Pipeline Pressure Testing Tool with Articulating Seals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pipeline pressure testing methods require large volumes of water or gas, leading to high power consumption, environmental concerns due to freeze-depressant additives, and difficulties in locating leaks in long buried pipelines.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with high pressure seals and flexible or articulating members that isolate a smaller test volume within the pipeline, allowing for movement through curvatures and reducing the need for large volumes of test fluid, thereby minimizing power consumption and environmental impact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If large volumes of water or gas are used for pressure testing, then the pipeline can be fully tested, but power consumption increases and environmental impact worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The pipeline is divided into multiple test sections using isolatable plugs that can segment the pipeline into discrete testable portions. This allows pressure testing to be performed on smaller segments rather than requiring pressurization of the entire pipeline length, significantly reducing the volume of test fluid needed and thereby reducing power consumption for fluid delivery and heating.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses dynamically movable plugs that can be positioned and repositioned along the pipeline to create isolated test sections. These plugs can be moved to different locations to test different pipeline segments, allowing flexible adaptation to various testing requirements while maintaining small test volumes throughout the process.
2Temperature
If freeze-depressant additives are added to water for pressure testing in freezing conditions, then the water remains liquid, but environmental harm increases
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful freeze-depressant chemicals are completely eliminated from the test fluid system. Instead of using chemically treated water, the system uses clean water or alternative test media in controlled small volumes that can be heated locally, removing the source of environmental contamination while still preventing freezing through thermal management.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the temperature parameter of the test fluid dynamically through localized heating devices attached to the plugs or pipeline sections. By actively controlling and maintaining the fluid temperature above freezing points through heating rather than chemical additives, the system achieves freeze prevention without environmental harm.
3Reliability
If the entire pipeline is filled with test medium, then complete coverage is achieved, but the volume of fluid required becomes immense
Solution Approach 1:
The pipeline is divided into multiple isolated test sections using plugs that can seal at different locations. Each section can be tested independently with a small volume of fluid, achieving complete testing coverage of the entire pipeline through sequential testing of segments rather than requiring simultaneous filling of the entire pipeline length.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of applying test pressure to the entire pipeline volume, the system applies pressure to only the necessary partial section that is currently being tested. This partial action approach maintains sufficient testing pressure for reliability while minimizing the total quantity of test fluid required by only filling and pressurizing the immediate test section.
4Reliability
If the pipeline is pressurized to 125% of operating pressure for code compliance, then strength testing is achieved, but the risk of rupture and fluid release increases
Solution Approach 1:
By testing small segmented portions of the pipeline rather than the entire length, the system maintains the required 125% pressure for strength testing compliance while limiting the potential consequences of rupture to only the small volume contained within the isolated test section, dramatically reducing the harmful effects of potential failures.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for pressure testing one or more sections of a pipeline are provided. In at least one embodiment, the apparatus includes a first high pressure seal and a second high pressure seal adapted to isolate a test volume located within a section of the pipeline between the first and second high pressure seals. The apparatus also includes at least one flexible member connecting the first high pressure seal to the second high pressure seal, the at least one flexible member adapted to permit movement of the first high pressure seal relative to the second high pressure seal, allowing the apparatus to travel through a curvature in the pipeline.