T. A. Al-Ghamdi, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
The purpose of this work is to study and develop an appropriate welding procedure for the installation of full encirclement repair sleeves on in-service, internally coated water lines that can be utilized with no harm on the internal Fusion Bonded Epoxy Coating. Any possible damage can lead to frequent leaks. Prevention of coating damage and resulting leaks will increase the reliability of the supply/injection water system. The cost saving will be observed in increasing the remaining life of girth welds and defective trunk lines. Full encirclement sleeve repair is well known repair method and its effect on internal coating has never been evaluated. Different welding electrode types and sizes and various water flows are approached to find out the proper welding parameters. Multiple weld passes were applied circumferentially and longitudinally to weld sleeve on in-service API 5L X60 pipelines of 12” diameter X 0.375” thickness. This experiment is conducted on coated pipes with internal pressure of 185 psig and raw water temperature of 180 ºF.
Summary: The purpose of this work is to study and develop an appropriate welding procedure for the installation of full encirclement repair sleeves on in-service, internally coated water lines. The procedure can be utilized with no harm on the internal Fusion Bonded Epoxy Coating.
