Critical Natural Gas Leak Sealed on a 24” Electrically Insulated Flange
| Client | Public service infrastructure company |
| Country | UAE |
| Service details | A leak from a piping system during operation can lead to the escape of line medium into the atmosphere and, depending on the severity of the natural gas leak, it could lead to an unplanned & costly shutdown. Wellube maintains a stock of semi-finished clamps and our in-house manufacturing facilities enables us to provide a quick turnaround to arrest leaks with minimal loss of production and environmental impact. Our selection of specially formulated compounds is compatible with most line mediums & temperatures encountered in normal plant operations. Get in touch with us at enquiries@wellube.com |
Summary of the Project
Wellube successfully performed online sealing of a 24” Flange Joint Natural Gas Leak, operating at 30 bar. The team designed a 3-piece peripheral clamp to sit on the flange OD as part of the solution to address the leak associated with an electrically insulated flange.
Client Requirement
Our client, a public service infrastructure company in the UAE, wanted to perform online leak sealing of a 24” Flange Joint Natural Gas Leak, operating at 30 bar & ambient. As the flanges were electrically insulated, the client was looking for a unique solution to seal the leak.Challenges faced
- As the flanges were electrically insulated, conventional leak sealing methodologies such as using a Ring Clamp was not advisable.
- Utmost care had to be taken to avoid electrical conductivity between the flanges and the clamp.
Unique Solution delivered
As part of our complete turnkey solution after evaluating the client’s requirements, we advised the client that online sealing using Ring Clamp was not advisable. As the job involved electrically insulated flanges, there would be metal contact and electrical conductivity that would affect the cathodic protection system on flanges. In order to address this challenge, our Engineering team designed a 3-piece peripheral clamp which was a perfect solution to the client’s problem. To avoid the metal contact, the internal surfaces of the clamp were coated with suitable non-conductive material and equipped with additional ‘O’ rings that would act as a perfect barrier to the leak.
The leak sealing clamp was successfully installed at the site and a Sealant Compound was injected into the flange cavity thereby achieving 100% sealing of the leak. The provided rubber lining & additional ‘O’ rings on the clamp acting as insulation eliminated the risk of electrical conductivity between the flanges and clamp.
The client was pleased with this methodology that can be used for the online sealing of electrically insulated flanges.
Benefits delivered
- Completely HSEQ compliant
- Successful completion of the project within the timelines stipulated by the client
