ROSEN has developed a new monitoring system for the wear of polyurethane (PU) pipeline coatings. Since the system accurately determines the thickness of the coating, operators no longer need to rely on mostly conservative estimates for the intervals of their maintenance activities. In this way, they make sure they use the pipe coating to its full extend, thus effectively reducing downtime.
Pipelines transporting granular product, such as slurry or tailings, suffer extraordinarily from abrasive wear. PU coatings have proved to provide effective protection from pipe damage, thereby extending the assets’ useful life significantly. In order to use its protective coating to full capacity, a pipeline must be turned around its centerline in regular intervals. However, the abrasive wear of a pipe’s coating can almost never be accurately determined because visual examination during operation is extremely difficult to perform and bears many risks. Consequently, operators are forced to rely on time-based rather than status-based maintenance intervals, resulting in an inefficient use of the coating as pipes are turned before reaching the critical level of maintenance.
Building on their experience with pipe coatings based on RoPlasthan® for the oilsands and other industries, ROSEN has developed a wear monitoring system for PU that accurately measures the thickness of a pipe’s coating. This wear monitoring system provides exact information on the level of abrasive wear and ensures an ideal process control, keeping maintenance time and costs to a minimum. Furthermore, constant data availability leads to a far better overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). Additionally, pipeline integrity is guaranteed, as no pipe wall penetration is necessary.
The ROSEN Wear Monitoring System is available in basic and advanced versions. It is very robust and withstands even harsh surrounding conditions. It is suitable for straight pipe parts and after elbows. Data can be transmitted either on-site via numerous data interfaces along a pipe ring or by means of a centrally managed data collection unit. It comes with a portable outdoor tablet PC visualizing all data and is compatible with a variety of technologies.
If you would like to find out more about our Wear Monitoring System, please contact: ips@rosen-group.com