Latest Case Studies & White Papers

Setting the scene
A misty summer sea breeze turns into stormy splashes in the later months, carrying salty vapours miles off the Welsh coast. As the years go by, the cycle continues, inadvertently creating a perfect recipe for corrosion at a nearby Steel Plant, where exposed pipework is located a few hundred feet off the coast.

Innocent looking solution of NaCL and H2O has thus become a significant complication for this plant, which has long outlasted its original lifespan.

Pipeline corrosion
The HP & LP COG main pipeline throughout the Coke Ovens Plant has been corroding for many years. As the metal was thinning, through-wall defects started to appear. These defects allowed H2S, CO2, CO and other poisonous gases exfoliated from the process of breaking down bitumen to escape. Wooden stake insertions and plates were temporarily used to seal the leaks.

These multiple small patches were never going to last, prompting a search for a more permanent solution. The conventional welding over pipework system could not be considered as the HP gas main could not be shutdown. Therefore, they turned to cold applied, coded and warranted repair systems.

Wrap system
The contract was ultimately awarded to Belzona Technosol Limited to apply Belzona SuperWrap II, a wrap system which can be designed and installed in accordance with ISO 24817 and ASME PCC-2 Article 4.1 standards.

Application commenced in September, estimated to last two weeks. The surface was manually prepared to SSPC-SP11 using grinders, avoiding grit blasting as a potential ignition source. It was no surprise that the surface preparation opened additional weeping leaks in this severely thinned pipeline. A fast curing surface-tolerant epoxy composite, Belzona 1212, with a bypass plate was used to patch the leaks. The wrap application could then commence shortly.


The remaining wall thickness in this 1.2m diameter pipe was 2mm in some areas (20% of its original thickness). A wrap was designed and applied in two critical sections in compliance with ISO 24817. In sections with greater remaining wall thickness (no potential of defects going through-wall) Belzona 5831 (Super UW-Metal) was applied to isolate the metal from the external corrosive environment.

The end result
The application was completed on time and similar work is expected at the plant shortly utilizing manual surface preparation and cold applied pipe wrap systems.

In the current climate, plants and their assets operate well beyond their design life and traditional repair options are frowned upon by the HSE. Cold-applied polymer systems, in turn, play an increasingly major role – extending asset lifetime without breaking the bank.

In this case study Techsil provided Speed Plastics with a flexible silicone adhesive and a fast, reliable, consistent dispensing solution in the manufacture of a Smoke Hood.

Speed Plastics Ltd specialise in high frequency welding of flexible plastics and also offer customers bespoke engineering solutions in sectors such as healthcare, aviation, defence and marine. Adhesive and dispensing specialists Techsil were approached to find a transparent flexible adhesive to bond the mouthpiece of a smoke hood and plan a new method of production.

A number of adhesives had been tried but under stress tests were too brittle for the substrates which were silicone rubber and cotton backed PVC. Furthermore the contours of the mouthpiece made applying the adhesive by hand very tricky. A 1-part flowable silicone adhesive was recommended by Steve Green, one of Techsil's Application Development Engineers who says,

"Momentive IS5628E silicone adhesive cures at room temperature, requires no mixing and its flowable consistency makes it easy to apply. It adheres well to silicone rubbers and cures to make a tough durable bond which can withstand very high and low temperatures. Making it an ideal solution for this application."

For the production process, a semi-automated system was chosen. A circular, even bead of adhesive was required and a Nordson EFD Ultimus 1 dispenser with a 310 cartridge assembly was deployed and a fly press to deliver the adhesive. The hood and mouthpiece is placed on a turntable and is rotated 360 degrees during dispense.
Conclusion - This project has increased the speed of the manufacturing process. The Momentive IS5628E adhesive, produces a sound bond which is uniform and repeatable due to the automated dispensing. In addition adhesive wastage has been eliminated, which was an inevitability of hand application.

For further information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Download the full case study here.

A control package, built around an ABB variable speed drive, eliminates ma-chine stoppages, improves safety and cuts maintenance costs for malt producer.
A production facility that turns barley into malt for use in beer and whisky production has increased productivity and safety by installing a new germination machine controlled by an ABB variable speed drive (VSD).

How would you feel if at a routine health check your doctor informed you that it was time to have your hip replaced - even though you weren't displaying any symptoms!

His reason?  Statistically, on average, hips fail by the time one reaches the age of 65. Knowing this your doctor schedules the surgery as a preventative measure to stop you possibly having hip problems in the future.  A pointless procedure!

Yet this is exactly what maintenance engineers do with the equipment in their care under Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM). The medical analogy brings home the absurdity of intervention based purely on statistical evidence!

By John Saysell, Training and Skills Director, MCP

Reading through a recent UK People and Productivity report, I was struck by the fact that nearly 90% of respondents said that their business suffered due to skills shortages.  I know from experience that if a key member of your team leaves (your most valuable and often forgotten asset), it’s not going to be easy to replace them.

Whitelegg Machines has just shipped a machine that will be used to wind body scanner coils for a Korean multinational company. This is the first machine of its type on which Whitelegg has installed state-of-the-art servo-controlled axes and a touchscreen HMI. (Read More)

Abstract

One of the major challenges faced by maintenance engineers across many industries is the extremely limited amount of time in which an urgent repair, such as a pipe or tank leak, must be carried out. In the real world, when a rapid repair is required, ideal surface preparation is not always an option. However, many available polymer repair solutions are not compatible with minimal surface preparation, and therefore, can often lead to failure. This article focuses on the latest epoxy technology of a new two-component paste grade material which achieves a quick, durable repair also in oil contaminated, cold, wet and underwater areas. This cold curing system achieves excellent adhesion to manually prepared substrates where grit blasting is not possible. Due to its low temperature cure and capability of being applied underwater, this product is ideal for the long-term repair of offshore structures, splash zones and marine vessels.

Fluid handling equipment may suffer from multiple problems including physical and mechanical damage as well as general or localized erosion and corrosion. These problems are linked to decreased efficiency and poor performance, leading to increasing operational costs. Minimising performance deterioration is therefore an important factor for pump manufacturers and end users.  Indeed, hydraulic losses account for most of the efficiency decrease (9% for a mixed flow pump to 20% for radial flow). Coating technology can help in decreasing these losses, increasing the pump’s performance and reducing operational costs.

Severe corrosion kept at bay with hard-wearing epoxy material

The pipework at a coal fired power station in the UK was experiencing severe corrosion issues caused by abrasive limestone slurry material. Due to the extent of the damage, the average lifetime of the pipes had been dramatically reduced to less than six months before the pipe spool pieces had to be completely replaced. The station required a repair solution that would provide extremely robust protection against the abrasive material and therefore significantly increase the working life of the equipment.

Leaking oil tanks repaired in-situ with fast-curing epoxy composite

A UK oil supplier was faced with a major dilemma when a transformer oil storage tank began to leak in several places. As the tank was located in a confined space, it would be highly dangerous to repair the damage in-situ using hot work. If the tank was removed and repaired offsite, not only would this incur large amounts of downtime, but the cost of welding alone would be over £15,000.