1.
GE AND PII
This Chapter gives general information about PII, describing where it is located into the GE’s business segment and which are its products and services. For each of them has been reported a brief explanation. Moreover, specific attention has been given to the PII’s site in Cramlington, where the essay has been developed.
1.1
General Electrics
The General Electric Company, or GE, is a multinational American technology and services conglomerate offering diversified technology, media and financial services.
In terms of market capitalization, G.E. is the world's second largest company. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and industrial products, it serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide.
GE is made up of six business segments, each of which includes a number of units aligned for growth. With more than 2,500 researchers working toward the next breakthrough, GE is positioned to continually innovate, invent and reinvent.
GE traces its beginnings to Thomas A. Edison, who established Edison Electric Light Company in 1878. In 1892, a merger of Edison General Electric Company and Thomson-Houston Electric Company created General Electric Company. GE is the only company listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Index today that was also included in the original index in 1896.
The six businesses belonging to GE are listed below with a brief explanation:
GE Commercial Finance
GE Commercial Finance offers an array of products and services aimed at enabling businesses worldwide to grow. Services include loans, operating leases, fleet management and financial programs. The services offered are:
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Capital Solutions
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Corporate Financial Services
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Healthcare Financial Services
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Real Estate
GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare is dedicated to helping GE’s partners in healthcare predict, diagnose, inform and treat disease earlier than ever..
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Diagnostic Imaging
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Global Services
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Clinical Systems
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Life Sciences
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Medical Diagnostics
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Integrated IT Solutions
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Interventional, Cardiology and Surgery
GE Industrial
GE Industrial produces the modern conveniences that keep the world working - and well lit - through appliances, lighting, factory automation systems, plastics and security and sensing technology. GE Industrial also offers equipment leasing, as well as management and operating services..
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Consumer & Industrial
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Equipment Services
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GE Fanuc
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Plastics
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Security
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Sensing & Inspection Technologies
GE Infrastructure
GE Infrastructure helps emerging countries grow and developed countries thrive. GE portfolio includes traditional and renewable energy systems, aircraft engines, oil and gas technology, locomotives and water process systems.
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Aviation
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Commercial Aviation Services
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Energy
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Energy Financial Services
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Oil & Gas
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Transportation
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Water & Process Technologies
GE Money
GE Money can provide home loans, insurance, credit cards, personal loans and other financial services for more than 130 million people..
NBC Universal
NBC Universal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies, developing, producing and marketing film, television, news, sports and special events to a huge global audience.
1.2
Pipeline Inspection and Integrity Service
1.2.1
GE Infrastructure
GE Infrastructure is a subsidiary of General Electric, formed in 2005 as part of a company-wide reorganization under CEO Jeff Immelt.
As listed above, business units making up GE Infrastructure include:
• GE-Aviation
• GE Commercial Aviation Services
• GE Energy
• GE Energy Financial Services
• GE Oil and Gas
• GE Transportation Systems (formerly GE Rail)
• GE Water & Process Technologies
1.2.2
GE Oil & Gas
GE’s Oil & Gas business is a technology based global leader that supplies advanced products, services and complete solutions to the oil and gas industry from the wellhead through the refining and related petrochemical and plastics industries.
Products include both rotating and static equipment, so whether it's the world's largest LNG compression trains, re-injection of high sulphur gas, enhancing the safety and productivity of the world's oil and gas pipelines, or equipment for the production of oil and gas from deep sub sea resources, GE is leading the charge.
Moreover, GE Oil&Gas provides all solutions to enhance the equipment efficiency and
performance, Contractual Service Agreements that maintain machines, plant and pipeline at the
best level of reliability and availability, OEM spare parts, maintenance, repairs and a full portfolio
of advanced services as well as 24/7 on line monitoring to optimize performance and life of your
equipment.
In figure 1 is shown every part of the industry where GE provides advanced product and service solutions.
Figure 1 Products, services and complete solutions provided from GE Infrastructure to the oil and gas industry
The different areas covered go from the Offshore production platform (1) to the final destination of the extracted material, like power generation (13) or the petrochemical industry (5b) through refinery (5) or storage plants (14).
To GE Oil&Gas belongs several business. One of them is Pipeline Inspection Integrity Services.
1.3
Pipeline Inspection and Integrity
PII presents 7 sites in 6 different geographic areas. The headquarter is located in Cramlington (United Kingdom), it is the centre of technology knowledge and experience about MFL technology.
This means that any PIG that has to run all over the world using MFL technology comes from Cramlington. Moreover, it is the only site present in Western Europe and Africa and it includes all the needed functions for gathering the Data and processing them. Any pipeline data from Europe goes in Cramlington, where the global manager decides whether send it to another site or keep it there in order to balance the work.
In North America there are plants in Houston, Texas and Calgary, Canada and each technology is
used there.
Stutensee-Blankenloch, Germany is the site for the Central Europe and CIS works and it owns all the technology knowledge about US technology.
Middle East and South America are covered respectively by the Dubai’s site, United Arab Emirates and Buenos Aires’s site in Argentina. Finally, Asia Pacific area is covered by the site in Selangor D.
E., Malaysia.
GE and his business “Pipeline Inspection and Integrity” has developed tools able to locate corrosion or metal loss inside or outside pipelines. Moreover, to help operators identify the best possible solution to major pipeline integrity issues, PII offers a full range of integrity services and packages.
• Integrity Services: A comprehensive suite of services designed to contribute to the safe and profitable operation of a pipeline. Services are available individually, or as part of full-service integrity packages.
• Integrity Packages: A selection of tailor-made integrity solution designed to address key operational issues.
• Integrity Management: PII can undertake complete responsibility for pipeline integrity management, freeing operators to focus on their core business of moving product to market.
The tool, called PIG (acronym of Pipeline Inspection Gauge) is also able to assess the severity of the damage. The most frequent cause of deterioration in pipeline integrity is loss of metal from the pipe wall due to corrosion or mechanical damage. Corrosion attacks a pipeline in many ways.
Some are relatively easy to detect, others require specialized tools and procedures. The best choice of inspection tool often depends on the application, the type of corrosion mechanism, the medium being transported and the nature of the pipeline steel.
How it works
Inspection tools are available both for gas and oil pipelines. The employed technologies are mainly Magnetic Flux Leakage and ultrasound technologies. Magnetic pigs (MagneScan™) and the Elastic Wave™ ultrasonic pig can be used in oil or gas product with minimal adaptation. The UltraScan™ ultrasonic tools are designed to run in liquid but can be used in gas lines by running them in a slug of liquid. Pigs take their power from on-board battery packs (usually lithium cells).
In order to achieve the most reliable results, it is important that an inspection tool well matches to
pipeline operating conditions. Figure 2 provides guidelines for tool selection.
Figure 2 Algorithms for choosing the right tool
GE Oil & Gas offers, other than tools for Crack Detection, tools for Mapping & Caliper Survey or cleaning tools and services like Risk & Integrity Management Planning, Post Inspection Evaluation, Direct Assessment/Unpiggable and Decision Support.
In the following you can find a brief description of the different technologies that PII makes use.
1.3.1
MFL Magnetic Flux Leakage
MFL is most commonly used for inspecting oil and gas pipelines, as the inspection technology behind inline inspection tools, commonly known as "pigs." A schematic of a pig based on MFL inspection is shown below. As an inspection technology MFL is attractive for pipeline pigging because of reduced power requirements: by using permanent magnets to create the magnetic field, the pig can reserve power for other operations. Ultrasonic and other tools require much more power, meaning a larger pig as it must now carry a larger battery.
Figure 3 Chart of MFL functions
MFL signals carry a tremendous amount of information about the pipe they inspect, including local stress conditions, presence or absence of cracks, corrosion or pitting, and the like. MFL tools apply the principles of flux leakage inside a pressurized and flowing gas-transmission pipeline. A magnetizing system applies a magnetic field along a length of pipe as the tool moves through the line. Defects distort this applied field, producing flux leakage. Sensors measure flux leakage, and a recording system stores the measurements. Last, the measurements are analyzed to estimate the defect geometry and severity.
1.3.2
UltraScan WM
UltraScan WM can detect and measure precisely mid-wall anomalies such as laminations and inclusions. Many pipeline operators use a baseline UltraScan WM inspection to confirm the quality of new construction before commissioning. Dual-diameter versions of UltraScan WM are available, or can be engineered to meet the needs. To deliver its full potential, ultrasound must be coupled to the pipewall by a liquid medium. To inspect a dry pipeline, UltraScan WM is run in a liquid batch.
Using the UltraScan WM tool’s ability to map the precise depth of defects, three-dimensional colour contour plots are produced, enabling the operator to quickly identify and assess problem areas.
1.3.3
TranScan
TranScan uses MFL technology like MagneScan™, but unlike MagneScan, it induces magnetic
flow around the pipeline rather than along it. This enables the tool to take a broadside-on view of
Axial defects are not common, but because hoop stresses in an operating system are far greater than axial stresses, they present a very real danger of rupture. The tool is available for pipelines down to 12 inch diameter. As with MagneScan technology, TranScan technology has the advantage of robustness, resolution and high inspection speed.
The tool design gives TranScan particular sensitivity to axially oriented pipeline defects. TranScan analysis uses the experience gained from a database of significant features seen in thousands of kilometers of previous TranScan inspections. Using overlapping sensor arrays positioned on two magnetizer units, full inspection coverage is obtained for the whole pipe surface. TranScan inspection is specially tailored to provide the high-resolution data necessary to detect flaws in the long seam of pipelines.
1.3.4
Ultrascan CD
UltraScan CD locates and measures: SCC, Fatigue cracks, Weld defects, Scratches, Grooves and Similar crack-like anomalies with a longitudinal orientation.
UltraScan CD is able to identify fine cracks as shallow as 1 mm, and it has accurately reported cracks half that depth. The tool’s record of reliability is such that an UltraScan CD inspection is accepted as an alternative to hydrostatic testing in many jurisdictions.
The data recorded by the UltraScan CD tool is processed by powerful software that identifies all significant features. The resulting database of potential anomalies becomes the foundation of the analytical process. The large number of sensors on the tool facilitate this process by taking multiple readings of each target, and distinguishing clearly between internal and external flaws.
1.3.5
Elastic Wave
Using ultrasonic transducers contained in fluid-filled wheels, it detects longitudinal cracking and fine axial cracks in both liquid and gas lines.
1.3.6
Mapping
PII mapping tools record the exact geographical position of the centreline of a pipeline, in three
axes, as they travel. This information has a number of uses. It can remove uncertainties about
location when a system changes ownership. It can indicate sections of pipe that are subject to
stress caused by ground movement and other geotechnical forces. It can help repair crews
determine a specific location when pipeline runs through remote territory. An accurate record of a
pipeline’s centreline can also be the starting point for the integration of data to create a model of
the system. In such models the centreline enables a pipeline to be accurately positioned on a topographical map, providing a link between data gathered from the pipeline (by in-line inspection, direct assessment and other means) and the terrain through which the pipeline travels. The relationship between the system, landscape features, human activities and high consequence areas becomes clear. PII offers dedicated mapping tools, and a tool which maps the centreline while carrying out a metal loss survey.
1.3.7
Cleaning
All pipelines need to be cleaned at some time – to remove construction debris before commissioning, to restore capacity in a dirty line, or to prepare for an in-line inspection. Usually, off-the-shelf cleaning pigs will do the job. But difficult pipeline geometry or an excessive amount of debris can require a special approach.
PII has over 25 years experience in developing customised solutions to extreme pipeline cleaning problems. The PII approach emphasises risk control. A line blockage due to a badly planned or over-enthusiastic cleaning can be a major disaster.
Therefore PII’s procedures are progressive, starting with light pigs and moving slowly towards more aggressive cleaning pigs. A tracking system monitors the progress of the pigs through the pipeline, as an aid to retrieval should it become necessary.
1.3.8
Caliper Surveys
As the tool passes through the pipeline, mechanical fingers feel the inside surface and record changes in the internal diameter. During the commissioning of a newly-built line, it is used to detect dents and ovalities caused during construction, and to confirm the location of features such as wyes and tees. Before an in-line inspection, it is used to determine whether the inspection tool can safely pass through the pipeline. Data is analysed in such a way as to highlight deflections that exceed agreed-upon values – generally diameter reductions of 2.5 or 3 percent. The tool reports its position in the pipeline by means of odometers, by reporting girth welds, and, if necessary, by use of an external marking system.
1.4
Pig Launching & Receiving Procedures
During the development of the project, the candidate was offered the opportunity to follow the field
crew during an inspection that has taken place in Yorkshire. The inspection was about a short
section of 36 inch pipeline and it has been done using an MFL tool.
Getting the MFL inspection tool into and out of a pressurized pipeline requires special components.
Most commonly, the devices are called pig launchers and receivers and are installed at compressor stations or other easily accessible locations.
Figure 4 The Pig Trap
The system of valves shown in figure 4 is indispensable to the insert of the PIG in the pipeline.
The client can chose whether to assist to the launch or not but, anyway, in each launch and
receive operation, are present al least three field crew operators, a technical project manager and
two client operators.
Figure 5 The launch schema
The first operation done by the field crew is to isolate the trap from the pipeline and depressurized it before commencing any part of the launch procedure. Liquid gas goes through this pipeline so, once the trap is isolated, a valve is opened to allow the gas to come out until the ping launcher is completely drained. At this moment the trap door is opened. The pig launcher, a particular equipment that can easily permit the insert of the pig has been placed on the front of the open door.
Figure 7 The pig pushed in the pipeline
At this moment, the pig, until now on the track, has been lifted an placed on the guide, and pushed inside the pipeline by a hydraulic ram. When the whole pig is inside the pipeline, the trap door is closed and the pressurization operations start.
Figure 6 The support to insert the Pig in the pipeline
Figure 8 Nitrogen bottles
To avoid any risk of explosion, the launch trap is filled of nitrogen. It is usually put on top of liquid explosives for safety serving as an inert replacement for air. When the pig trap is 99% full of it, the drain valve is closed and slowly the trap is filled by gradually opening the kicker valve and venting through the vent valve. When filling is complete, the vent valve is closed to allow pressure to equalize across the isolation valve.
Now the pig is ready for launching and the isolation valve is open. To start the pig moving, the main valve is partially closed, this will increase the flow through the kicker valve and behind the pig.
Continuing to close the main line valve the strength of the liquid will be enough to permit the pig to leave the trap into the main line as indicated by the pig signaller.
After the pig leaves the trap and enters the main line, the main line valve is fully opened and isolation valve and the kicker valve closed. The pig launching is complete and the inspection can start.
During an inspection, control of the gas pressure and tool velocity is important for providing good
results. Tool position can be monitored during the run with in-line or external sensors. Monitoring
the tool's position is important in the event that a tool gets stuck.
Figure 9 Digital pressure indicator
Figure 10 The receive schema
When the pig reaches the receiving point, it ends his run before the isolation valve. The first action
is to move the pig until the trap barrel. To do this, it is necessary to fully open the bypass valve and
the isolation valve and keep partially closed the main line valve. Doing this, the pressure in trap
barrel area will increase and the pig, will slowly move until the desired position. Once the pig is
arrived, the isolation valve and bypass valve are closed and the drain valve and the vent valve
opened until the trap is depressurized. At this stage the trap closure is opened and the pig
removed from the receiver.
Figure 11 Positioning of the pig support
To do that, the receiving equipment is located in front of the trap door and the pig is pulled out through a pneumatic ram and a chain system. The secure trap door is closed.
Figure 12 Dragging the pig outside
After the tool is captured in the receiver, it is inspected to verify that all components are in working
condition at the end of the run. In addition, some of the data are examined to determine whether
the tool operated successfully throughout the run. The data are then downloaded, checked for
quality and completeness, and analyzed.
Figure 13 Irene and I at the receiving point
