Kelvin't clever solution

Land based

Kelvin’s safe, fast installation process can dramatically reduce project turnaround time

LAND BASED PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY AWARD WINNER

Kelvin’s clever solution With ‘KELVIN – Beyond the Limits of Experience’, Seal for Life Industries offers the first intelligent assistant tool in heat shrinkable sleeve installation as well as optimal installation and performance

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The oil and gas, and water pipeline industry has becomes more demanding over the years. The application of new technologies means it is now expected pipelines to last for a period of 50 years or longer. We also expect jointed sections to last for the same period. Given the fact that the application of the protective systems to the field joint area is exposed to environmental influences, one can imagine how difficult it is to ensure a perfect application time for every joint where 100 per cent repeatability is required.

Knowing these expectations, we need to ask ourselves if we pay enough respect to the treatment of the heat shrinkable sleeve (HSS) materials during installation. The treatment of these materials is critical to ensure the required long-lasting performance, but this treatment should not negatively affect

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FAST FACTS n Full y mobile units n No HSE issues n No need to pre apply closure patch n Adverse weather conditions do not affect performance n Extremely lightweight n Low energy consumption n Very fast and safe installation process

performance; for instance, the installation by open flame and or infrared radiation can cause problems for HSS materials.

Since the industry is insisting on the shortest installation times possible, manufacturers are challenged to introduce materials and equipment to meet their expectations. The downside of this development is the potential exposure of the heat shrink materials to high temperatures

in extremely short periods, making the materials shrink.

Although many focus on reducing shrinking times, it is certainly not the feature to focus on when it comes to considering long-term performance.

Meeting our clients’ expectations At Seal for Life Industries, it’s our duty to support the industry with innovative ideas in line with clients’ expectations and demands. With regard to the outlined scenario, we strongly believe the main focus should be on respecting the characteristics of the backing materials and at the same time the inflow of the

mastic / hotmelt adhesive. This will ensure a full wetting of the substrate and create optimal bond. To ensure such inflow, we need to respect the softening temperature of the mastic / hotmelt and the time it needs to completely wet the substrate – in other words, the bond temperature and bonding time.

For the optimal performance and shortest installation time of the Seal for Life Heat Shrink Sleeve Systems, we developed a system that respects the characteristics of the sleeve materials and allows maximum installation comfort and performance. This system is the first intelligent assistant tool in

‘The KELVIN offers optimal and guaranteed installation comfort and performance by “reading” the characteristics of the sleeve materials’

Land based HSS installation and a landmark development – the KELVIN.

Introducing KELVIN The KELVIN offers optimal and guaranteed installation comfort and performance by ‘reading’ the characteristics of the sleeve materials that are applied. The KELVIN also creates an optimal HSE scenario, because there is no need to apply the closure patch by open flame prior to the operation.

Instead, the closure patch is installed during the process.

The built-in sensor technology recognises the softening point of the adhesive layer as well as the duration of the liquid stage the adhesive is kept in –the so called bonding phase – and thus manual inspection of the temperature during installation is not necessary. By keeping pressure onto the sleeve body during the total installation, it furthermore ensures the liquid mastic / hotmelt is forced to flow into all irregularities of the substrate it makes contact with.

By using the KELVIN for installation of the Heat Shrink Sleeves, heat is transferred directly from the heat source, which is in direct contact with the sleeve material, onto and through the backing to reach the mastic / hotmelt. This direct way of heating ensures that no weathering elements, such as wind, rain or moisture, can affect the process. The heat and pressure create a heat bath of the mastic / hotmelt which can be called the ‘au bain marie’ way of heating. It creates the most homogenous heating of the mastic / hotmelt in which the heat is transferred onto the (primed) body of the pipeline, avoiding the often dramatic quenching effect. Moreover the KELVIN and its built-in sensor technology ensures that

Advantages of the KELVIN n Shortest installation time n Operation by two engineers only n Easy operation by fully preprogrammed PLC n Available in sizes ranging from 10” up to 52” n Power requirement 4Watt/cm2 n Maximum power to weight ratio n Weight of 16”unit only 15Kg n Maximum technology-to-cost ratio n No specific need for cranes n Multiple units operating at same time n Dramatically reduces project turnaround time n Avoids any potential sleeve

damage through overheating n Avoids installation mistakes n Fully mobile units n No HSE issues n Direct contact between sleeve and Kelvin means adverse weather conditions do not influence the process. n Can be used with a variety of shrinkable sleeves, from soft mastic-based shrink sleeves to hard, hot-melt shrink sleeves provided with a stiff and hard backing material (eg HDPE) n Operational temperatures of the heating blanket monitored by temperature sensors connected to the control unit

n Sleeve shrink temperatures are displayed at the PLC display n Consistency of installation n No need to pre apply the closure patch n Compact size n Minimal packaging space required in confined FJC areas n Ultimate bonding of adhesives such as mastics, hotmelts and visco-elastics n Easy to install software program per coating type n Remote controlled n Extremely lightweight n Lowest energy consumption n Very fast and safe installation process

overheating of the sleeve materials does not occur. With the KELVIN, Seal for Life offers the first intelligent and automated system for guaranteed uniform installation of all of its Heat Shrinkable Polyolefin Sleeves around a solid body.

From an environmental point of view, the KELVIN avoids the need for extreme energy input as there is no need to recover losses during the installation process, even through adverse weather conditions. Unlike with open flame or IR methods of shrinking, there is minimal heat loss with the ‘au bain marie’ approach; with ‘au bain marie’, heat is trapped between the heat source and the substrate to ensure an optimal heat bath. This differs significantly from the IR method, in which the heat is beamed through the backing and where there is a high chance of damage before the adhesive liquefies.

Also, because the IR beam is extremely intense, the process time is kept to a minimum; this is

the opposite of what is required to get and keep the adhesive in a liquid phase to ensure the inflow and wetting of the substrate.

can log in from his or her desktop to check on the status of the installation executed and the ‘as Installed’ parameters thereof.

They are able to print all the results and insert these in the installation reports.

‘Because KELVIN features sensors in several locations, it can register the temperature output and input to sleeve materials without human intervention’ 04

Technical journal

State of the art registration The PLC-driven KELVIN has a pre-programmed set of parameters corresponding with the specific sleeve types offered within the Seal for Life range. By selecting the right sleeve type for installation, automatically the minimum bond temperature and bonding time are selected.

Because every KELVIN is equipped with a set of sensors, embedded at several locations along the heat source, it can register the temperature output and input to the sleeve materials without human intervention. This ensures a very accurate heating process in which the different parts of the KELVIN adjust themselves individually to create the homogenous heating and shrinking. It furthermore registers precisely the whole process and makes it possible for operators and clients to check on the installation. Different types of the PLC units are available for the KELVIN, of which the most sophisticated version allows full remote programming and reading. The contractor or client

ABOUT THE AWARD This award, introduced in 1996, is made annually for the most significant contribution to land-based pipeline technology or its ancillary apparatus. The objective of the award is to promote the development of new ideas in the general field of land-based pipeline technology.

ENTRIES FOR THIS YEAR’S AWARD WERE: n DNV GL – Stress Concentration Tomography (SCT) – a noninvasive system for the inspection of buried land-based pipelines n Land and Marine Engineering Limited / United Utilities – going deeper underground, Haweswater Aqueduct n Optical Metrology Services Ltd – 3D inspection and visualisation software enables automatic sentencing of root weld geometry n Seal for Life – KELVIN: beyond the limits of experience