AS/NZS 2885.

5:2012

AS/NZS 2885.5:2012
This is a free 7 page sample. Access the full version online.

Australian/New Zealand Standard

PipelinesGas and liquid petroleum
Part 5: Field pressure testing

AS/NZS 2885.5:2012
This Joint Australian/New Zealand Standard was prepared by Joint Technical
Committee ME-038, Petroleum Pipelines. It was approved on behalf of the Council
of Standards Australia on 1 May 2012 and on behalf of the Council of Standards
New Zealand on 1 May 2012.
This Standard was published on 20 September 2012.

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The following are represented on Committee ME-038:

APIA Research and Standards Committee
Australasian Corrosion Association
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Australian Institute of Petroleum
Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association
Australian Pipeline Industry Association
Bureau of Steel Manufacturers of Australia
Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade Resources and Energy, (SA)
Department of Labour New Zealand
Department of Mines and Petroleum (WA)
Department of Natural Resources and Mines (Qld)
Department of Resources (NT)
Energy Networks Association
Energy Safe Victoria
Gas Association of New Zealand
NSW Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services
Petroleum Exploration and Production Association New Zealand
Welding Technology Institute of Australia

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This Standard was issued in draft form for comment as DR AS/NZS 2885.5.

AS/NZS 2885.5:2012

This is a free 7 page sample. Access the full version online.

Australian/New Zealand Standard

PipelinesGas and liquid petroleum
Part 5: Field pressure testing

First published as AS 19781977.

Jointly revised and redesignated as AS/NZS 2885.5:2002.
This edition 2012.

COPYRIGHT
Standards Australia Limited/Standards New Zealand
All rights are reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or copied in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without the written
permission of the publisher, unless otherwise permitted under the Copyright Act 1968
(Australia) or the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand).
Jointly published by SAI Global Limited under licence from Standards Australia Limited,
GPO Box 476, Sydney, NSW 2001 and by Standards New Zealand, Private Bag 2439,
Wellington 6140

ISBN 978 1 74342 219 9

AS/NZS 2885.5:2012

PREFACE
This Standard was prepared by the Joint Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand
Committee ME-038, Petroleum Pipelines, to supersede AS/NZS 2885.5:2002.
The objective of this Standard is to set out methods for the determination of the strength
and the leak tightness of a pipeline test section.

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This revision includes the following substantial changes:

(a)

The document structure is changed to improve its readability.

(b)

A new section Safety is included. The new section (Section 2) incorporates safety
requirements from the 2002 revision, and introduces new obligations for assessing
safety, using the Safety management process of AS 2885.1, PipelinesGas and
liquid petroleum, Part 1: Design and construction.

(c)

Guidance is provided for freeze sectioning of a pipeline to assist in location of a leak.

(d)

In previous revisions of the Standard, the test engineer was required to make
engineering (design) assessments. This revision defines the responsibilities of the
design engineer and the test engineer, and the design responsibilities moved to
AS 2885.1.

(e)

The strength test end-point limit is redefined, with three test types being defined.
Where there is a possibility of yield in any pipe, additional analysis is required using
knowledge gained through research undertaken by the APIA Research and Standards
Committee.

(f)

The volume-controlled strain (offset volume) strength test end-point limit is deleted
since it does not reliably predict premature strain in a few pipes.

(g)

The criteria for leak test acceptance are redefined to recognize the effort required to
identify leaks in test sections of various volumes.

(h)

Criteria are provided for assessing a leak test of large diameter pipe. This revision
provides for test sections involving large diameter pipe to be extended to practical
lengths, and recognizes the experience from testing the Moomba to Sydney pipeline.

(i)

The provision in AS 2885.1 for pneumatic testing of pipelines is recognized.

(j)

The requirements for reporting are revised to make them consistent with requirements
of other parts of the Standard, and to reflect current industry expectations.

(k)

The method for assessing and accepting entrained air is revised.

At the date of publication of this Standard, the research being undertaken by APIA
Research and Standards Committee on Understanding hydrostatic test uncertainty is
incomplete. Because this research is expected to improve the leak test methods, the results
of this research may be incorporated in a future amendment to the Standard.
Statements expressed in normative terms in notes to tables and figures are deemed to be
requirements of this Standard.
The terms normative and informative have been used in this Standard to define the
application of the appendix to which they apply. A normative appendix is an integral part
of a Standard, whereas an informative appendix is only for information and guidance.

AS/NZS 2885.5:2012

CONTENTS
Page

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SECTION 1 SCOPE AND GENERAL

1.1 SCOPE ......................................................................................................................... 5
1.2 APPROVAL ................................................................................................................ 5
1.3 APPLICATION ........................................................................................................... 5
1.4 EXCLUSIONS............................................................................................................. 5
1.5 DEFINITIONS............................................................................................................. 6
1.6 TESTING PERSONNEL ............................................................................................. 8
1.7 SYMBOLS AND UNITS ............................................................................................. 8
1.8 ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................... 10
1.9 REFERENCED DOCUMENTS ................................................................................. 11
1.10 ROUNDING OF NUMBERS .................................................................................... 11
SECTION 2 SAFETY
2.1 BASIS OF SECTION ................................................................................................ 12
2.2 HAZARD ASSESSMENT ......................................................................................... 12
2.3 EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN ........................................................................... 12
2.4 COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT .............................................................. 13
2.5 EXCLUSION ZONE ................................................................................................. 13
2.6 ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY.................................................................................. 14
2.7 WORKING WITH COMPRESSED AIR OR GAS .................................................... 14
2.8 PROCEDURES AND PRECAUTIONS WHERE TEST FLUID IS AIR OR GAS .... 15
2.9 FILLING AND DEWATERING ............................................................................... 15
2.10 PROCEDURES AND PRECAUTIONS WHERE TEST FLUID IS PETROLEUM
LIQUID ..................................................................................................................... 15
2.11 PIPE SUBJECTED TO FREEZE SECTIONING....................................................... 16
SECTION 3 PRESSURE TEST DESIGN
3.1 BASIS OF SECTION ................................................................................................ 18
3.2 DESIGN RESPONSIBILITIES ................................................................................. 18
3.3 STRENGTH TEST PRESSURE TYPES ................................................................... 18
3.4 LEAK TEST REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................... 20
3.5 PRESSURE TEST SECTION DESIGN ..................................................................... 21
SECTION 4 EQUIPMENT AND TEST LIQUID
4.1 BASIS OF SECTION ................................................................................................ 22
4.2 ACCURACY, SENSITIVITY, AND REPEATABILITY OF EQUIPMENT ............. 22
4.3 INSTALLATION AND LOCATION OF TEST EQUIPMENT ................................. 24
4.4 TEST FLUID ............................................................................................................. 25
4.5 TEST HEADERS....................................................................................................... 25
SECTION 5 PREPARATION FOR TESTS
5.1 BASIS OF SECTION ................................................................................................ 26
5.2 TEST PLAN .............................................................................................................. 26
5.3 TEST SECTION ........................................................................................................ 28
5.4 PRESSURE TEST PROCEDURE ............................................................................. 28
5.5 SITE WORK .............................................................................................................. 28

AS/NZS 2885.5:2012

SECTION 6 FILLING
6.1 BASIS OF SECTION ................................................................................................ 29
6.2 FILLING.................................................................................................................... 29

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SECTION 7 PRESSURE TESTING

7.1 BASIS OF SECTION ................................................................................................ 30
7.2 PRELIMINARY TEST .............................................................................................. 30
7.3 PRETESTED PIPE .................................................................................................... 30
7.4 MECHANICAL INTERFERENCE JOINTS ............................................................. 30
7.5 PNEUMATIC TEST .................................................................................................. 30
7.6 TESTING OF PIPELINES WITH ABOVE-GROUND AND BELOW-GROUND
PIPE ........................................................................................................................... 31
7.7 PRESSURIZATION .................................................................................................. 31
7.8 STRENGTH TEST .................................................................................................... 32
7.9 LEAK TEST .............................................................................................................. 33
SECTION 8 REINSTATEMENT OF THE TEST SECTION
8.1 BASIS OF SECTION ................................................................................................ 41
8.2 REINSTATEMENT ................................................................................................... 41
SECTION 9 REPORTS AND RECORDS
9.1 BASIS OF SECTION ................................................................................................ 42
9.2 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS .............................................................................. 42
9.3 RECORDS ................................................................................................................. 44
APPENDICES
A
NORMATIVE REFERENCES .................................................................................. 45
B
BASIS OF THE STANDARD ................................................................................... 46
C
PRESSURE-VOLUME-TEMPERATURE RELATIONSHIPS IN PIPELINE
TEST SECTIONS ...................................................................................................... 62
D
HYPOTHETICAL TEST SECTION.......................................................................... 68
E
MONITORING BY USING THE PRESSURE-VOLUME METHOD ...................... 80
F
BEHAVIOUR OF TEST SECTIONS SUBJECTED TO A PRESSURE TEST ......... 82
G
INVESTIGATION OF A PREMATURE END-POINT ............................................. 90
H
EVALUATION AND MEASUREMENT OF RESIDUAL AIR ................................ 92
I
UNCERTAINTY IN LEAK TESTS ........................................................................ 101
J
ESTIMATION OF POTENTIAL GAS LEAKAGE RATE ...................................... 103
K
TYPICAL TEST CERTIFICATE ............................................................................ 113
L
SELECTION AND DESIGN OF TEST SECTIONS ............................................... 115
M
ADIABATIC TEMPERATURE CHANGES IN TEST SECTIONS ........................ 117
N
SAFETY IN PRESSURE TESTING ........................................................................ 119
O
TEST HEADER DESIGN........................................................................................ 125
P
TEST SECTION ANALYSIS USING ENGINEERING SOFTWARE
(OR FEA METHODS) ............................................................................................. 132
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................... 140

AS/NZS 2885.5:2012

STANDARDS AUSTRALIA/STANDARDS NEW ZEALAND

Australian/New Zealand Standard
PipelinesGas and liquid petroleum
Part 5: Field pressure testing

S E C T I O N

S C O P E

A N D

G E N E R A L

1.1 SCOPE

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This Standard sets out methods for the pressure testing of petroleum pipelines designed in
accordance with AS 2885.1 and operated in accordance with AS 2885.3. It may also be used
for testing other pipelines, including pipelines designed to, or operated to, AS 4645.2.
Pressure testing is used to establish
(a)

the pressure limit (PL ) in accordance with AS 2885.1 (strength test); and

(b)

the leak tightness of a test section (leak test).

Pressure testing with air or a gas whilst not recommended, is permitted by this Standard
within the limits nominated in AS 2885.1.
References in this Standard to liquid or fluid may be generically applied as applicable to air
or gas.
NOTE: For information on the history and basis of the Standard, see Appendix B.

1.2 APPROVAL
Each document prepared for a pipeline in accordance with this Standard shall be approved
as required by AS 2885.0.
Only documents, in addition to those nominated in AS 2885.0 that are required to be
approved by the Licensee, are so designated in this Standard. All other documents shall be
approved by the person, position or organization nominated in the Licensees approval
matrix.
1.3 APPLICATION
This Standard is applicable to steel pipelines that comply with AS 2885.1, AS 2885.3 and
AS 4645.2. It may also be applicable to high pressure steel pipelines designed and
constructed to national Standards of other countries. This Standard may be applied for
pretesting of pipe and components and for testing sections of pipe separate from the field
test.
1.4 EXCLUSIONS
This Standard does not apply to pressure testing of pipe manufactured from plastic or
fibreglass materials.
NOTE: The properties of these materials mean that the pipe may be damaged when tested by
methods designed for steel pipe. Procedures appropriate to these materials and documented in
another Standard should be used, or if required, developed.

COPYRIGHT

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AS/NZS 2885.5:2012 Pipelines - Gas and liquid

petroleum - Field pressure testing

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