Bangkok--5 Apr--Dacon Inspection Services
Dacon Pipeline services has performed an Ultrasonic (UT) intelligent pigging operation in Indonesia, whereby 3 UT pigs were launched in series in a single 40” HDPE pipeline for a remote mining operation.
Dacon being one of a very few providers of HDPE UT inspection services successfully collected high quality data from all three intelligent pigs which clearly and with the utmost certainty satisfied the customer’s objective.
Dacon has an ongoing contract with the mine operator to carry out 6 monthly inspections of their tailings lines ensuring continuity of service and predictive reporting on these high wear rate lines with critical impact if failure occurs.
This work scope entails Ultrasonic In Line Inspection or Intelligent Pigging of one x 40” diameter, 100mm thick, 3.4 km pipeline where the end of the line is on the seabed some 160m deep.
Dacon has successfully completed numerous inspections at the mine site over the last 10 years during which a close working relationship has been formed. Recently the pipe was changed from 48” to 40” so the pigs were redesigned. The company plan to revert to 48” pipelines after another 2 years, so there is now a fleet of 6 intelligent pigs onsite, three tools for 48” and three for 40”.
The tools are always run in triplicate to provide the ability to cross correlate results to confirm the accuracy of the data.
The system has now been developed for smaller diameter HDPE pipes, and HDPE internally lined steel pipes where both the liner and the steel can both be measured using advanced algorithms and analysis tools.
All data is downloaded immediately and scanned for major defects, a site report can be issued within a few hours highlighting any major anomalies in the pipeline, although full analysis takes longer and can normally be completed within two weeks of demobilization.
Whilst diversifying into HDPE inspections, Dacon also maintains its focus on the core steel pipeline business. Advances in technology, reliability, and resolution have seen Dacon become a trusted partner of some of the world’s largest pipeline operators.