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Refineries & Industrial Plant Services - click here
A Gulf Coast Refinery
At a major Gulf Coast refinery, two expansion loops were to be installed in a 48" relief header that led to a flare stack 35 feet above the ground. An existing expansion joint packing gland had developed a leak and needed replacement. Extreme temperature changes caused great expansion and contraction in the pipe, so the decision was made to replace the single expansion joint with two expansion loops about 300 feet apart. The refinery wanted to keep its processing units in service. Shutting down that part of the operating system would have resulted in a significant loss in revenue.
TDW Services was able to divert the flow, keeping the refinery up and running while the new expansion loops were installed. Our STOPPLE® Plugging Machines remained in place for two weeks under the tough conditions associated with a flare line. The difficult project was completed successfully and shutdown of a major refinery was prevented.
A Nuclear Power Facility
A nuclear power plant faced a challenge when it needed to replace eight 24" control valves in a "safety-related heat exchanger" unit. The control valves were located on a series of 24" carbon steel pipelines that branched off a common 48" header. There were no valves at the junction of the header and each branch.
To keep the system in full operation, with a continuous flow of cooling water at approximately 100 psi, the power plant needed to install the valves without shutting down the 48" main line header. TDW Services technicians installed special tapping fittings on each 24" header, then they made hot taps through the fittings and into the lines. Next, they installed a Folding Head STOPPLE® Plugging Machine. The folding head permitted the plugging head to enter the line through a smaller opening.
The 48" main line header remained in service, feeding seven cells of the heat exchanger as, one by one, the eight 24" valves were replaced. The project was completed on time and within budget! TDW Services, Inc., has been serving the nuclear power industry since 1966. |
