. After being installed, the metal casing 12 should cling to the heat insulation coating made of pipe coverings 8.

[0067] The quality of the heat insulation installation and the protective coating of the metal (galvanized) casing 12 is determined by visually inspecting the appearance of the insulation installation and metal casing 12, the size of overlap on the factory-fitted protective metal envelope of pipes (on the pipe perimeter), the size of the overlap of the housing ends against each other and positioned along the generatix, and the distance between the screws and the housing edge.

[0068] After validating the quality of the installation of the insulation and protective coating, the surface of the casing 12 is dried by heating the surface with a gas burner with temperature control and verifying the temperatures using contact thermometers at four equidistant points about the circumference. The surface of the casing 12 is cleaned using an abrasive blast method. An adjacent area of the protective metal polymeric envelope 4 is also cleaned for a distance of at least 100 mm. Two heat-shrinkable polymer tapes 15 having a width of 650 mm are mounted at the edges of the casing 12 and overlap the protective metal polymeric envelope 4 by at least 110 mm. A third heat-shrinkable polymeric tape 16 is set on the top in the middle and overlaps the first two heat-shrinkable polymer tapes 15, as shown in FIG. 6. The installation of heat-shrinkable tapes on the metal casing is performed similarly to the installation of heat-shrinkable tapes that forms the gasket 7.

[0069] Quality assurance of the heat-shrinkable fabric applied on the metal casing includes the following: visually inspecting the appearance of the coating, measuring the amount of overlap on the protective envelope 4 of insulated pipes that connect into the junction, measuring the amount of overlap on adjacent tapes, measuring the thickness of the coating, measuring the dielectric continuity, measuring the adhesion of the coating to the protective envelope 4 and to the galvanized casing 12, and measuring the adhesion at the area of overlap of adjacent tapes.

[0070] The method described above provides anticorrosive protection and heat insulation of welded pipe joints of subterranean pipelines in relatively cold environments while simplifying the installation of heat insulation of joints of the pipelines. The method also increases the service life of the welded pipelines. In addition, the proposed method provides improved installation technology of heat insulation on the pipelines, which in turn reduces the cost and labor required for installation.