What is the Easiest Field Joint Coating to Install

What is the Easiest Field Joint Coating to Install

    

Field joint coated with a DIRAX shrink sleeve system

     I had an interesting conversation this morning.  A contractor who doesn't historically get involved with steel natural gas pipeline installation has been awarded a contract to install a stainless steel natural gas pipeline.  At first glance, it sounds rather strange to be honest...but every company in every industry, at some point in time did something for the first time.  No one is born with experience.

     So this contractor, knowing that we are familiar with most all of the field joint coating technologies, wanted me to talk it through with him.  Here were some of his questions (and my answers):

Question:  Which field joint coating is going to be the least expensive for me to put on? 

Answer:  That depends.  First let me say that of the three primary field joint coating technologies (I'm ignoring field applied FBE here), each certainly has its strengths and weaknesses.  When considering a shrink sleeve system vs a two part epoxy vs a cold applied tape, there is a lot to consider and cost is certainly one of those factors.  Each of those three has areas where it excels and each has areas where it isn't as strong as the others.

So which coating is least expensive?  First, my brain will not allow me to ignore pertinent details.  It is impossible to jump right into "cost" without first considering SUITABILITY.  Making decisions based purely on material cost without considering other factors (application, pipeline conditions, time cost and labor cost as just a few examples) is a huge, huge mistake.  If there is a distributor, manufacturer or reseller out there who is advising otherwise; please let me know who it is because that would be irresponsible selling of the worst magnitude.

Based on that criteria listed above (since this line has road bore sections, is 12" heavy wall pipe and is in a very critical area), I am removing a cold applied tape system from the 'options' list right off the bat.  As I sad above, cold applied tapes certainly have areas of the pipeline coating world where they excel.  This is not one of them.

Since both shrink sleeves and two part epoxies were note eliminated based on that criteria, I can finally offer up an answer.  Are shrink sleeves or two part epoxies cheaper?  Yes.  I know, I'm drawing this out way too long.  Looking strictly at material cost, two part stand alone epoxies are generally going to be a little cheaper for road bore and directional drilling applications.  When considering a typical buried pipeline application without a road bore; shrink sleeves (like our WPCT product) are going to be the cheaper material strictly in terms of material cost.

Question:  My crews have no experience, which field joint coating is going to be easier to install?

Answer:  Well, to continue giving my honest opinion:  I believe a crew with absolutely no experience will be able to consistently, quickly and soundly install shrink sleeves sooner than they will be able to consistently, quickly and properly apply a two part epoxy stand alone product.  The quantities on this job would not justify purchasing spray equipment so the only option would be hand applied epoxy.

As I said about the tapes above; two part epoxies are great in certain situations.  In the hands of a brand new crew is not one of those situations.  I believe that shrink sleeves offer a relatively simple repeatability.  Epoxies on the other hand require a little more skill.  Getting a feel for gauging coating thickness; proper mixing technique to avoid introducing air into the epoxy; working the field joint to avoid icicles and inconsistent thicknesses, learning to efficiently use the epoxy to minimize waste, applying in a way that avoids any fish eyes from opening up -- none of those are particularly challenging in and of themselves.  Experienced crews avoid most of them most of the time.  But a green crew - with a likely very nervous inspector looking over their shoulder - is really inviting trouble if they think they will be able to master hand applying epoxy over the course of a two mile pipeline. 

So for me there is no question.  Go with the shrink sleeves, your life will be much easier and the pipeline will still be well protected.

Question: Ok, I'm convinced.  How do I know what width of a shrink sleeve I need to order?

Answer:  That one is easy.  A sleeve has to be at least wide enough to coat all bare steel and overlap onto the adjacent factory applied line coating by at least two inches per side.  Please keep in mind though, some end users require 3" per side or even 6" per side.  It is always better to be safe than sorry.  Check to make sure you're meeting the requirements of the specification before you buy anything!

And that was that, at least for this stage of the game.  Besides offering to include a free job kick off training session on site; there wasn't much else to do right now.  We will get the opportunity to train a brand new crew how to properly install our product (WPCT and DIRAX) and they will (hopefully) have a successful first foray into the world of steel gas pipeline construction.  

Common Pipeline Field Joint Coating Terms

Common Pipeline Coating Terms

     As I've mentioned recently, sometimes the folks we deal with are unfamiliar with our products and/or our industry.  Of course, as the average age of a pipeline worker grows...there are more and more new folks entering into the industry.  Some of these folks are moving from a different industry; some are fresh out of college.  In either case - I think it is important to recognize that "you can't know what you don't know."  There is no shame in not knowing something.  There is also no shame in relying on product experts (like JSI) to help you make decisions.  There might be a little shame in not knowing...not caring...and just choosing something anyway - but I'll let you decide that for yourself!

     So, here I'm putting together a listing / glossary of some of the more common terms I've seen through the pipeline world / specifications / etc.  In every case, I'm giving only the simplest, most bare definition.  If you'd like me to flesh any specific term out more; please drop me an email with your request and I will gladly do that for you:  steve@jsicoatings.com

What does HSS mean?  In specifications it generally stands for Heat Shrink Sleeve

What does FBE mean?  Fusion Bond Epoxy is a very commonly applied factory coating (where they would be coating long lengths of pipe.  It can also be applied as a field joint coating.

What does PE mean?  PE simply stands for PolyEthylene - a type of plastic.  All of our shrink sleeves are essentially polyethylenes (I think it is more accurate to call them PolyOlefins -- which simply means a modified polyethylene - but that doesn't come up too much.)

What does TLPE mean?  Three Layer Poly Ethylene.  In the world of factory applied pipeline coatings, this often means a pipeline coating that consists of an epoxy, an adhesive and a PE backing.

What does 2LPE mean?  A two layer polyethylene - generally consisting of a mastic adhesive sealant and a polyethylene outer layer.

What does TLPE Shrink Sleeve System mean?  This is when we re-create a TLPE factory installed product as the field joint.  This would be done (HTLP60/HTLP80 would be examples) using a two part hand applied epoxy; and a shrink sleeve which consists of an adhesive layer and a heat shrinkable PE layer.

What does 2 Part mean?  When people refer to 2 part they are generally talking about a two part liquid epoxy that can be used as a pipeline coating.  Examples of this would be Powercrete and Denso Protal 7200

What does slip-on mean in the world of shrink sleeves?  A slip on would be a shrink sleeve that is supplied in the form of a tube.  So, the sleeve must be slipped on the pipe prior to the weld being made.  The sleeve is moved down the pipe away from the weld - then brought back and installed after the weld is completed.

What does shrink wrap mean in the world of shrink sleeves?  It generally means a product that is a 'wrap around' shrink sleeve. This is by far the most commonly used shrink sleeve configuration.

What does it mean when someone says they need a shrink sleeve for jacket continuation?  This would be on an insulated pipeline of some kind.  The field joints of an insulated pipeline are very often required to be insulated as well.  In those cases, half shells are often used.  Once the half shells are in place; a shrink sleeve is installed covering all of the half shells and bonding to the adjacent PE outer jacket of the factory installed insulation.  This prevents water from getting to that half shell (and the insulation of the line) which very often could be destroyed by water.

What does it mean when someone says they need a "road bore sleeve"?  It means they want DIRAX - a product specifically designed for road bore and directional drilling applications.

Field Joint Pipeline Coating Supply

Field Joint Coating Supply

     I've now been involved in the pipeline field joint coating industry for fourteen years.  My family has been involved in it for just about forty years.  I am constantly amazed by the channels through which some field joint coatings are purchased.  Below are just a few examples.

• I've seen cases where our Covalence shrink sleeves will pass through as many as five different hands before reaching their final destination!  Imagine that for a second....five different mark ups - all along the way before hitting the end user.  What was the final price??!? 500% what I quoted?  It is incredible!  Granted, it is fantastic for the economy (think trickle down economics), but wow.  There are people out there who think a basic WPCT shrink sleeve costs $100 each...because they've apparently paid that before!
• I've seen situations where someone in the buying chain has never had any experience quoting or discussing pipelines, pipeline coatings, shrink sleeves or really anything to do with the oil and gas industry.  
• I've seen cases where a middleman doesn't want anything to do with finding the correct product to offer for a job; he just wants the 'cheapest' one. 
• I've seen cases where a middle man doesn't want anything to do with finding the correct product to offer for a job; he just wants the 'most expensive' one.

      I could probably list a few others as well!  Of course for every "dangerous" situation I've listed above; I've encountered 20+ cases where a reseller genuinely takes their job seriously; wants to offer the right products; is willing to dig deep into a specification to make sure they are offering products in the best interest of their customer -- and is genuinely working very hard to be a value adding link in the supply chain of field joint coatings.  Those are wonderful partners to have in the business world and, while we are grateful for ALL of the business opportunities that come our way - we are very appreciative of those who have the same commitment to quality, service and technical expertise that we do.

Why Not Use DIRAX Shrink Sleeves for Every Field Joint?

As has been mentioned before when I addressed the common question:  What is the toughest shrink sleeve?

DIRAX is without a doubt the toughest shrink sleeve on the market.  It uses our S1301M primer to act as the bonding agent between the steel (and FBE) and the DIRAX shrink sleeve.  This S1301M epoxy also acts as the primary corrosion coating.  During the bore (and after) the DIRAX sleeve and leader strip offer unparalleled physical protection to that epoxy in the form of high shear hot melt adhesive layers; PE layers and fiber mesh layers.  All in all; that epoxy is PROTECTED.  Nothing is getting in there. 

Here we see a DIRAX (ROCS) shrink sleeve being installed on a TLPE coated pipeline.

I've seen it time and time again (DIRAX has a long use history that is unmatched by anything else in the industry). 2" pipe:  no problem.  4" pipe:  no problem (backward and forward and oh, by the way, the cold applied tape disappeared somewhere down in the hole as seen in this DIRAX case study).

So, why not USE DIRAX on every single joint; rather than just the road bore sections of your pipe?  Well, the truth is, it just isn't necessary in my opinion.  If a customer insisted on the best field joint coating, regardless of the cost, I would gladly offer them DIRAX (though without the leader strip, it is called the ROCS shrink sleeve).

But in this practical world in which we live, products like WPCT, WPC100M, HTLP60 and TPS (just to name a few) are all VERY good at doing exactly what they are supposed to do...sealing that field joint and preventing any water or air from getting to the bare steel.