Pipe Coating
Concrete Weight Coating is typically applied to pipe by using impingement or wrap on technology.
Weight coating is applied to pipes to allow added weight for stabilizing pipe on the sea bed offshore
and/or through swamp areas onshore. The coating also allows for protection from trawl board impact
offshore and mechanical protection onshore (road crossings and alike).
It is common that the density of concrete required for offshore pipeline activities to be greater than
traditional concrete densities. To allow for higher than normal concrete densities, the concrete mix
often contains Iron Ore as a constituent part of the concrete mix.
Concrete coating is usually applied to pipes that have already received an anti corrosion coating,
typically coatings are, Asphalt Enamel, Three layer Polyethylene or Polypropylene and to a lesser
extent Fusion Bonded Epoxies.
For added corrosion protection, offshore pipelines are also fitted with segmented or bracelet type
sacrificial alloy anodes. The anodes are usually fitted to the pipe at the pipe coating facility during the
concrete installation process.
1,0 MATERIALS
All incoming materials are checked against the material manufacturer’s certification and
other specification requirements and recorded on an Incoming receipt form ( IRF )
Cement
Cement shall conform to ASTM C 150 or BS 12 and to the Project specified the Alkali and C3A
content requirements.
Aggregates and Sand
Aggregates and Sand shall conform to ASTM C33. However, where iron ore aggregates are used
some aspects of the standard cannot be complied with e,g, the Gradation envelope may not be
achievable: in such case a technical query should be raised and agreed to.
Reinforcement
All reinforcement shall meet the minimum specified % cross sectional area (CSA) requirements.
There are commonly two methods of reinforcement; rigid preformed cages (usually manufactured on
site using Zublin machines) and wire mesh fabric. On occasions both methods are used
simultaneously. (This usually occurs where high thickness concrete coatings are required).
Zublin Machine
Typical Zublin made Cage
Where rigid preformed cage reinforcement is used, the cages are fitted to the pipe prior to the
concrete application process. Wire mesh fabric however, is wound into the concrete during the
concrete application process. .
Cage reinforcement shall normally be required to meet the requirements of BS 4482, BS4449 or
ASTM A615/A615M using wire with typically diameters of 5 mm for longitudinal and 7-8 mm for
circumferential.
Welded wire fabric reinforcement shall normally be required to meet the requirements of ASTM A82
for zinc coated drawn wires, Typically one layer of wire is required for concrete thicknesses up to 55
mm above 55 mm concrete thickness two layers minimum are required.
Potable water
Water used for concrete should be clean potable water which is analyzed on a six monthly basis
for cleanliness and impurities
Responsibility:
Materials Dept & QC Laboratory are responsible for ensuring that all materials are checked and
comply with requirements of the agreed Project inspection Plan (ITP)
2.0 PROCESS DESCRIPTION
Incoming Pipe
At load in to the concrete facility pipes are passed through an “in line” holiday detector where the anti
corrosion coating is checked for holidays and/or coating damage.
Holiday Detector
Pipes with holidays detected are isolated for repair and re-holiday detected before further processing.
Pipes that are designated for sacrificial anode installation shall be transported to the designated
Anode Installation Rack See Anode Installation Section 9.0
Where rigid cage reinforcement is used, accepted bare and anode pipes are transferred to the caging
area where predetermined lengths of caging are fitted. Cages are rigidly held concentric to the pipe at
the correct location by electrically insulated plastic spacers.
The spacers are manufactured to precise dimensions that allows for the reinforcement to be set
evenly and at the correct distance from the anti corrosion coating. Whilst at the caging area rubber
end rings are fitted at a set distance each end of the pipe. The rings allow for the correct concrete
cutback distance to be established during the coating process.
Typical cage and spacers
Typical Rubber End Ring
On completion of the caging process the pipes are indexed to the incoming side of the concrete
impingement area where end plugs are inserted to the internal pipe bore at both ends. The plugs
prevent ingress of coating materials.
Note: Where no rigid cage reinforcement is required, hooks are attached to the lead end of the pipe
which allow for the attaching of the wire mesh fabric reinforcement. The hooks shall be placed on
rubber pads to protect the anti-corrosion coating damage and are affixed to the pipe using a strong
banding method.
The pipe is then indexed directly to the impingement area.
Typical impingement Area
Responsibilities:
The Incoming Supervisor shall ensure that the incoming holiday detection, reinforcement installation,
fitting of end rings and end plugs are performed correctly. He shall quarantine pipes that are in need
of repair and supervise the repair operation. He is also responsible for ensuring that all tasks are
conducted in the safest possible manner.
The QC inspector/Auditor shall be responsible for the release or quarantining of the incoming pipe. He
shall maintain checks in accordance with function described in an agreed inspection Test Plan (ITP)
The tally man shall be responsible for maintain pipe traceability and recording the disposition of
rejected and repair pipes.
3.0 Mixing of Concrete
Prior to concrete coating, the batch plant, cement hopper and water feed systems are calibrated to
allow accurate percentages of constituent materials to be delivered to the mixer. Typical constituents
of the concrete mix are cement, high-density iron ore, sand and water. The concrete mix design is
dependent on the Specific Gravity of materials being used and is proportioned accordingly.
Typical Batch Plant Calibration Tolerances
Cement ± 2%
Aggregates ±3%
Water ± 2%
Whole ±3%
Sand/aggregates are typically transported from their respective stockpiles to the Mixing Plant hoppers
using rubber tired front end loaders. From the feed hoppers the sand and aggregate are metered into
the mixer at the mix design quantities. Cement is typically auger fed from the cement silo into a weigh
hopper which weighs off the required amount to meet the mix design requirement.
Note: where aggregates are stored in outside open areas the working face of the stockpiles should be
regularly turned over to maintain even moisture mix in the material. It is inadvisable to take the
material from the very bottom of stockpiles where moisture is likely to be exceptionally high,
Typical Batch Plant feed System
After weighing, the cement is added to the aggregate in the mixer. After a period of dry mixing, water
is metered by volume into the mixer and the batch mixed for the prescribed mixing time. On
completion of the mixing the concrete is conveyed to the short feed hopper. From the hopper the fresh
mix is gravity fed onto a short belt which in turn progresses the mix to the concrete application head.
Note: Regular samples of the fresh concrete mix shall be taken from the feed belt to enable moisture
content and fresh analyses to be carried out. Also for mix control purposes fresh mix test cube
specimens are prepared.
Cube Making
Cube Samples
Responsibilities:
The Batch Plant Supervisor shall be responsible for batch plant calibration and operation. He is to
ensure that the parameters set through batch plant calibration are maintained throughout production.
conveying aggregates to and from the correct holding hoppers ensuring that the correct amount of
water is added to the concrete mix to provide consistent moisture content of the mix. He shall also be
responsible in ensuring that the task is conducted in the safest possible manner.
The QC laboratory Technician shall be responsible for ensuring concrete mix calibrations are carried
out correctly, taking samples of the concrete mix for analyzing and preparing samples for testing. He
shall also be responsible for consistently reporting test results to the Batch Plant Supervisor, and for
logging all test results.
4.0 COATING PROCESS:
From the impingement incoming rack or indexer, pipes are placed on the concrete coating line
rotation buggy’s using an overhead crane using a spreader bar and suitably protected hooks. On the
rotating buggy’s the pipes are transported past the impingement coating head where premixed
concrete is applied at high velocity to the pipe using impingement rollers. The concrete plant operator
selects the pipe rotation and forward travel speeds at a setting that allows for the concrete to be
applied to the correct concrete coating thickness.
Pipes with anodes fitted are coated as per a plain pipe with the exception that a shadow plate and
plastic wrap covering the anode is utilized to prevent excessive concrete covering the anode. After
processing the plastic wrap shall be removed and the outer surfaces of the Anodes shall be cleaned
and be free of concrete coating materials.
Diameter or thickness of the concrete coating is controlled by measurement using a girth or tree tape
and is performed at the coating head and again verified at the weigh station.
Note Where wire mesh fabric reinforcement is used, the wire fabric is fed from a spool tensioning
arrangement then travels though guides and onto the rotating pipe as the pipe is being impinged.
Welded Wire Fabric Feed
5.0 CLEANING AND WEIGHING STATION
Upon completion of the concrete coating, the pipe cutback areas are cleaned, the end plugs are
removed and any debris in the pipe interior is also removed. The OD of the concrete is again
measured: taking six equidistant measurements along the pipe.
Taking Girth Measurements
Note: The concrete ends shall be finished square to the pipe axis and the crown of the concrete shall
be slightly rounded.
When all redundant material has been removed from the coated pipe, the pipe is weighed using a
calibrated weigh scale or load cell. Pipes that are out tolerances for thickness and or weight may be
flash coated or scraped to enable correct tolerances to be achieved. This rectification process shall be
carried out whilst the concrete is in a green state and only if agreed to by the client.
At the cleaning station continuity (anode to pipe) and isolation (rebar to anode & pipe) and
reinforcement position checks shall be performed on pipes in accordance with the agreed inspection
frequency included in the Project inspection Test Plan (ITP)
Reinforcement placement check
Note : In the case where welded wire is used for reinforcement, the excess wire on the finish end of
the pipe is trimmed back to just below the concrete surface to ensure no protruding wire is on the
concrete surface.
Excess Wire Fabric
When accepted the details of the pipe weight and girth measurements are entered into a pre
programmed computer that determines the negative buoyancy (NB) of the pipe.
A typical formula for NB calculation
Weighing devices used to determine the weight of the concrete-coated joints shall be certified in
writing to accuracy of 0.5%. The calibration of weighing equipment shall be checked by test weighing
method previously approved by contractor unless other procedures have been agreed and confirmed
in writing. Calibration of the weighing equipment shall be checked daily.
The unsaturated (as applied) submerged weight per metre (N/m) for each pipe shall be calculated
from the pipe weight in air immediately after coating.
The submerged weight, WSubmerged (N/linear metre), shall be calculated using the following
formula:
where:
Mc = Mass of fresh concrete coated pipe including reinforcement kg
Dc = Outer diameter concrete coated pipe m. Average of 6 girth measurements
Ds = Outer diameter of steel pipe plus twice the anti-corrosion coating thickness, m
P1 = Density of field joint filing materials (assume 1025 )
I = Cutback of concrete coating from bevelled end, m
L = Mill length of steel pipe, m
Pw = Density of seawater (assume 1025 )
SW = Submerged weight
For anode and crack/buckle arrestor pipes, the specified maximum submerged weight may be
exceeded. Variations in buoyancy shall be ignored and the submerged weight value shall be adjusted
by using an increased weight in air. The Principal shall specify the allowable weight variations in the
Scope of Work.
The results shall be recorded and tabulated against pipe number and presented to the Principal at the
completion of each day’s production. The submerged weight of each coated pipe shall be within the
acceptance tolerances stated by the Client in the Scope of Work.
Responsibilities:
The concrete plant supervisor is responsible for ensuring that all equipment and personnel are
adequately organized to carry out concrete batching, placement of reinforcement, coating, repairing
and checking all coating parameters. He is also responsible in ensuring that the task is conducted in
the safest possible manner.
The concrete plant operator is responsible for maintaining the correct mix design, travel and rotation
speeds, placement of reinforcement, end rings and anode protection.
The coating Tally man is responsible for recording the traceability of the coated pipes, the correct
recording of pipe weights, pipe lengths, coating diameter, cutback lengths and submerged weight
(NB) calculation. He will also keep an ongoing log of running (NB) averages.
The QA inspector/Auditor is responsible for the correct calibration of the weigh scales (NB station),
periodic checking of any repairs to anti corrosion coating, the concrete coating parameters, including
wash out checks of the reinforcement, overlaps for reinforcement and periodic isolation/continuity
checks.
6.0 CONCRETE CURING
From the cleaning area acceptable coated pipes are lifted by overhead crane onto trucks having
suitable cushioning and supports that protect the green concrete. The pipes are transported to the
curing area where the freshly concrete coated pipes shall be laid out in single layers approximately
250 mm apart on suitable sand berms using either an overhead gantry or mobile crane.
Pipes that are to be cured using the Fog Cure method shall be covered as soon as practical with a
tarpaulin and ‘fog’ water spray shall be introduced via water pipes fitted with fine misting nozzles
under the covers to maintain a high humidity beneath the covers.
The pipes shall remain in the cure bay until the concrete has achieved a minimum stacking strength of
14 Mpa (as determined by concrete cube strength testing). On completion of the curing process and
prior to stacking the cutback end rings shall be removed and any concrete contamination shall be
removed from the coating steel cutback and internal bore.
Pipes selected for concrete coupon testing shall be clearly marked and placed on hold in an area
suitable for coupon extraction work to be performed. Coupon holes shall be repaired in accordance
with the approved Concrete Repair Procedure.
Note: Test cube specimens taken from the fresh mix at the batch plant shall be placed in the curing
bay and cured in a manner identical to the pipe.
7.0 REPAIRS
Repairs to the coatings shall be carried out in accordance with an approved Repair Procedure.
Coated pipes that cannot be repaired shall be rejected, stripped and re coated. Unacceptable pipe
shall be marked up with Red/White hazard tape and recorded on the NCR system.
After the completion of acceptable repairs the pipe will then be placed in its allocated storage area.
The stacking height for concrete coated pipes shall be in accordance with the approved handling
procedure.
Repairs on freshly applied concrete shall be carried out at the coating plant whenever appropriate or
at the curing bay.
Typical repair procedure
Upon visual examination, concrete coatings that are damaged, are defective or do not meet with
requirements shall be repaired. The circumstances of the damage or defects will dictate the
appropriate method of repair.
Repairs Criteria
If the area is less than 0.8m² in any 3 m length of pipe may be repaired by hand patching providing
that such repairs are carried out within 4 hours of concrete application.
If the area is more than 0.8m² but less than 25% of total coating repairs shall be made using gunite.
The concrete remaining shall be undercut to provide a key lock.
Cracks caused by excessive deflection in handling or storage, with the following criteria shall be
repaired by chiseling the crack not less than 25mm and repair shall be made using the same basic
material as the coating:-
Cracks in excess of 5mm width and extend over 180° circumferential around the coated pipe.
Cracks which are between 250mm – 1000mm in length longitudinally along the coated with the
addition that the ends of each crack shall be drilled with a hole of 10mm nominal diameter to prevent
crack propagation. The bottom of these holes shall be 7 -10mm from the anti-corrosion coating.
Cracks extending halfway through the concrete or penetrated to the cage
Longitudinal surface cracks of any width and less than 250mm in length shall not be considered a
defect but holes of 10mm nominal diameter shall be drilled at the crack tips to prevent crack
propagation. The bottom of these holes shall be 7 -10mm from the anti-corrosion coating.
Surface damage shall not be considered a defect if :-
The total surface area of damage per pipe is less than 0.1 m², and
Max depth does not exceed 20% of coating thicknesses, and
The remaining concrete is sound.
Damage at the ends of the concrete coating need not be repaired provided that the damaged area is
less than one third of the circumference for a length less than 200 mm.
Hand Repairs
Damaged areas may be repaired by hand patching in its ‘green’ concrete state. Patching shall be
carried out by removing the defective area down to underneath the reinforcement and undercutting
the sides to form a key. The cavity formed shall be filled with a mix similar to that used in the coating
process with the addition of just sufficient water to allow hand application. Polythene wrap shall be
used to seal the repair before curing. Maximum allowable time between concrete coating and repair of
green pipe will be 4 hours.
Core Holes
Prior to filling cores holes, each site will be inspected for damage to the anti-corrosion coating.
Damage to this coating will be brought to the attention of QC personnel and the Customer. Core holes
shall be repaired using concrete with the same proportion of constituents as the original coating.
Core holes may also be repaired using concrete repair material “Mapegrout Fast-Set” (manufactured
by Mapei) or “Certite” or similar product. A slight increase in water content may be considered
acceptable to aid cure for some of the materials. The material shall be trowelled in such that the
surface level is continuous with the level of the existing coating around the repair.
Gunite Repair Criteria
Repair on cured concrete coating and large repair areas shall be rectified using the gunite method of
repair. The size of the gunite repairs shall be demonstrated and witnessed for suitability as an
addendum to the Pre qualification trials for concrete coating. The concrete mix design used for gunite
repairs will be of the same constituent make up as that of the parent mix material apart from the use
of extra water to assist with the application. Curing of the repairs will be carried out by wrap sealing of
polyethylene membrane.
Gunite Repairs
GREEN CONCRETE
Damaged or defective areas shall be prepared by undercutting and exposing the reinforcement
throughout the damaged area and removing any loose concrete material. The area shall then be filled
by Gunite application until the entire repair area is reinstated to the level of the parent material. The
completed repair shall be dressed in a manner that allows a smooth transition to the parent material.
Within 30 minutes of the repair completion the green concrete coated pipe shall be placed in the fog
cure.
CURED CONCRETE
Shall be performed as that for green repairs with the addition of a water wetting application to the
cured concrete coating interfaces prior to Guniting. The repair area shall have a curing membrane
tightly affixed and shall stay in place for a minimum of 48 hours to allow sufficient cure.
Testing
Repair materials used for concrete repairs shall be tested for compressive strength as determined by
28 day cube strength results. The minimum strength to be achieved shall be that of the strength
specified for the parent coating. The frequency of testing shall be at start-up, middle and end of
project.
Responsibility
The repair foreman shall be responsible for coating repairs and shall ensure the correct equipment
and repair method is used for coating repair. He shall also be responsible in ensuring that the task is
conducted in the safest possible manner.
QC, Inspector/auditor shall be responsible for checking the preparation and the completed repair.
All repairs are to be recorded and inspected for compliance to the repair method statements.
8.0 PIPE MARKING AND IDENTIFICATION
The identity of each pipe shall be established and entered into the pipe tracking system such that
traceability is maintained. Accepted pipes will be released for transportation to the stockpiles or other
processes.
Pipe no
Length
WT
Heat no.
Date of coating
Typical Marking Requirements
Responsibilities
Load out Tally man, shall ensure that the correct pipe markings are applied in accordance with the
agreed marking system. He shall also be responsible in ensuring that the task is conducted in the
safest possible manner.
QC, Inspector/Auditor shall be responsible for inspecting that the correct colour banding and markings
are applied.
9.0 SACRIFICIAL ANODE INSTALLATION
Anode are typically fitted to the corrosion coated pipe prior to caging and concrete coating, however in
some circumstances anodes can be retro fitted i.e. after concrete coating.
Process Description
The Coated line pipe shall be positioned on the support racks, over the anode lifting saddle. The pipe
will be positioned until the longitudinal seam weld (if any) is located around either the 12 or 6 o'clock
position or approximately 150mm of the weld seam. Once positioned the lifting saddle will raise the
lower half shell of anode to the stationary pipe and hold it in position. The second half shell of anode
shall be offered to the pipe and positioned over the first half shell, by means of crane jib. The two
halves shall be carefully aligned and drawn tightly together using webbing tensioners, chain come-
along or similar.
The centering of the anode along the pipe shall be in a manner that allows for casing segments to be
fed onto the pipes.
Fillet Welding Fit Up
Welding will be by metal arc process
Fillet welding shall be carried out continuously around three edges of the overlapping straps of the
anode halves. An insulating material shall be placed under the weld area to guard against heat
damage to the anti corrosion coating.
Thermit Weld
Fillet Weld
Electrode Handling
Welding consumables will be SMAW electrodes for carbon steel.
Electrodes shall be baked for 2 hours at 325o C and held at 150o C in a suitable holding oven prior to
use. Alternatively, follow manufactures instructions. The Welder shall keep electrodes in an approved
quiver during use and return unused electrodes to the holding oven when not working.
Pipe Preparation:
Areas of anti corrosion (TLPE) coating are be removed within each gap between half shells, each
area of removal shall be as small as practical to accommodate the Thermit Graphite Mould
The removal of coating shall be achieved by using a heated knife and / or a bolster type chisel cutting
around the heated area that is to be stripped, following the removal of the coating the steel substrate
shall be power ground to achieve a bright, clean roughened surface or St 3.
Connecting of Bonding Leads (Electrical Connection):
Each anode is normally manufactured complete with bonding leads; the bonding leads may be cut to
size using a cable cutter or hacksaw to remove. The cable should be looped (pig tailed) so as not to
be taut after welding.
The end 25mm of PVC/PE sheathing is stripped back to expose clean copper cable. The cable may
be cleaned with a wire brush if required.
Cad welding process as follows:
Clean the conductors and position them in the well dry mould;
Place the metal retaining disc in the bottom of the crucible graphite mould;
Pour the welding metal powder into the graphite crucible, spread starting powder onto the graphite
mould edge;
Open the mould lid and ignite the welding powder using a flint gun by firing the spark onto the
starting powder;
The exothermic welding process takes place inside the graphite mould; and finally the exothermic
connection is finished.
Clean the mould using scraper and brush and proceed to the next connection cable(s) ready for
connection.
After welding, each completed weld shall be tested for electrical continuity and mechanical bonding
strength (1 blow with a 1 Kg Hammer)
Electrical Continuity using Ohm meter
Anti corrosion Coating:
Subsequent to the satisfactory completion of anode installation, the anti-corrosion coating shall be
reinstated as follows:
The exposed areas of steel substrate around the Cad weld and anode straps shall be wire brushed to
a clean finish. All bare steel shall then be coated using SOLVENTLESS 2 PACK EPOXY or other
approved repair material.
Anode Completion:
After final inspection, the Anode completion procedure will be carried out, consisting of the infilling of
the gaps between anode halves with either a gunite concrete or hot poured marine mastic method.
The reinforcement used during concrete coating shall be trimmed back from the edges of anode
allowing a 25- 50mm gap. Electrical continuity test shall be carried out to ensure that the
reinforcement is electrically isolated from the anode/pipe.
The gaps between the anode and the parent concrete weight coating shall in filled with either a
concrete mix similar to that of the parent coating material (by hand or gunite method) Or by other
approved in fill methods (for example moulded hot bitumen) On completion a continuity check
between Anode and the steel pipe shall be performed prior to moving the pipe to storage.
Inspection control:
Pre-qualification
The anode installation procedure and inspection shall be pre-qualified prior to the start of production.
The pre-qualification will be limited to anode closure (strap) and Cad welds.
Weld / Welder Qualification
Typically each welder shall perform one fillet weld on a test coupon sometimes supplied by client. The
test coupon shall be macro sectioned and tested for hardness.
All required tests shall be carried out and reported by credited 3rd Party Inspection Laboratory.
Thermit Weld Qualification
Typically each production welding operative will be qualified by demonstrating their capability to
perform a series of Thermit welds on a coupon sample. Each weld shall be mechanically tested by a
single blow from a 1kg hammer, aimed at 90 degrees to the sample surface - no lifting or fracturing
shall result. Electrical continuity test shall be carried out between pipe and anode
The test welds and coupons shall be sectioned and tested for copper penetration by a third party
inspection house
The macro sectioned and hardness and penetration tests reports will be identified by coupon unique
numbers. Test results should meet the following:
Hardness shall not exceed 248 Hv10 when taken at 2mm intervals extending to 10mm either side of
the extreme edges of the weld.
No cracks or penetration of alloying elements along grain boundaries by more than 0.5mm or any
non-metallic inclusions will be detected at 200X magnification.
