Pipe supports are essential elements to maintaining a safe and operational piping system, and will protect the total cost of ownership of your process or utility piping system. The total cost of ownership is a combination of the direct and the indirect costs of your piping installation.
APP’s ProTek Package combats pipe movement, abrasion and corrosion by applying the engineered strength and durability of advance composite materials at critical points in the piping system.
Pipe supports are essential elements to maintaining a safe and operational piping system, and will protect the total cost of ownership of your process or utility piping system. The total cost of ownership is a combination of the direct and the indirect costs of your piping installation. When a company invests money to earn money from transport or process piping, engineering a system considers not only that it performs economically, but also accounts for future ecological and financial costs. The huge investment of finances, engineering effort and manpower is realized with a quick glance at statistics. The Oil and Gas Journal reports that the cost of constructing a crude oil pipeline was up 60% in 2014, doubling in two years. Consider that the process piping for a plant’s production installation generally accounts for up to 20% of the capital expenditure for the project; a much greater portion than electrical, civil and instrumentation costs.
After the initial, direct costs of raw material and labor are estimated, the indirect costs of engineering and design, maintenance, inspections, repairs and contingency costs in case of failure or disaster add up to account for a full cost of ownership. With such a massive project, even the smallest components carry great weight. APP’s ProTek Package combats pipe movement, abrasion and corrosion, which can all lead to undetected failure and catastrophic damage, by applying the engineered strength and durability of advance composite materials at critical points in the piping system.
Both corrosion and abrasion can drastically reduce the service life of a piping system, therefore great effort should be afforded to increasing the pipe’s durability, that is, the ability to resist erosion, material degradation and subsequent loss of function due to environmental and/or other service conditions. Abrasion, chemical corrosion and electrochemical corrosion due to water infiltration are the most common durability concerns for metal pipes. The ProTek package is a corrosion and abrasion prevention solution that combines three piping support elements to protect pipes from unseen damage, which can lead to failure and huge financial loss.
ProTek Package Components
First, the ProTek U-bolt fastens and frames the pipe to restrain movement and prevents abrasion normally caused by metal to metal contact using an advanced polymer coating where the pipe contacts the fastener, to prevent abrasion caused with traditional U-bolts. A polymer coated fastener will minimize maintenance and operational costs throughout the life cycle of the piping installation by holding pipes firmly in place, yet maintaining a low coefficient of friction that prevents abrasion. Available in standard and custom sizes to be used on any type of pipe, coated U-bolts are quickly becoming a simple and economical solution to harsh environmental conditions.
The second component is a composite wear pad which effectively isolates the pipe from contact with concrete, I-beams or guides, to eliminate costly inspections and maintenance from corrosion caused by pipes not adequately protected from support structures. Water trapped in crevices formed in steel members can promote galvanic corrosion, which is prevented with the ProTek wear pads. The composite wear pad are installed with an epoxy system that establishes an impermeable seal with a shear strength of 2,500 psi to prevent the sequence of failure that follows from water seepage, pipe coating degradation and metal to metal contact. Wear pads are manufactured to the exact outer diameter of the pipe to ensure a perfect seal.
Finally, a flat plate constructed of the same corrosion resistant composite material as the wear pads, is used for corrosion prone flat surface support areas that are commonly utilized such as beams or other bearing surfaces. The wear pad protects both the pipe and the support structure from wear due to abrasion. By applying a PTFE sheet, a slide plate with a low coefficient of friction can easily be created. Installation of the flat plate only takes minutes with no welding or hot works permit required.
Protect your investment from undetected pipe corrosion and abrasion
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