POLYMER REINFORCED PIPE WITH INSULATING STEEL TAPES AND ITS DIAGNOSTIC METHOD

Polymer reinforced pipelines are used in the construction of field pipelines at oil and gas production fields. Due to the presence of reinforcing frame the pipelines provide resistance to internal pressure up to 20 MPa, which makes it possible to use them in pipelines for various purposes up to high-pressure water pipelines. One of the advantages of polymer reinforced pipelines is their mobility, which makes it possible to reuse the pipelines. The main reason restraining the application of such pipelines is the lack of possibility to diagnose and assess their condition during operation. Adaptation of existing diagnostic methods is complicated by the multi-element pipe design, and currently existing diagnostic methods do not allow to assess the technical condition of the pipeline as a whole. The inner and outer casing of the polymer reinforced pipe reinforced with steel tape can be diagnosed by pressurizing the gas venting system (reinforcing cage area). Additionally, the inner casing can be diagnosed by ultrasonic in-line diagnostics. To solve the problem of reinforcing tape diagnostics, a new pipe design with insulating steel tapes is proposed. Due to the use of insulating steel tapes in the pipe design as reinforcing elements, their resistance to the components of the transported fluid diffusing through the inner casing to the reinforcing frame is increased. Providing diagnostics of steel insulating tapes is achieved by passing current through the insulating tapes and measuring changes in resistance.