What are foam pigs?
Foam Pigs are used to remove dust or fluids from all pipe materials. They are generally pushed through a pipe using air or water pressure, although they can be supplied with a facility to allow them to be pulled through a pipe. Foam Pigs are flexible and bi-directional.
What are foam pigs used for?
Used for cleaning, de-watering and swabbing.
Why is a pipe cleaner called a pig?
Early pigs were made from materials such as straw, barbed wire and leather and made a squealing sound while traveling through the pipes – for this reason, they were eventually called “pigs”. The name eventually became an acronym for “Pipeline Inspection Gauge” or “Pipeline Intervention Gauge”.
What is pig in piping?
A “pig” in the pipeline industry is a tool that is sent down a pipeline and propelled by the pressure of the product flow in the pipeline itself. There are four main uses for pigs: Physical separation between different fluids flowing through the pipeline. Internal cleaning of pipelines.
What are pipeline pigs used for?
A pipeline pig is a maintenance tool used for a wide range of pipeline maintenance applications. Some of these include drying, cleaning, batching, product removal, liquid displacement, and other more complex pipeline pigging solutions.
What is pig launching?
Procedures. Pig launchers are used to launch the pig into the pipeline, and pig receivers are used to receive the pigs after they have made a successful run. The choice of these pig traps will depend on the type of pig to be run and pipeline design conditions.
How does a pig receiver work?
What is a Pig Launcher/Receiver? This is accomplished by inserting the pig into a Pig Launcher – a funnel shaped Y section in the pipeline. The launcher is then closed and the pressure of the product in the pipeline is used to push it along down the pipe until it reaches the receiving trap – the ‘pig catcher’.
How do you start a pipeline pig?
Receiving a pipeline pig:
- Ensure that the receiver is pressurized.
- Fully open the bypass valve.
- Fully open the isolation valve while partially closing the main valve.
- Monitor the pig signaller to determine it’s arrival.
- Close the bypass and isolation valves.
- Open the vent valve and the drain valve.
How are pipelines cleaned?
Pigging is a process that cleans and removes debris on the inside of the pipe using a device called a pig that’s propelled through the pipeline by the normal water flow. Pigs are usually cylindrical or spherical to aid movement and cleaning efficiency.
How fast does a pipeline pig travel?
In order to maintain a safe and reliable inspection, the speed of the PIG needs to stay low, and, according to [3], this speed is usually in the range of 1 to 5 m/s inside liquid pipelines and 2 to 7 m/s inside gas pipelines.
How does a pipeline pig launcher work?
A pig launcher is a system used to send a PIG through a pipeline. It uses pressure to propel the PIG out of the launcher barrel and sends it through the pipeline system. These come in a variety of sizes depending on the pipeline size.
Why to pig a pipeline?
There are basically three reasons to pig a pipeline: To separate dissimilar products . To remove undesirable materials . To perform internal cleaning, inspections, and maintenance.
What are pipeline pigs?
Pipeline pigs are devices that are inserted into and travel throughout the length of a pipeline driven by a product flow. They were originally developed to remove deposits which could obstruct or retard flow through a pipeline. Today pigs are used during all phases in the life of a pipeline for many different reasons.
What is an oil pipeline pig?
A cleaning pig for a 6-inch oil pipeline. The wire brush encircles the shaft and scours the interior of the pipeline. Pigging in the context of pipelines refers to the practice of using devices known as “pigs” to perform various maintenance operations. This is done without stopping the flow of the product in the pipeline.
What is a foam pig?
Foam pigs are generally used as disposable and maintenance free making them a good option for applications such as cleaning, swabbing, de-watering, product separation and drying in pipelines not originally designed for pigging operations.