DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF AN ULTRASONIC PIG FOR PARAFFIN DEPOSITION REMOVAL

In the processes of preventive and corrective maintenance of oil pipelines, it is common to use internal intervention tools known as PIGs, which, once inserted into the interior of a pipeline, are propelled by the flow, performing cleaning operations through scraping or brushing.This work refers to the design and testing of a PIG device equipped with ultrasonic actuators, intended for cleaning and removing paraffin deposits, based on the principle of cavitation generated by an ultrasonic source, which is conventionally used in industrial cleaning processes.It is evaluated whether a PIG with ultrasonic actuators embedded in its body, inserted into the pipeline and immersed in the fluid, is capable of removing paraffin from the inner wall of the pipe through cavitation in the fluid resulting from the propagation of ultrasonic mechanical waves