SEQUENTIAL VISUALISATION OF THE ICE PLUG DEVELOPPMENT PROCESS INSIDE THE TEST SECTION OF A LARGE DIAMETER PIPE – II
The technique of forming controlled ice plugs in pipe-line installations in order to isolate a section from the rest of the circuit is used for carrying out circuit maintenance or repair activities without shutting down the entire installation. Planning an intervention requires an estimation regarding the necessary time and quantity of liquid nitrogen to form an ice plug inside the pipe. They (along with the geometrical characteristics of the ice plug) depend on a series of specific factors. Using a video equipment to visualise the ice plug formation provides useful information useful process information regarding the ice layer deposition which can be used to develop calculus estimation for the required quantity of liquid nitrogen, for the process duration, and on a long term, to improve the freezing device configuration.
The paper then describes the convenience of visualizing the formation of ice plugs by studying the formation of the ice layers on the pipe inner wall.
Key words: isolating a pipe-line section, visualizing the forming of ice layers
Cuvinte cheie: izolarea unui tronson de conductă, vizualizarea depunerii de gheaţă