Prevent Damage on Bundled Pipe Bores

Bundled Directional Drilling Damage Prevention

Installed BBS - 2" wide / 1" tall bumpers to protect your pipeline

Daylight can be seen in the gap created by our BBS system on a 16" pipeline.

     Steel pipe is expensive.  Factory applied pipe coatings are expensive.  Moving coated pipe around the country is expensive.  Boring machinery and crews are incredibly expensive.  I know most end users are painfully aware of this already - but pipelines are assets with incredible value and incredible revenue streams.  Line replacements, line shut downs and major corrosion problems can be career ending propositions.  So with all of that, why aren't more end users and contracting taking the extra step to put bumpers on their bundled directional drills? Some are, but many still are not.

     Pulling a pipe bundle through a boring hole puts some pretty extreme forces on a pipe coating.  The bundle can see experience unexpected bumps and bruises along the way as well.  Picture for a moment a bundled directional drill consisting of a 20" line and two 12" lines.   Each of those lines is going to weigh hundreds of pounds per meter.  What happens when there is some kind of a collision underground caused by a hiccup in the pull; a rock underneath the bundle or a slip of some kind out in the staging area? 

    Beyond that, what about after the bundle is in place?  Do you want your pipelines resting directly on top and touching one another?  Isn't some space between lines a much better option for cathodic protection systems?  I think the answer to all of these questions is pretty clear. 

     Shoot me an email and I'll shoot you an electronic copy of our BBS literature.  It shows installation steps, technical details and before and after photos of our system.  The bumpers speak for themselves and I think you'll probably agree after looking over the photos (steve@jsicoatings.com)

Pipe Bore Spacers Case Study

Pipeline Bumper Case Study:  20" & 16"

     We were recently given an opportunity to get involved with yet another bundled road bore.  This was a slightly unusual case here in the USA because this pipeline was factory coated with a polypropylene coating and was being installed onshore.  Given our long and successful track record, our product was specified to be the bumper installed on each line to prevent the lines from damaging one another during the pull through. 

     The job went perfectly and we've even already shipped bumpers for the second phase of the project.  Installing on both a 20" and a 16" line was simple.  Utilizing our specially designed bumper system, we locked in place a bumper that is 2" wide and 1" tall.  We do have 2" tall bumper as an option.  In numerous case studies, however, with pipe up to 20" and beyond, it has been shown again and again that with proper bumper spacing, the 1" tall bumpers are sufficient to protect the factory applied coating. 

     So without further ado, let's take a look at some photographs:

Bumpers installed on 20" and 16" pipe

Close up of an installed bumper

Three adjacent lines all protected by bumpers prior to the bundling.

Pipe just prior to bundling.

Pipeline Cluster Spacers

Cluster Spacers for Pipelines

     Multiple pipes being pulled through a bore at the same time (often called a bundled directional drill) require special preparation to be certain that there won't be significant pipe on pipe violence occurring during that pull.  In such a case, a system that serves to keep a safe distance between the assorted pipelines is highly recommended.  Sometimes that system is called a Cluster Spacer (though we call ours a bundled bore system:  BBS).

     Directional drilling is incredibly expensive.  Drilling a hole large enough to fit several different pipelines through at a time is even more-so.  It is pointless to spend all of that money on the bore itself and then allow the pipeline coating to be so damaged that you're creating problems for years to come.  You have to protect your investment.  That is where our cluster spacer system comes into play.

Four Pipeline Cluster Bore

     Don't risk significant damage to your pipeline that will be involved in a bundled directional drill.  You have to have something to prevent the pipe from the other lines in the bundle.  That's where our BBS bundled bore bumper system comes in.  Get in touch with us for pricing and technical information.