HEINZ P.
BLOCH, RELIABILITY/EQUIPMENT EDITOR
Reliability
Strainers and thoughtful testing:
Piping initiatives worth considering
In two separate cases, foresight in the
use of strainers on piping and following
proper procedures for hydrostatic testing
are recommended to preserve the integ-
rity of offshore platforms.
Case 1: Gas pipeline compressor
maintenance facilitation. An inter-
esting strainer adaptation saved mainte-
nance time on an offshore platform. The
platform incorporated modules of the
mezzanine type; its gas compressors were
mounted on the upper deck, and process
piping was vertically routed to the ma-
chines from the lower deck.
The owner’s reliability professionals
completely avoided the customary prac-
tice of installing straight spool pieces for
the compressor suction screens. A “T”
piping configuration was used wherein the
flat part of the “T” was rotated 90° from
horizontal; in other words, the top of the
“T” was positioned vertically rather than
horizontally (FIG. 1).
Ninety-degree rotation of the “T” and
the addition of a hinged cover (or “blind”)
resulted in a strainer body and orientation
that allowed the suction screen to be read-
ily installed and easily removed for later
cleaning. The significant benefits derived
from this approach were (1) once the pip-
ing was properly installed, there was no
need to remove a spool piece for cleaning
of the suction strainer, and (2) with the
elimination of the standard spool piece, the
piping was never removed; hence, realign-
ment of the equipment was not needed.
In effect, “tee” strainers, also known as
T-type strainers, are cost-effective alterna-
tives to the more commonly used basket
strainers in large-pipe-diameter applica-
tions. A primary feature of a T-strainer is
its ability to catch large debris in an in-line
flow or an angle flow without disturbing
the piping. Many different strainer inserts
can be designed. Although the strainer will
not be bolted in place, it must be inserted
Heinz.Bloch@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
into the pipe-tee without risk of being
dislodged. Therefore, provisions such as
welded guide rods (1/2-in. or 5/8-in. diameter
re-bar) are needed to prevent the tapered,
semicircular strainer from rotating; also,
a suitable internal stop plate must limit
strainer movement in the direction of flow.
Case 2: Pale pink rain from a closed
cooling water system. Hydrostatic test-
ing of a closed cooling water system for
high-pressure-injection compressors was
performed using seawater. It appeared to
be more economical to hydrostatically test
with seawater rather than transport potable
water from land to offshore for testing.
The closed-loop cooling system contained
treated water-glycol; an open stream of
seawater originating from a depth where
the almost-constant temperature was 46°F
(9°C) served as the cooling medium. The
high-pressure-injection compressor’s in-
terstage coolers operated at 3,500 psig (ap-
proximately 241 bar) on the gas side and 55
psig (approximately 3.8 bar) on the closed-
loop treated water-glycol system side.
Prior to and during initial commis-
sioning of the system, the closed treated
water-glycol system was never thoroughly
flushed to remove all seawater. Conse-
quently, over time, significant corrosion
occurred within the treated water-glycol
system. The reservoir for the treated water-
glycol system was located on the top deck
of the platform. The circulating pumps
were suspended within the reservoir tank.
Eventually, the interstage cooler tubes rup-
tured, with the 3,500-psig gas expanding
into the 55-psig water side of the cooler.
Fortunately, at the time of this inci-
dent, one of the two circulating water
pumps located atop the reservoir had
been removed for maintenance. The gly-
col-water mix and gas, with sludge from
corrosion, was expelled high into the air
through the opening left by the pump that
had been taken to the shop. The water-
FIG. 1. T-strainer with hinged cover.
glycol mixture rained back onto the plat-
form, coating it in a pale pink color. Had
the circulating pump not been removed
at the time of the incident, the reservoir
would have been completely blown apart.
Post-incident inspection revealed that ap-
proximately 4 in. of rust sludge had settled
at the bottom of the reservoir.
Lesson learned. Do not hydrostatically
test with a corrosive fluid, regardless of
the system being closed (recirculating) or
open (once-through). The more economi-
cal and lower-risk approach would have
been to hydrostatically test the closed sys-
tem with potable or treated water.
HEINZ P. BLOCH resides in
Montgomery, Texas. His
professional career commenced
in 1962 and included long-term
assignments as Exxon Chemical’s
Regional Machinery Specialist
for the U.S. He has authored or
co-written more than 750 publications, among them
21 books devoted to reliability improvement. The
latest of these, Optimized Equipment Lubrication,
Oil Mist Technology and Storage Preservation, was
published in January 2020 by Reliabilityweb in Fort
Myers, Florida. It describes many equipment-related
traditions that should have been phased out long ago.
Hydrocarbon Processing | MARCH 2020 13