Cleaning and geometry inspection

prior to corrosion inspection

by Larry D Payne
TD Williamson, USA

Contents of this Paper:

Introduction

Internal corrosion inspection pigs

Cleaning for corrosion inspection

What makes a good cleaning pig?

Geometry inspection

Copyright 2001 Scientific Surveys Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pipeline Pigging and Integrity Monitoring Conference: Kuala Lumpur, 1998

Introduction
Today, all pipeline companies are concerned with the internal condition of their pipelines. U.S. federal regulations
have mandated routine internal inspections to monitor internal conditions. Aging pipelines are starting to fail.
Leaks, ruptures, and pipeline blowouts are failures that pipeline companies cannot afford. With these concerns,
most companies have established programs to routinely inspect their pipelines. These programs, such as risk
management, pipeline rehabilitation, pipeline integrity, and corrosion management are common. Job titles such as
corrosion engineer, corrosion technician, and manager of pipeline integrity are becoming critical positions. We
are also seeing conferences, trade shows, and seminars directed toward corrosion control technology. The
technology for corrosion detection with internal inspection pigs has improved tremendously and has proven to be
an effective method for finding internal corrosion problems.
This paper will concentrate on preparing a pipeline for an internal pig corrosion inspection.

Internal corrosion inspection pigs

Before we can properly understand why a line must be prepared for a corrosion inspection, we must understand
what a corrosion inspection tool is and how it works. Corrosion tools are massive in size and weight. It is not
unusual for a 30-in tool to weigh 5,000 pounds and be 12 to 15ft long. These tools carry on-board computers to
collect, analyze, and collate the data. Most tools work on the magnetic flux principle. This requires that a
magnetic field be induced into the pipe. Any disruption of this magnet field is analyzed and reported as a flaw.
Today's tools are highly accurate in reporting the percent of metal loss and location. The accuracy in sizing the
corrosion deterioration is dependent upon the cleanliness of the pit and pipeline. Therefore, dirty lines not only
risk not being able to properly size metal loss corrosion but the debris gathered with the corrosion tool may cause
the tool to malfunction and/or possibly become stuck.
Also, corrosion tools, because of their size and mass, have a hard diameter requirement and a minimum bend
requirement. Hard diameter is defined as the minimum opening the tool will traverse. Most tools will only
traverse diameter restrictions from 7 to 10%. For example, a 30-in tool could only pass a diameter restriction of
2.1in to 3in before damaging or hanging the tool. The other requirement that can affect the type of tool to be used
is the minimum bend radius. Some inspection tools are limited to 1.5 D bends while others can handle 3 D bends.
A 1.5 D bend is a bend that is described by having a center radius equal to 1.5 times the diameter of the pipe. For
example: a 30-in pipeline with a 1.5 D bend would have a center bend radius of 45 ins; a 3D bend in the same size
would have a center radius of 90 ins.
Therefore, if a line is not clean or contains reductions or bends not compatible with the corrosion tool, the line
cannot be properly inspected.

Cleaning for corrosion inspection

Most companies think running one or two pigs prior to a corrosion inspection is adequate. In some cases, this may
be true. However, in most cases it is not. The cleaner the line, the more accurate the corrosion inspection results.
The corrosion pig has been recognized as one of the best cleaning pigs on the market. The reasons are:

it is equipped with 4 to 8 cups;

the magnetic flux tools have heavily loaded brushes to maintain contact with the pipe wall for magnetic
pipe contact;

the pigs are very heavy, which creates a heavy load on the pipe wall; and

the magnetic field attracts ferrous material. Therefore, it is not uncommon to have a corrosion tool
remove more internal debris than a standard cleaning pig. If you are going to clean a line for a corrosion
survey, you need an aggressive cleaning pig that cleans as well as or better than a corrosion pig.
Copyright 2001 Scientific Surveys Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cleaning and geometry inspection prior to corrosion inspection

What makes a good cleaning pig?

A good cleaning pig is equipped with several or all of the possible cleaning elements available. Cleaning elements
include scraper discs, scraper blades, brushes, magnets, and scraper cups. The arrangement and design of these
cleaning elements are primary factors that make them effective.

Scraper disc
This is normally a flat disc that attacks the pipe wall with a scraper edge. The harder the disc, the more effective.
The larger the diameter and the thicker the disc, the more effective. However, the hardness, thickness, and
diameter must be balanced to give the disc the flexibility and wear characteristics to make it effective.

Scraper blades
These are usually mounted on spring arms to meet a desired load on the pipe wall. These are non-metallic,
polyurethane blades set at an angle. The harder the blade and the heavier the load, the more effective the cleaning.
However, the load and hardness must be balanced to make the blades effective without wear-out or distortion. A
single row of scraper blades is the equivalent to three discs in perimeter scraping. The spring-loaded blade makes
it wear-compensating. This means as the blade wears, the spring arm keeps the blade against the pipe wall. This
does not occur with a scraper disc. Scraper blades are most effective at removing large amounts of soft deposits
such as mud, sludge, and paraffin.

Brushes
Brushes are the most effective cleaning elements for removing hard internal deposits such as mill scale, black
powder, sand, calcium, and crusting. This makes them especially effective in corrosion control applications.
Brush designs vary tremendously throughout the industry and one should pay close attention to the detail of the
brush. Brush wrap assemblies only rely upon the spring load of the individual bristles. Once these bristles are
worn, the load is lessened which decreases the effectiveness. A spring-loaded wear compensating brush has a
much greater load, making it more effective. Fine wire bristles and individually loaded bristles make brush pigs
very effective for cleaning corrosion pits.

Magnets
Magnetic cleaning elements have only become available over the last few years. The magnetic shoes on the
corrosion pigs gather the ferrous material that creates problems in their information gathering process. These
problems have created the need for magnetic cleaning elements. The factors making a good magnet cleaning
element are magnet strength, magnet location, and mounting method. Magnets are more effective when mounted
close to the pipe periphery, and most ferrous materials are located in the lower quadrant of the pipe.

Scraper cups
The primary purpose of a scraper cup is to carry the pig through the line. However, cups do provide another
source for cleaning, and a good cup design will assist the cleaning operation. The shape, wear surface, and
material are the most important factors in cup design. Conical cups with a small mounting diameter provide an
excellent seal and allow the pig to traverse major restrictions.

Copyright 2001 Scientific Surveys Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pipeline Pigging and Integrity Monitoring Conference: Kuala Lumpur, 1998

Pig design
The optimum pig design is a pig or multiple pigs giving you all the best cleaning element options. Since it is
recommended that some cleaning occur prior to running a geometry pig, it is important that the cleaning pig have
the capability to traverse major reductions. Lines that have not been cleaned routinely may require a more
conservative approach with a progressive pigging program. A progressive pigging program is one that starts with
a less aggressive pig and progresses to the most aggressive pig. Pig trains or coupled pigs have proven to be the
most aggressive cleaning pigs. A pig train may be two or three pigs connected together with a flex coupler, which
allow the train to traverse sharp bends. An excellent train pig would be a multiple cupped/disc pig with spring
loaded cleaning blades, followed by a multiple disc pig with spring loaded cleaning brushes, followed by a
multiple disc pig with brush wraps and magnetic cleaning elements.
Once this train is received without any significant amount of debris, the line is ready for a corrosion inspection
pig.

Geometry inspection
The importance of performing a geometry inspection prior to a corrosion inspection assures:

there are no major reductions that will prohibit safe passage of the corrosion pig.

the line contains no sharp bends that exceed the requirements of the corrosion pig.

the degree of cleanliness of the pipeline, and

the information recorded by the geometry pig can help identify benchmarks and other critical locations
proven to be useful in the corrosion log analysis.

Geometry pigs (often referred to as Kaliper or caliper pigs) were the first internal inspection pigs to enter the
internal inspection market. This occurred in the early 1970s.
Their purpose was to size and locate major diameter reductions such as dents, buckles, or gouges. Most geometry
pigs will traverse reductions 30 to 40%. For example, a 30-in geometry pig will pass through a 30-in pipe
squeezed down to a 17-in opening. Since the first geometry pigs were introduced, refinements have improved
their locating and sizing accuracy, and the bend radius measurement capability has been added.
Today's geometry pigs can size reductions as small as 1/8 in and locate these reductions within a few feet. The
bend radii can be measured in bends with a radius equal to ten pipe diameters.
Geometry pigs can also find and locate internal benchmarks such as: mainline valves, check valves, pipe wall
changes, debris build-up, ovality, and side connections.
Performing a corrosion inspection to ensure a pipeline's integrity is an important decision. Your company's next
decision should be "What does it take to do it right?"

Copyright 2001 Scientific Surveys Ltd. All rights reserved.