TPS Full Circle Sleeves

 TPS (tubular pipe sleeve) coatings are widely used in the pipeline industry for their excellent corrosion resistance and durability. TPS shrink sleeves are especially well-suited for harsh environments, such as those encountered in oil and gas pipelines. In this article, we will examine the reliability of TPS coatings based on the product thickness and properties of TPS coating.

Product Thickness:

The thickness of a pipeline coating is an essential factor in determining its effectiveness. The thickness of TPS coating can be measured in four different ways: backing as supplied, backing fully free recovered, adhesive as supplied, and wear cone (including coating) as supplied. Based on the data provided, the backing as supplied has a thickness of 1.85 mm (0.073 in.), while backing fully free recovered has a thickness of 2.3 mm (0.091 in.). The adhesive as supplied is 1.2 mm (0.047 in.), and the wear cone (including coating) as supplied is 3.05 mm (0.12 in.). This thickness provides a reliable barrier to prevent corrosion and other damages to the pipeline.

Product Properties:

The properties of a pipeline coating determine its resistance to various environmental factors. TPS coating exhibits excellent properties that make it a very reliable coating for pipelines. Let's examine each of these properties in detail.

Backing Bursting Strength: The backing bursting strength of TPS coating, as per DIN 30672, is 2350 N. This property indicates the strength of the TPS coating to withstand high-pressure situations.

Adhesive Softening Point: The adhesive softening point, as per ASTM E-28, is 94°C (201°F). This property indicates the temperature at which the adhesive will start to soften. This high softening point ensures that the TPS coating remains intact, even at high temperatures.

Lap Shear: The lap shear test as per EN 12068 @ 10mm (0.40")/min indicates the strength of the adhesive in the TPS coating. The typical value for lap shear is 0.55 N/mm² @ 50°C (122°F), indicating a strong bond between the adhesive and the pipe.

Sleeve Peel to Steel: The peel strength of TPS coating to steel, as per EN 12068 @ 10mm (0.40")/min, is 18 N/mm. This property indicates the strength of the TPS coating to remain attached to the pipe even in extreme environmental conditions.

Specific Coating Resistance: The specific coating resistance of TPS coating, as per DIN 30672, after 100 days of immersion, is 6 X 108 Ωm². This property indicates the resistance of the TPS coating to electrical current flow.

Impact Resistance: The impact resistance test as per EN 12068, Class C indicates the ability of DIRAX TPS coating to withstand impact forces. The TPS coating passes the test for a 15 J impact force.

Penetration Resistance: The penetration resistance test as per EN 12068, Class C50 indicates the ability of the TPS coating to resist penetration by sharp objects. DIRAX TPS coating has a penetration resistance of more than 0.6 mm at 50°C (122°F).

Cathodic Disbondment: The cathodic disbondment test as per EN 12068 for 30 days indicates the ability of DIRAX TPS coating to resist the disbondment of the coating from the pipe. The TPS coating maintains an 8 mm radius at 50°C (122°F), indicating its excellent bonding strength.

Based on the thickness and properties of TPS coating, we can conclude that it is a proven and excellent pipe coating for most standard pipeline applications.

Heat Shrink Sleeves: Essential Information for Accurate Quotes

 Heat Shrink Sleeves: Essential Information for Accurate Quotes

At Joint Specialists, we understand the practical realities of the buying process. Often, field joint coatings are among the last details to be addressed. In fact, a significant portion of our orders fall into the "emergency" or "hot tail gate rush" category. Nevertheless, even for these urgent orders, we require some fundamental information to provide suitable recommendations and pricing for shrink sleeve products.

While having access to the Field Joint Coating Specification makes our job easier (despite the need to sift through extensive technical data), there are basic details we need to know:

1. Outside Diameter of the Pipeline: This information determines the appropriate size of the shrink sleeve needed—whether it should be larger or smaller.

2. Operating Temperature during Service: Covalence manufactures various shrink sleeves with different types of adhesives. Knowing the operating temperature is crucial because it significantly affects adhesive performance.

3. Factory Applied Coating: Not all adhesives are compatible with every factory applied line coating. For example, hot melt adhesives are generally not compatible with Polypropylene. We aim to avoid discovering such incompatibilities in the field, especially during pipe laying operations that incur substantial daily costs.

4. Cutbacks: A cutback refers to the amount of bare steel between the factory applied coating and the pipe's end. To determine the extent of bare steel at a field joint, we double the cutback measurement. This helps us ascertain the necessary width of the shrink sleeve (refer to here and here for more details).

Lastly, we need to know the application specifics, such as whether it's a standard "drop in the ditch" pipeline, road bore, directional drill, high-temperature line, onshore, above ground, offshore, deep water, S-Lay, or J-Lay. The answers to these questions can impact the recommendations we provide.

We understand that gathering this information may appear overwhelming at first glance. However, it's not as challenging as it seems. Every joint of oil and gas pipeline requires some form of field joint coating. This presents an opportunity to increase your sales and profits modestly while offering a valuable service to customers who might otherwise choose the wrong product. Furthermore, by partnering with Joint Specialists, you have access to product experts who are just a phone call (936/321-3333) or email (steve@jsicoatings.com) away.

Heat Shrink Pipe Coating

Heat Shrink Pipe Coatings

     Heat shrink pipe coatings have been in use for more than four decades (along with heat shrink used for wire splicing, cable repair and many other applications).  For most of those decades, Raychem Corporation was THE industry leader in heat shrinkable technologies; led by their visionary leader: Paul Cook (who essentially commercialized and popularized radiation crosslinking and radiation chemistry).  The rest, as they say, is history. 

Here we see a field joint, just prior to heat shrink sleeve installation.

     Though the most obvious use for a heat shrink sleeve is on polyethylene coated pipe (as seen in the photo above), by far the most common pipeline coating combination is fusion bond epoxy (FBE) as the mainline pipeline coating and heat shrink sleeves as the field joint coating.  We sell (literally) hundreds of thousands of heat shrink sleeves per year - and I can honestly say that ~90% of those will be used on FBE coated pipelines. 

     When determining what specific heat shrink sleeve material to use on your pipeline girth welds (which is hopefully happening very early in the specification process...rather than happening while construction crew is standing on a pipeline spread staring down at some welded pipe joints....) it is important that you are making an informed decision.  There are number of factors that are very important...such as:

1. Pipeline operating temperature (once the line is in service - sometimes called Design Temp)
2. Outside Diameter of the pipeline (hopefully this is an easy one!)
3. Factory applied mainline pipeline coating and cutback sizes
4. Soil conditions (rocky? sandy? clay? subsea? above ground?)

     If we have access to that information, we have a good head start on making sure you are going to be using an appropriate material.  The fastest way to a coating / corrosion problem is to select and use an inappropriate product for your pipeline.