Challenging joint integrity project no match for Hydratight
A joint integrity project at Cruden Bay – a major BP pumping station in Scotland – was recently completed by Hydratight oil and gas engineering company.
A weldless pipe connector needed to be designed, built, tested and installed by the joint integrity specialists in just ten weeks. A 13ft piece of unexploded ordnance from WWII had been discovered on the seabed just off Peterhead, and the entire pipeline had to be shut down for five days in August while it was removed. The Morgrip pipe connector had to be installed during that five-day window of opportunity.
However, another problem soon became apparent when the Hydratight team arrived to survey the site. "The installation constraints within the Cruden Bay terminal were very restrictive," said project manager David Tromans. "The installation site was very restrictive: after visiting the site we realised we would need to re-engineer our design to reduce the connector’s overall length."
The Morgrip weldless connector uses massive gripping forces, which put pressure on the pipe. Fortunately, Hydratight had used a certain technique in many previous joint integrity management projects where the tolerance and thickness of pipe walls were a significant factor. The strength of the pipe could be increased with the addition of a sleeve fitted to the inner wall.
Precision laser scanning allowed the team to survey the inner walls of the pipe to within 0.1mm. The sleeve was finished off in a local machine shop, then fitted into the pipe. It took just six hours to install, activate and test the new 24 inch Morgrip pipe connector.
Mike Ridyard, AMEC mechanical consultant, commented: "The quality, performance and functionality of the connector were excellent - as were the complete installation services Hydratight provided during this critical project."
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