Pipeline Cleaning

The complexity of gas and oil pipelines has not substantially changed, but the demands for pipeline cleaning and de-scaling have. Millions of dollars are at stake in lost production time and equipment costs if pipelines have to be dismantled to be cleaned.

The key for pipeline cleaning and specialist companies such as Tube Tech International, is the ability to bring innovative thought to problems that have always bedeviled the petrochemical industry. Indeed, the company's reputation is growing rapidly on the back of the proposal that won it a three-year contract with Nigeria LNG Ltd (NLNG).1

Problems at the gas processing plant in the West African state, which opened in 1999, were classified as 'uncleanable'. Condenser, heat exchanger tubes, and pipelines had become seriously contaminated by deposit, and millions of dollars in new equipment and downtime were at stake if the complex system had to be dismantled.

Tube Tech won the initial pipeline cleaning and de-scaling contract on three grounds:
* A pledge that production loss would be minimal because none of the pipelines would need to be cut
* Work in Nigeria could start within two weeks
* Regardless of dimension ( 2 - 36 in) deposit could be cleaned

Work began immediately at the company's headquarters in Essex , England , focusing on the logistics on getting 32 multi-disciplined operatives and 46 t of cleaning and de-scaling equipment on site at Bonny Island as soon as possible.

Project planning was also started, involving 12km of pipeline and 60,000 heat exchanger tubes. With a convolution of bends and 'T-offs in a maze of differing diameters of pipe work, there was no 'one size fits all' cure. In the event, the project team came up with a combination of 12 techniques to clear highly stubborn scale and blockages.

An airborne assault was organized, and 3 cargo aircraft of equipment were off- loaded in Nigeria just 2 weeks after the initial site visit. Working continuous day and night shifts in frequently extreme weather conditions the teams completed the cleaning and integrity inspection three times faster than the nearest competing estimate.

The plant was quickly restored to full production using 12 techniques. The first cleaning system was a novel 'mini pig', only 150mm in length and conforming to the tube internal diameter. Propelled by water, the rotating blades only extended as far as the tube diameter and not beyond, thereby avoiding any damage.
The middle third of the dart houses a rotating bladed turbine, and with a water pressure of 500 psi, these blades (emulating the turbine blades on an aircraft engine) are forced to rotate at a speed of approximately 4000rpm.
In this instance, the scale causing the blockage consisted of calcium and iron oxide product. The rotating blades remove impeding scale in their path at a travel rate averaging out at approximately 2 m/s. using this method, pipe work can be cleaned in a matter of hours rather than days.
This particular turbine blade is entirely bespoke and manufactured by hand in materials that can be ferrous or non-ferrous. Tube Tech has a wide range of Dartts(TM) to suit diameters ranging from 10mm to one metre.

A second system used at Bonny Island was a traditional, automated high-pressure water-jetting lance, but this was modified by Tube Tech to create a new, more effective, method for the smaller pipes. Its engineers adapted this system by modifying the traditional high pressure jetting hose system, which normally reaches a maximum pipe length of 400m, so that it can extend as far as 2km.

A further 10 systems were also mobilised, thereby avoiding the worst case scenario of substantial downtime at Bonny Island and the vast financial impact that would be implicit.

There was also a considerable amount of pipe work that was deemed 'un-pigable' by the client, but it too required cleaning and de-scaling as part of the contract.

Cutting is costly
The only solution option proffered by many experts at that time was either to fill the entire arterial network of pipe with acid or to cut into the pipeline and pressure jet.

However, along with this option came environmental implications and costs. There were also considerable safety issues, as well as the cost of cutting the pipe open at various points.

Tube Tech went ahead with an environmentally sound solution using non-standard pigging. The volume of scale built up in the pipeline was such that it needed to be cleaned over the whole surface area, or the flow rate would have been compromised. The result was that more than 40 t of iron oxide and calcium water scale was removed using a variety of innovative pigging processes and types, including:

o Pigs that could be inserted into a 25mm aperture and inflated to match the given pipe diameter.
o Bi-directional pigs adapted with pressure bypass valves so that, in the event of sticking due to the volume of deposits ahead, the increased water back pressure would engage a solenoid in the nose of the pig, turning it into a pressure-jetting nozzle.

o Pigs fired with a guide wire attached so they could be retracted
o A biodegradable pig was developed to break down at the end of a potential dead-end run. This would have negated the need to cut into the pipe, as well as alleviating any risk of losing it. This particular pigging solution had been developed prior to the project.

Once the pipeline cleaning and de-scaling work had been completed. Tube Tech also put both closed circuit TV and wall thickness integrity assessment inspection equipment into action. This enabled technicians to inspect the wall thickness of the pipes electronically rather than by using expensive intelligent pigging.

The competition
While there are many pipeline cleaning systems available from global sources, with every successful contract Tube Tech has frequently found the basic equipment to be inadequate for dealing with the problems specific to each contract.

It is client's increased dislike of the environmentally unsound chemical route and the costly cutting method that has led to the development of bespoke solutions by the research team. With this 'applied innovation' in conjunction with an in-depth study of the system, the company has changed the rules of pigging and exchanger cleaning by inventing new pigs and tube cleaning processes.

In the case of the Nigeria contract, the client approached a number of other companies, but none were able to offer more than three cleaning techniques involving either acid cleaning, cutting into the pipeline or high volume water jetting. Tube Tech's involvement came through the recommendation of Shell Global Solutions International (SGSI). Without using any of these options, Tube Tech was armed with 12 techniques tailored to the varying consistencies and volumes facing them. The loss of efficiency translated quickly into financial loss, which was why the client was looking for a fast, effective cure.

The reward for restoring production to 100% was the three-year contract for further work. This has included advice on fouling mitigation procedures to prevent further scale blockages, particularly with the introduction of vital measures for sound quality water treatment.

While pipeline blockages are eminently treatable with expertise, there is a cause for a rethink on several fronts where prevention is better than cure. Process pipelines are not often manufactured with a view to cleanability. Tube Tech can offer end users and plant fabricators proven advice on how to modify them so that, rather than fighting fires are serious problems arise, a rethink at the manufacturing stage can tackle the root causes of scaling and blockages to out-engineer the problem.

Seeking for Singapore chemical cleaning services? Visit us today over this URL.A marketing article by Dougles Chan - Search Engine Guru - One of the best SEO companies in Singapore and globally. Contact Dougles Chan @ +(65) 9388 0851 or email to dc@dougleschan.com for more information on how to make your website to be the top in Google.

A Description of Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers

Shell and tube heat exchangers are needed for high-pressure applications; they are durable products, which can withstand the demands of many working environments. Their design plays a large part in ashell and tube exchanger's ability to endure exceedingly-challenging situations.

Shell and tube heat exchangers are made from a series of tubes, which can be made of durable material such as fluoropolymers. Fluoropolymers are highly-durable plastics such as PTFE, FEP, and PFA. Fluoropolymers, like heat exchangers, have a place in a variety of industries such as the automotive, medical, and aeronautical.

In a exchanger's shell, one set of tubes contains fluid, which is either heated or cooled. Another set of tubes also contains liquid, which facilitates the heating or cooling of the primary set of tubes. A tube set is referred to as the tube bundle and can take on a variety of shapes depending on what is most conducive for the intended job.

Engineers of shell and tube heat exchangers need to consider several components of construction:

A smaller tube diameter enables the shell and tube exchanger to be economical and compact, yet a tiny diameter can facilitate malfunction and difficulty of cleaning. Larger tubing can be instituted to eradicate potential flow and cleaning problems. Engineers must factor cost, space, and the propensity of liquids to foul when constructing a heat exchanger.

Tube thickness is important to make sure there is room for corrosion; vibration existing in the product has resistance; and, the shell and tube exchanger can withstand pressure coming from both in and outside of its internal tubes.Folding or wrinkling the inner tubes increases the flow of the liquid, which facilitates the transfer of heat, producing better performance from the exchanger.

Designers also consider the layout of the inner tubes. Tubes can be fashioned in a triangular, square, rotated square, or rotated triangular fashion. Particular, internal designs are conducive to specific jobs and the elimination of potential problems such as fouling of the liquid.

Shell and tube heat exchangers also host baffle components. Baffles serve several purposes such as holding the tube bundles in place; making sure tubes do not sag or vibrate; and, facilitating fluid flow.

Intel Atom - The Reactor That Powers Netbooks & Nettops

Intel Atom's family of processors are unique. They were designed to be general purpose processors. Yet, the most important feature is the extremely low power consumption. Intel positions these processors for the Netbook and nettop devices.

Netbooks are a new category of portable laptop/notebook family. Manufacturers aim these lightweight devices for people on the move. Most important applications on the move should provide the ability to receive and send emails, IMs and surf the net. General purpose productivity applications are not that important, though they would be able to run these applications in a pinch. 

Typically, a 10" display and corresponding smaller size and weight sets these apart. The way Intel defines the Nettops as a category of devices aimed at content consumption rather than content creation such as, browsing web pages, watching online video streaming etc. They see it as the tool the next billion users would use. Besides these are aimed at consumer electronic devices, embedded systems and thin clients.

It is easy to see that this category is going to be very popular. The Netbooks are already almost everywhere. So much so, that for a two year commitment you can get these Netbooks for $99 kind of prices. The commitment is to use the 3G communication services from these mobile services providers. This is the kind of connection that gives you mobility and bandwidth for operation. It is not difficult to see that the power consumption is one of the most important considerations in designs of such mobile devices.

Power consumption, as define as TDP or thermal design power, ranges from 0.65 watts for Z500 to 8w for 330 family, 4 watts in the 200 family and 2.4w or 2 w for the Z530, Z520 and Z510 processors in the Atom processor variants. Compare it with something like 35/40 w in the X86 processors in regular PC products. The processors themselves and the transistors used to implement the processors are of very small geometrical dimensions. Intel uses 45 nm lithography technology. That leads to a very small package size of 13 mmX14 mm in most cases. The processors that have a TDP of 2.5, 4 and 8 watts come in a package size 22mm X 22 mm.

While the extreme small size helps in controlling power dissipation Intel uses other techniques that help reduce power further. One is to use very low core voltage to operate the transistor on the chip. This is in the range of 0.7 to 1.1 volt in case of the processors that dissipates up to 2.4 watts. Processors that have TDP ratings of 2.5 watts to 8 watts use 0.8 to 1.625 v for the 2.5 watt unit; and 0.9 to 0.1625 v for the higher rated processors. 

To top it all, a very sophisticated power control is used to keep the power consumption at a minimum. These techniques include not only external voltage control, Intel has taken it to the extent that parts of the system goes to sleep when even one of the two threads the processors are capable of enters an inactive state. To retain efficiency though the processor is capable of coming out of a sleep state really quickly.

Please click here for Thermal design.

Reliance Home Comfort Heat Exchanger Warranty Review

A new furnace is a significant purchase, usually one costing homeowners thousands of dollars. Replacing it can be a huge expense, so it's worth it for homeowners to look at the type of warranty offered by their HVAC manufacturer.

In a gas furnace, the heat exchanger is one of the most critical elements. It is usually made from some type of aluminum or stainless steel and is used to separate the air pumped into your home from the gasses used to heat it. A cracked or damaged heat exchanger can be an extremely dangerous thing, allowing harmful carbon monoxide to mix with the hair that is pumped into your m home.
Since heat exchangers are such a critical component of your HVAC system, they typically come with the longest warranties. Many companies offer lifetime warranties. Some companies promise to replace a cracked unit, while others will replace your whole furnace. This can save you hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, and allow you to upgrade to newer technology if your heat exchanger fails years from now.

But while a lifetime warranty can sound great, it is important to know the benefits and the limitations of the warranties on your heat exchanger.

Most companies will offer you a conditional lifetime warranty on heat exchangers. Usually this requires that the heat exchanger has been installed in a residential location that is still owned and lived in by the person who originally purchased the furnace. So if you move into a home where the existing furnace has a lifetime warranty, it was likely voided when the original owner moved out.
The warranty is also voided even if you take your furnace with you to a new home, since most warranties require the furnace to be in its original location. Your warranty might also be void if you rent out your home.

As well, most lifetime warranties on heat exchangers are only good if you register your furnace with the company within a certain time period after purchasing it - usually 60 to 90 days. Sometimes, you have to show proof of purchase for your warranty to be honoured, even if it's years since you had it installed.

It's worth reading the small print on most warranties for heat exchangers. Some companies promise to replace cracked exchangers with the same original parts, while others promise only an equivalent part.

One way to make your warranty last longer is to buy an extended warranty with your new furnace, one that covers labour not just parts. Labour costs can be expensive, sometimes eclipsing the cost of the replacement parts.

The best is an extended factory warranty from the manufacturer, which allows you to choose the contractor of your choice to do the work. However, contractors and third-parties offer their own extended warranties, which can also protect you and your wallet from the headache of shelling out for a new heat exchanger.

What is an Oil Cooler?

An oil cooler is essentially any device or machine intended to cool oil, but in most instances people talk about it in the context of cars, trucks, and sometimes airplanes. In these settings the cooler basically acts as a small radiator that helps keep an engine cool by keeping the oil supply at a consistent temperature. Cooled oil helps keep the engine running smoothly, particularly during gear changes in very hot weather or on long-haul trips when things might otherwise have a tendency to overheat and break down. Not all cars and trucks use oil as a coolant, but those that do really depend on a working cooler in order to get good efficiency and performance.

Main Purpose

Automotive engines tend to be somewhat complex, and usually depend on a series of different combustions, heat sources, and temperature regulators in order to function properly. Oil coolers are most common in heavy-duty machinery that has a more industrial-grade engine. Trucks used to haul freight and large vehicles designed for off-roading are two common examples; some recreational vehicles (RVs) and airplanes have them, too, and they may even be found in certain motorcycle models. Race car drivers sometimes add them to sports cars to make them more efficient, too, and to improve their fuel combustion times.

A transmission oil cooler is often considered essential in high-strain situations because a transmission's lubricating fluid heats up with each gear change. While not crucial for highway driving when vehicles more or less stay within a few gears, transmission coolers can markedly improve the performance and longevity of transmissions that are subjected to a great deal of stress. Overheated transmission oil can lead to slower gear shifts, worn seals, lower mileage, and, ultimately, premature failure.

Even though the main job is to cool and lubricate the engine, this part can also act as an important coolant for a number of other parts. A motor's bottom end, which includes parts such as the crankshaft, bearings, camshaft, rods, and pistons, is also cooled only by engine oil, for instance, and this cooling can impact overall performance just as much as it could in the engine itself.

Types

Engine oil cooler design can generally be split into two types. Tube and fin models are the first, and are designed so that oil circulates through cooler lines that surround the engine. As the oil moves away from the heat of the central engine, its temperature drops and excess heat is funneled out by fin-like vents attached to the tops or sides. Stacked-plate designs, by contrast, force oil through a series of metal plates. Heat dissipates as air moves across the plates, and the oil cools faster when it has greater surface area and is shallower, too.

Plated models are often slightly less effective at cooling oil than their tube and fin counterparts since they’re more passive, basically waiting for cooling to happen on its own. A lot of this depends on the application, though. In some settings, stacked plate coolers make more sense.

How They Work

In a stock setup, transmission fluid is cooled as its collected heat transfers to the colder engine coolant that surrounds it. Coolers usually work best when mounted in front of a stock radiator since this is where it can often get the most unobstructed source of cool air. This, in turn, allows much cooler fluid to return back to the transmission case.

While a majority of cars are not manufactured with proprietary engine oil coolers, there is a large aftermarket for them in many places, and they are common accessories in vehicles involved in towing and other heavy-duty applications. People can buy oil cooling kits to upgrade their vehicles themselves, though this usually requires a bit of expertise. Many professional shops will also install these for people looking for ways to make their machines more efficient.

Common Problems

The optimum temperature for oil is usually between 180° and 200°F (82° and 93°C). Failures start to occur when oil cannot dissipate its collected heat fast enough and rises past this threshold, which can begin to degrade the oil. Oil loses its lubricating, as well as its cooling, properties when it starts to break down, and this can lead to a number of serious engine and transmission problems. Coolers should usually be inspected fairly regularly to keep them in good working order, and owners should take care to regularly inspect and service them to avoid major failures.

A SEO Branding project by Scotts DIGITAL - One of the top marketing companies that specialised in branding your business using SEO.

Intro to Enginemates Heat Transfer

We at Enginemates Heat Transfer , have been providing comprehensive and customized heat transfer solution for design and manufacture of Air Cooled Coolers specific to customer requirements and satisfaction for over 3 decades.

We manufacture a large variety of air cooled coolers to cool different mediums like Oil, Water, Air, Gas and Hydrocarbons. The heat exchanger manufactured by us are of different sizes and using variety of materials like copper, steel, brass and aluminum. All these air cooled coolers are custom designed as per customer specification for heat transfer and size.

We have been manufacturing air cooled coolers for over 3 decades now. We have 5 manufacturing plants in India ; 2 in Mumbai, 2 in Pondicherry and 1 in Dharward , Karnataka.

Our heat transfer solution are comprehensive which normally includes a combination of cooler and radiator assembly complete with axial fans and structures. We are also an Active Member of Heat Transfer Research Inc. (HTRI) and hold U Stamp, R Stamp. and TUV certifications.

Our customer depends on us for the complete heat transfer solution. As a part of our service we provide along with heat transfer, the mechanical and structural design also which are critical for larger installations.

Products & Services 

Enginemates Heat Transfer Pvt Ltd caters to various industrial sectors like refineries, petrochemical plants, power plants etc. Enginemates has excelled in the domain of offering complete heat transferring solutions. Our immaculate range of products includes Air Fin Cooler, Air Cooled Heat Exchangers, Fin-fan Cooler, Wire Wound Oil Cooler/Intercoolers, High Integrity Radiators, Aluminum Brazed Cooler, Oil Cooler Assembly, Coal Bed Methane Cooler, Compressed Gas Cooler, Quench Cooler, Acoustic Enclosures, Console Panel, Process Coolers, Engine Radiators, Hydraulic Fuel Tank, Aluminum Finned Tubes,Stainless Steel Air Fin Cooler, Plug Air Cooler, Compressor Gas Cooler and Radiator Assembly.

Enginemates uses high grade raw materials to manufacture the products including Carbon Steel, Stainless Steel and Aluminum. Each product is customized giving individual attention to each customer's requirements.

A marketing Project by Scotts DIGITAL - One of the top marketing firms that specialised in branding your business.

Intro to OceanMaster Engineering Pte Ltd

OceanMaster Engineering Pte Ltd is a well-established (since 1989) ship repair and general engineering company based in Singapore, certified ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001. We provide full range of engineering and repair services to merchant ships, oil rigs and other offshore vessels, such as emergency afloat repairs, riding squad services, wharf-side repair, dry-docking repair and fabrication of accommodation modules. We specialize in the field of Marine refrigeration and air-conditioning works and we carry a large stock of new and reconditioned refrigeration compressors and spare parts. We offer the "Compressor Exchange Program" to help our customers to save time and money under any emergency circumstances. Throughout the long establishment of OceanMaster Engineering, the company has earned a strong reputation in the Marine and Offshore Industry with our total commitment to Customer Satisfaction. We are committed to provide our clients with the capabilities of Engineering Design, Fabrication, Installation, Commissioning and Preventive Maintenance services. Our years of sound management and good business reputation in the industry have enabled us to establish a comprehensive network of reputable suppliers and specialized service professionals as part of our customer service resources.

Manpower Capabilities

The company employs over 150 employees; 1/3 of it comprises of administrative and supportive role, while the other 2/3 are the production personnel to carry out the production duties of various trade. Our service teams are well trained and experienced in handling various types of marine vessels, FPSOS and offshore rigs and platforms. Our office, workshop, storage and warehousing comprise of a total area of more than 70,000 square feet. Our workshop facilities are well equipped with all necessary machineries and equipment to cater to various types of marine services requirements. We have vast experiences and advance technologies to convert the refrigeration system from the use of Ozone harmful refrigerant to Ozone friendly refrigerant which makes us stand out in our industry.

Auxiliaries Facilities

Our workshop facilities are well equipped with all necessary machineries to cater various ship repair requirements.

Special tools and equipment for electrical, refrigeration and air-conditioning repair works.

Available a fleet of workboats and sea service launches for work at sea. We have vast experience with advanced technologies to convert the refrigeration system from the use of the Ozone harmful refrigerant to Ozone friendly refrigerant.

Our RHVAC specialization includes:

Complete Marine RHVAC Turnkey Project Management which includes

• Engineering Design of RHVAC systems in accordance to CLASS society regulations
• Procurement and fabrication of RHVAC equipment
• Installation and commissioning of RHVAC equipment
• Provision of test report and instruction/spare parts' manuals upon completion of job

Upgrading, Repair & Maintenance of refrigeration and air conditioning system.

• Inspection and analysis of existing system. Provision of load calculations, drawings and proposal report.
• Upgrading of ducting system c/w rectangular duct, spiral duct, insulation, air diffuser, air grille, air louver, volume control damper, fire damper, etc.
• Supply and installation of air/water cooled condensing unit, air handling unit, fan coil unit, package unit and other equipment.
• Construction of new refrigeration cold-room plant including insulated panel, shelving, air/water cooled condensing unit and unit cooler.
• Replacement of condensing coil, heating coil and evaporating coil.
• Retrofit and conversion of refrigeration and air conditioning plant from ozone hazardous (CFC) to ozone friendly (HFC) refrigerant.
• Overhauling of Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Compressor
• Fabrication and repair of Heat Exchanger
• Supply and installation of Heating System
• Supply and installation of Humidifier & Dehumidifier System

Upgrading, Repair & Maintenance of Mechanical Ventilation System

• Inspection and analysis of existing system. Provision of load calculations, drawings and proposal report.
• Supply and installation of ventilation system for accommodation space and machinery space include ventilation fan, silencer, damper, air louver, ventilator and steel duct.
• Robotic Air Duct Cleaning

A SEO Branding project by Scotts DIGITAL - One of the top marketing companies that specialised in branding your business using SEO.