Background

Expertise Areas

LABORATORIES

CTDUT has full-scale facilities and research laboratories for the testing of products and services used in the pipeline mesh. An infrastructure that offers technical and economic advantages to both suppliers and operators (considering the high risk and high cost of conducting tests in active pipelines).

DESCRIPTION OF THE LABORATORIES

PIPELINE OF 14’’

Also called LOOP14, it consists a 14’’ circuit with 100 meters in length, equipped with several flared and easily removable spools. These spools have caused and mapped defects, facilitating the evaluation of new tools for inspection of pipeline integrity. New reels can be produced and included to attend specific needs of new developments.

The loop has a pumping system and two cannons to launch and receive PIGs.

It can be operated with water or inert gas.

CHARACTERISTICS

Length: 100m

Diameter: 14″

Products: water or inert gas

Flow in the test with water: 190 to 320 m³/h in expansion for 190 to 640m³/h

Configuration: aerial, flanged spools, nearby launcher and receiver cannons

APPLICABILITIES

PIG’s testing and evaluation plus integrity inspection tools

Operator’s Training and Certification

Tests of Leak detection

Training of Cargo Line Repair

Verification of PIG passage on reduced radius curves

We have complete flexibility to adapt LOOP14 in order to attend the demand of the customers.

LABORATORY OF STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY – “LIE”

It allows destructive tests with samples in pipes of large diameters and lengths up to 17 meters.

CHARACTERISTICS

Closed installation of 200 square meters, with monitored tests until the moment of rupture through hydrostatic test based on hydraulic pump systems, with hydraulic pump for test pressures up to the limit of 1000 Kgf/cm2. Larger pressures can be attended under request.

It has a ditch of 18,10m length x 4,10m width x 2,55m height equipped with a bridge crane with 10 TON. It also offers a control room with TV monitor to allow the operations in complete safety and equipment for application of cyclic loads – Servo-hydraulic machine for fatigue testing.

It also has a precise monitoring system for fluid temperature control by PLC, through the variable of the electric resistance voltage.

LABORATORY OF “PULL IN TEST”

It has 6 segments of pipes with 28m each that attends the gauges of 6 to 16 inches (6″, 8″, 10″, 12″, 14″ and 16″) suitable for tests of PIGs and for external equipment of inspection. These pipes present mapped defects that can be used in evaluations. New diameters of pipes can be attended, under request.

CHARACTERISTICS

Tractionator (pulling) with a frequency inverter. Higher traction capacities can be attended under request.

Covered operational area.

Manual hoists of 2 tons for handling.

APPLICABILITIES

Tests to evaluate the efficiency of detection and calibration of instrumented PIGs or other equipment for detection of defects, like acoustic inspection of long-range guided waves.

LABORATORY OF CATHODIC PROTECTION AND COATING – “LPCR”

External Corrosion is one of the major hazards to the integrity of the pipelines. The main techniques to prevent and control this threat are the anticorrosive coatings and cathodic protection. The knowledge and development of these techniques are crucial for a new scenario in the pipeline area, with its increase, aging and constant change of the requirements of the operational safety.

LPCR has a complete infrastructure dedicated to the studies of cathodic protection.

It is designed to evaluate and test new products and equipment, train and qualify professionals, make researches, evaluate and develop anticorrosive coatings e parameters of cathodic protection in controlled space.

CHARACTERISTICS

The laboratory was built in an area of 1.400 m², where the following devices and equipment are accommodated:

One hundred (100) meters of buried coated pipes with 10’’ and 20’’ of diameter

One (1) test tank with 2 meters of diameter

Two (2) sets of electrical insulation of conventional and monoblock pipes

Two (2) sets of inert anodes – rectifier/bed

One (1) set of rectifier/flexible continuous bed

Two (2) galvanic beds with anodes of magnesium and zinc

One (1) box of measuring and interconnection to connect the galvanic beds

Six (6) points for tests of insulating joints, “jacket pipe”, with coupon for measuring the pipe/rail in potential and of interconnection of pipes of 22’’, 10’’ and coupon

Two (2) drains of simple and low level potential currents

One (1) control unit for simulations of defects and abnormalities in the cathodic protection system and current drains

Twenty-four (24) boxes for evaluation of the effect of cathodic protection on anticorrosive coatings

Twelve (12) real-time monitoring systems of the results of the experiments performed on the boxes

Train track to simulate railroad interference by draining electric current

APPLICABILITIES

Evaluation and tests of new materials, equipment and devices.

Training and qualification of professionals.

Researches, evaluation and development of the anticorrosive coatings in real scale.

Evaluation of the parameters of the cathodic protection in controlled spaces.

LABORATORY FOROIL PIPELINE OF 12” TESTS

The Oil Pipeline of 12” tests is a dedicated terminal with a piping of 12’’ for multiphase use with crude oil and byproducts, ethanol or water. It is possible to customize the installation through interchangeable spools, with flanges, which can simulate faults or conditions of interest.

Several flow and pressure meters distributed in the line allow testing and evaluation of the performance of the product. In multiphase operation, the flow meters located in the input lines allow the control of the mixture of different products.

The main advantages of using this installation for testing are the risk reduction during the tests and more flexibility to change the parameters of operation of the line during the tests, without causing impact on the transport installations by actual pipelines in operation.

CHARACTERISTICS

Nominal diameter: 12″

Maximum loop length: 2.700 meters

Pressure Class: 300#

Flow rate: up to 800 m3/h

Maximum flow speed: up to 3 m/s

Operating pressure: up to 25 kgf/cm2

Launcher and Receiver of PIGs of 18” with 3 configurations:

Continuous loop of 2.700 m of extension and 60m of variation of relief;

“U” Form of 2.500 m of extension and 60m of unevenness;

“U” Form of 300 m of extension and 3m of unevenness.

3 tanks, 2 with 300 m3 and 1 of 600 m3

2 main pumps and 2 boosters pumps

52 instruments (flow, pressure, differential pressure, density, PIG detectors) coupled to data acquisition system installed in the control room of the Oil Pipeline of 12” tests

APPLICABILITIES

Inhibitors of corrosion

Reducers of friction

Internal and external corrosion

Batch interface

Equipment and instrument testing for pipelines

Studies of mono and multiphase drainage in permanent and transient regime

PIG technology in mono and multiphase flows;

Kneading and leak detection systems (accidental or by vandalism)

Calibration of computational models for pipeline studies

Test and calibration of optical fiber sensors for measuring voltage, flow, pressure

Training for pipeline operators

PROJECTS IN PROGRESS

 

Project 1

Minimization of the operational impact of solid particles on pipes in Pressure Reducing Stations – PRS.

Client: National Institute of Technology – INT, through Project with PETROBRAS/CENPES (Project PT -144.01.13408 – SIGITEC 2017/00516-8)

It is a project to evaluate the effects of speed on the release of corrosion particles on pipes, resulting from the drag of the gas and to evaluate the technologies of filtration on the speeds identified as the most critical aiming to reduce issues related to clogging that happen in the Pressure Reduction Stations installed on field. To achieve this, an aerial pilot circuit will be built with a pipe of 16″and a Pressure Reduction Station – PRS, infrastructure available on CTDUT through the Project of FINEP – pilot circuit LOOPGAS.

Project 2

Study of metallic coatings applied by thermal spray for internal cathodic protection of welded joints in ducts and internally coated lines.

Client: National Institute of Technology – INT, through Project with PETROBRAS/CENPES (Project PT-144.01.13406 – SIGITEC 217/00360-8)

The project aims to evaluate and develop techniques of plating to protect welds made in internal joints, an admittedly fragile point of pipeline construction. It can be an excellent alternative to improve the reliability of internal corrosion in submarine gas pipelines in future and for the protection of pipelines with transport of liquids (oil and byproducts), containing produced or solubilized water.In this project several pilot sections submitted to different conditions using pipes of 16″ will be made as well as  infrastructure available on CTDUT through the Project of FINEP – pilot circuit LOOPGAS.

SUPPORT ROOMS

They are available for courses, lectures, seminars and meetings of associated companies or not.

AUDITORIUM

It has 70 seats in an area of 70 m² with all necessary infrastructure (audio, video and projection system).

CLASSROOM

It has 35,40 m² with 10 tables and chairs for 20 students or 25 chairs with removable clipboard for 25 students.

WORKSHOP

It has 260 m² with 5 hoists of 2 tons, installations for network, data and voice, compressed air points with pressure of 10 Kgf/cm² and electrical outlet with 440v, 220v and 110v.