Frozen piping assessment

[leont]

Hi dear friends,

I´ve got to work in assessing a piping that it is frozen a day ago and I need to know:
what should be the procedure through which, I can make sure about its mechanical condition, before it gets back in service.

I know generally we can expect some cracks once the piping is running again, and I would like to reduce that potential condition.

Your help is highly appreciated

 

[itsmoked]

Size, and length, and product?

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[BigInch]

material and temperature?

**********************
"The problem isn't working out the equation,
its finding the answer to the real question." BigInch

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[rmw]

Under insulation, overhead, on the ground?????

rmw

 

[dcasto]

who cares about the fluid. Measure the OD of the pipe. Look for paint cracking with the crack lines along the axis of the pipe. did the pipe get bigger, do the paint cracks confirm?

 

[BigInch]

dcasto, you know that water has different expansion characteristics than most every other fluid. It creates one hell of a lot of pressure between 33F and 32F because it actually expands between those temperatures, whereas most other fluids contract. I think that most of those broken frozen pipes don't actually break because they contracted in the axial direction; their pressure stress went through the roof first, which may have also shortened them some in the process.

**********************
"The problem isn't working out the equation,
its finding the answer to the real question." BigInch

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[rconner]

...and are the contents still frozen, or now thawed?

 

[itsmoked]

It's looking like the pipe is still frozen and leont may have tried licking it...

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[BigInch]

Or it was the diesel line to the generator.

**********************
"The problem isn't working out the equation,
its finding the answer to the real question." BigInch

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[mrsongs]

Besides size, length and product I would ask what is the running pressure? Replace the cracked sections and if it is low pressure more than likely mech integrity will not be all that important. If it is an atmospheric line, this is especially true.