PIPE PULL IN ALIGNMENT AID

DESCRIPTION

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Aligning pipe flanges underwater has always been a time consuming task. The flanges must be perfectly parallel throughout the full circumference in order to get a seal on the flanges. The larger the pipeline, the more difficult alignment is. When one flange end is fixed the difficulty is increased as there are fewer opportunities to adjust the pipe positions for alignment.

 

SERS Group designs and fabricates a hydraulic powered alignment aid so that it can be bolted to the pipe spool piece prior to deployment of the spool piece to the job site. This design is able to tie in large diameter flanges to a subsea manifold. The alignment aid is designed to be stabbed on to guide posts on the manifold to ensure correct positioning in preparation for the pipe alignment.

 

Once the guide frame / spool piece is correctly orientated in place on the guide posts, the hydraulics are activated to pull the pipe into the correct position so the flanges can be easily bolted up to obtain a seal on the connection. As the diver can be positioned in a safe place and no manual tools have to be rigged for the pull in, a significant amount of time is saved and the operation is made much safer as the spool piece is held captive and controlled in a safe manner.