Flooding

Flooding, Cleaning & Gauging

Before testing or cleaning can commence, a pipeline is filled with water. The process of filling the pipeline with water is called pipeline flooding.

In offshore construction projects it is possible that pipelines are filled with water to prevent that the pipeline will float. In hydrostatic tightness testing, it is important to prevent too much air inside the line.

Air is compressible. If there is too much air in the pipeline during a tightness test, a leak can go unnoticed. To prevent this, TECCURO fills most pipelines using a pig. This pigging method provides a physical separation between the air and the filling liquid (normally water). By performing an air inclusion test prior to the tightness test, the customer is guaranteed that the tightness test will be performed correctly. By using this approach, TECCURO can immediately clean and gauge the pipeline during filling by making use of a so called pigtrain.

Process pipelines

Pipeline on a production plant can often be filled air-free from the lowest point. However, there are also process pipelines that are constructed horizontally and do not have a slope and a vent or drain point. Consider, for example, heating networks that are being realised today. Filling these pipelines can be very difficult. Despite this difficult challenge, TECCURO has the technology to fill the pipe quickly and air-free. Contact us for more information.