Neilson Road
Gateshead
Tyne & Wear
United Kingdom
NE10 0EW
Company Registration Number - 04208985
Place of Registration - England
tel +44 (0) 191 478 4999
fax +44 (0) 191 478 9919
email info@dpt.co.uk
Pigging constitutes a core activity in pipeline operation and maintenance and is used for commissioning, cleaning, batching and internal inspection using gauge pigs, calliper pigs and intelligent pigs. However, a significant proportion of pipelines are unpiggable due to internal restrictions that will not allow the passage of pigs. In the USA, out of an estimated 2.1 million miles of high-pressure transmission pipelines, 30% are considered as unpiggable.
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Pipelines can be unpiggable due to a variety of reasons: changes in diameter, presence of unsuitable valves, tight or mitered bends, low operating pressure, low flow or absence of flow, lack of launching and receiving facilities, dented or collapsed areas, excessive debris or scale build-up, short and dead-end sections, and the list can go on.
DPT tractors can be customised to overcome many of the restrictions that would cause a pipeline to be labelled as unpiggable. DPT tethered tractors are able to travel into sections of pipeline without any flow for lengths of up to several kilometres, depending on the number and type of bends. Due to their ability to be bi-directional and reversible, DPT tractors can travel through dead-end sections and return to the point of launch.