Pigging Sealing Disc Failure Analysis
Proceedings Publication Date
Presenter
Khajornkai Kitisiri
Author
Khajornkai Kitisiri
Part of the proceedings of
Abstract

In pipeline industries, pigging sealing disc are ubiquitous and frequently used in Pigging operations. After performing the operations, especially in offshore pipeline, severe damage on the discs were often observed. The “Pigging Sealing Disc Failure Analysis” project will primarily analyze and evaluate the characteristic of the damage on the disc, and identify effective solutions. The fundamental approach of this study is comparing the damaged disc with the original clean disc by using several tools and methods, including visual examination, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDS), Radiographic Testing (RT) and so on. Prior to obtaining the results, the main exercises are to determine the cause and the characteristics of the crack on the disc, color discontinuity on the surface of the disc, the chemical composition on the damaged area, and other change in properties such as temperature, tensile strength, modulus, specific gravity, and elongation. It was observed that crazing, excessive wear, and cavity are the main characteristics of the damage usually found on the edge of the sealing disc. We also found a number of marks on the disc. Observation through SEM also shown that Fe, O, Si, S, and CI are the main chemical compositions. Moreover, fatigue was also found near the bolt area of the disc. No functional group at wavenumber 3605 cm-1 was observed in the unoccupied area on the disc, whereas the functional group at wavenumber 1715 cm-1 was found. Finally, the tensile strength and elongation values of these discs were below the manufacturing standard.

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