Nature of defect
The 24” line had suffered from severe internal erosion resulting in a through-wall slot defect at a lap joint flange. The slot was approximately 120mm long circumferentially with 40mm of wall thinning axially. The line needed to stay at full operational pressure which meant a live leak seal was required. A composite overwrap was then needed to bring the line back up to its full design specification.
Solution
Metalyte Pipeworks used there bespoke Titan 505 live leak sealing system to initially seal the leak. Herculyte LV Kevlar reinforced bond resin combined with the Cayman water activated composite system was then used to form the engineered over wrap.
Repair Method
The technicians began by fitting the Leak seal composite around the pipe, tight up against the flange. Injection and divert ports were installed to control the leak while allowing the team to continue working on the pipe. Once the leak was under control and fully encapsulated, the technicians injected a water activated resin into the divert ports until the leak had fully sealed.
The flanges and bolts were built up with a lightweight filler to allow the composite to be applied. The Kevlar reinforced bonding resin was then applied over the full repair area before the Cayman system was applied.
