The Role of Composite Materials to Rehabilitate Plant Piping

Abstract

This paper discusses a case study of composite materials rehabilitation on plant piping, and its influence to return the plant production after a fire. An evaluation was carried to evaluate damaged segments and propose a suitable repair mechanism. Reinstating the plant piping routes to minimize the production outage was a challenging task. Therefore composite materials repair technique was used to rehabilitate piping. This technique resulted in fast repairs. The process of composite material repair application starts with the defect identification and extent of the required repair. Based on the defect severity and geometry, a specific design of the composite materials wrap joint was developed. The composite material wrap/clamp joint design was as per ASME-PCC-2. Composite materials repair provided the piping with remarkable strength. Two wrapped locations were found to have air pockets because of improper installation, and therefore additional training is essential for the use of this composite wrap methodology.