Line Stopping – A great way to avoid the complete shutdown

Have you ever worked on a live pipeline active under high pressure? If yes, you can easily determine the working conditions under such situations. Workings on live pipelines possess heavy danger to the lives of people and it is important to take necessary precaution at the maximum. However, with the advancements in technologies have resulted in greater security and safety and one such technique is line stopping which can be defined as a mechanical way of creating a temporary isolation in a live pipe. This is done of pipelines where some flow exists and there is no possibility of complete freezing, or a total shutdown is out of scope.

The best thing about this process is that an engineer can perform various kind of work on the pipeline while not disturbing its flow which also avoids the chances of complete shutdown. It can be done on most common pipeline materials such as Steel, Cast Iron, Ductile Iron, Copper, Stainless steels, Plastics and Cement Asbestos.

A customized fitting is either welded or bolted to the live pipeline using valves. Under pressure drilling is done whenever required to install the line stopping equipment. In case a bypass is required, it is installed during the initial set up which ensures uninterrupted flow in the main line.

Hot Tapping Pipelines – An Integral part of industry

Particularly in chemicals and gas industry, pipelines play a very great role in maintaining the efficiency of operations. Therefore, it becomes important for plant workers to ensure their working conditions remain normal throughout the operations. Any kind of mechanical failure can result into several losses. Any kind of maintenance work on pipelines sometimes hampers the work in great way by putting the lines idle. So, here comes the need for hot tapping pipelines that allow engineers to carry out various kinds of maintenance or repair work without the need for total shutdown of operations.

This technique is of great value as it doesn’t cause any kind of hindrance to existing work. In fact, it makes way for continuous operations as pressure is thoroughly contained. Engineers can carry out the job in any particular section of the active pipe without shutting down other sections. This process is limited only by the amount of pressure that has to be restricted.

The high level of flexibility makes it the most sought after process among companies as a way of working on pipelines. This process can be done both manually and automatically, and can be performed on both surface pipelines and sub area pipelines. Hot tapping is typically performed on materials such as carbon steel, stainless steel, cement lined pipe, fiberglass, or plastic pipes.