Saudi Arabia Oil Refinery 400mm GRP Pipeline External Surface Damage Repair
When construction work at an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia revealed an underground 400mm GRP pipe to be suffering from external surface damage, the opportunity was taken to repair the line, restoring its integrity by strengthening the weakened areas to lessen the chances of future leaks.
Case Study Overview
Site Oil refinery
Location Saudi Arabia
Pipe Type 400mm GRP pipeline
Repair Type Surface restoration
Products Superfast Steel Epoxy Putty
Pipe Defect
The underground 400mm GRP pipe was excavated during ongoing construction work at the oil refinery. The external surface of the line was discovered to be damaged, suffering from heavy scoring in two areas.
Although the pipe was not yet leaking, the refinery were concerned that the weakening of the exterior would lead to a future breach. If that happened, the line would have to be excavated again for repair or possible replacement at considerable expense and inconvenience.
The refinery therefore decided to strengthen the line and restore its integrity by rebuilding the weakened areas whilst the pipe remained accessible. This would lessen the chance of leaks occurring after the pipe had been reburied.
SylWrap Solution
Superfast Steel Epoxy Putty was chosen for the application because of its fast work time and the small areas requiring repair.
Multiple 114g Superfast Steel Sticks were used, with chunks of putty cut from the stick and kneaded by hand.
Once the putty had turned to a uniform colour to indicate successful mixing and whilst still soft, it was pushed down onto the pipe and smoothed over the scored areas.
Within 10 minutes, Superfast Steel began to harden. Once fully cured, it permanently embedded into the imperfections in the line, creating a new layer as hard as steel which rebuilt the thickness of the weakened sections of GRP pipe.
Outcome
Applying Superfast Steel to all areas of damage took under two hours. The refinery could have further reinforced the line using SylWrap Pipe Repair Bandage, but they did not want to excavate further down to create the required clearance needed under the pipe to apply the wrap.
Had the area of damage been larger or deeper, Industrial Metal Epoxy Repair Paste would have been used. Industrial Metal is trowel applied and offers a longer work time, allowing more epoxy to be mixed and spread over significant sections of weakened pipes requiring rebuild.
Follow Up
Following the surface damage repair, the pipe was reburied. Several years later and there had been no reported breaches of the line, indicating that Superfast Steel had done its job in strengthening the pipe.
Products Used
Superfast Steel
Fast working epoxy putty repairs small areas of damage to restore pipe surface integrity
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