Dynamic plugging regulating strategy of pipeline robot based on reinforcement learning

Pipeline isolation plugging robot (PIPR) is an important tool in pipeline maintenance operation. During the plugging process, the violent vibration will occur by the flow field, which can cause serious damage to the pipeline and PIPR. In this paper, we propose a dynamic regulating strategy to reduce the plugging-induced vibration by regulating the spoiler angle and plugging velocity. Firstly, the dynamic plugging simulation and experiment are performed to study the flow field changes during dynamic plugging. And the pressure difference is proposed to evaluate the degree of flow field vibration. Secondly, the mathematical models of pressure difference with plugging states and spoiler angles are established based on the extreme learning machine (ELM) optimized by improved sparrow search algorithm (ISSA). Finally, a modified Q-learning algorithm based on simulated annealing is applied to determine the optimal strategy for the spoiler angle and plugging velocity in real time. The results show that the proposed method can reduce the plugging-induced vibration by 19.9% and 32.7% on average, compared with single-regulating methods. This study can effectively ensure the stability of the plugging process.

Behavior of transporting pipeline sections without and with hydrogen exposure based on full-scale tests

Pipeline transport of hydrogen is one of today’s economic and environmental challenges.In order to find safe and reliable application of both existing gas and build new pipelines,it is essential to carry out tests on full-scale pipeline section,including the potentially more dangerous places than the main pipe,the girth welds.For the investigations,pipeline sections of P355NH steel with girth welds were prepared and exposed to pure hydrogen at twice the maximum allowable operating pressure for 41 days.Subsequently,full-scale burst tests were carried out and specimens were cut and prepared from the typical locations of the failed pipeline sections for mechanical,and macro-and microstructural investigations.The results obtained were evaluated and compared with data from previous full-scale tests on pipeline sections without hydrogen exposure.The results showed differences in the behavior of pipeline sections loaded in different ways,with different characteristics of the materials and the welded joints,both in the cases without hydrogen exposure and in the cases exposed to hydrogen.

Emulsification of Indian heavy crude oil using a novel surfactant for pipeline transportation

The most economical way to overcome flow assurance problems associated with transportation of heavy crude oil through offshore pipelines is by emulsifying it with water in the presence of a suitable surfactant.In this research,a novel surfactant,tri-triethanolamine monosunflower ester,was synthesized in the laboratory by extracting fatty acids present in sunflower（Helianthus annuus）oil.Synthesized surfactant was used to prepare oil-in-water emulsions of a heavy crude oil from the western oil field of India.After emulsification,a dramatic decrease in pour point as well as viscosity was observed.All the prepared emulsions were found to be flowing even at 1°C.The emulsion developed with 60%oil content and 2wt%surfactant showed a decrease in viscosity of 96%.The stability of the emulsion was investigated at different temperatures,and it was found to be highly stable.The effectiveness of surfactant in emulsifying the heavy oil in water was investigated by measuring the equilibrium interfacial tension（IFT）between the crude oil（diluted）and the aqueous phase along with zeta potential of emulsions.2wt%surfactant decreased IFT by almost nine times that of no surfactant.These results suggested that the synthesized surfactant may be used to prepare a stable oil-in-water emulsion for its transportation through offshore pipelines efficiently.

Study on characteristics of pipeline transportation and sulfur fixing of cleaned coal logs

As special cylindrical briquettes of coal for long distance pipeline transportation and directly cleaned combustion the cleaned coal logs should possess two characteristics of transportation in pipeline and cleaned combustion. In order to make cleaned coal logs a rational technology for manufacturing, cleaned coal logs was designed and compound sulfur fixing binders with high effects of binding and sulfur-fixing was selected and combined. In addition, by means of characteristic experiments of strength, wear, waterproof and sulfur-fixing five different cleaned coal logs made with different compound sulfur fixing binders in different compaction conditions was tested and measured. Experimental results indicated that the manufacturing technology of cleaned coal logs was reasonable and the combination of compound sulfur fixing binders was scientific. Cleaned coal logs made up with the fourth group of coal mixture had high strength, good waterproof property, efficient sulfur-fixing, good characteristic of transportation, and achieved the performance requirement for pipeline transportation and sulfur fixing.

Experiment and mechanism of dynamic drag reduction in pipeline transportation

Based on the analysis of the disadvantages of traditional methods in reducing pipeline resistance, the new conception of dynamic drag reduction in pipeline transportation has been proposed. The experimental results and mechanism of dynamic reduction of pipeline resistance were also discussed in detail. The main conclusion is that the dynamic reduction of resistance exerts forces on the moving materials along both the radial direction and the axial direction. The radial force throws the materials upwards to depart from the pipe wall to reduce the frictional force, while the axial force directly reduces the resistance by providing the force to overcome the drag.

A Mathematical Model of Heat Transfer in Problems of Pipeline Plugging Agent Freezing Induced by Liquid Nitrogen

A mathematical model for one-dimensional heat transfer in pipelines undergoing freezing induced by liquid nitrogen is elaborated.The basic premise of this technology is that the content within a pipeline is frozen to form a plug or two plugs at a position upstream and downstream from a location where work a modification or a repair must be executed.Based on the variable separation method,the present model aims to solve the related coupled heat conduction and moving-boundary phase change problem.An experiment with a 219 mm long pipe,where water was taken as the plugging agent,is presented to demonstrate the relevance and reliability of the proposed model(results show that the error is within 18%).Thereafter,the model is applied to predict the cooling and freezing process of pipelines with different inner diameters at different liquid nitrogen refrigeration temperatures when water is used as the plugging agent.

2013 Production of China's Shale Gas Reaches 200 Million Cubic Meters and the First Transportation Pipeline Constructed

Results of the global shale gas resources show that minable resources of global shale gas are 187 trillion cubic meters （tern）, of which China accounts for 36 tcm （about 20% of the total amount）, which is mainly distributed in the Sichuan Basin, Yangtze Terrace, and Ordos Basin. From 2009 to 2012, China completed an accumulative number of 129 drilling wells related to shale gas, including 46 investigated vertical wells, 55 exploration wells and 28 evaluation wells, with 2012 production ranging from 25 million cubic meters （mcm） to 30 mcm.

The development status and the prospect of the pipeline robots in the oil and gas storage and transportation industry

In the process of the constant development of the oil and gas storage and transportation technology, the maintenance of the large pipelines is an important task. At present, China vigorously promotes the use of the pipeline robots, for the maintenance of the oil and gas pipelines by the unique characteristics of the robots. In this paper, the author carries out the detailed analysis on the current situation of the development of the pipeline robots in the oil and gas storage and transportation industry, and compares the different applications of the pipeline robots at home and abroad. Starting from the principles of the operation of the robots, the author analyzes the characteristics of the different types of the robots, and combined with the existing conditions of the oil and gas storage and transportation in our country, the author tries to find the most favorable way of the working of the pipeline robots, to continuously improve the development of the oil and gas storage and transportation industry using the robot technologies.

Sacrificial piles as a countermeasure against local scour around underwater pipelines

Local scour around pipelines crossing rivers or in marine environments is a significant concern.It can lead to failure of the pipelines resulting in environmental side effects and economic losses.This study developed an experimental method to reduce local scour around pipelines with a steady flow of clear water by installing cylindrical and cubical sacrificial piles.Three sizes of sacrificial piles were examined in a linear arrangement.Sacrificial piles were installed on the upstream side of the pipeline at three distances.Maximum scour depth reduction rates below the pipeline were computed.The results showed that sacrificial piles could protect a pipeline from local scour.A portion of scoured sediment around the sacrificial piles was deposited beneath the pipeline.This sediment accumulation reduced the scour depth beneath the pipeline.Analysis of the experimental results demonstrated that the size of piles(d),the spacing between piles,and the distance between the pipe and piles(Xp)were the variables that reduced the maximum scour beneath the pipeline with a diameter of D.For the piles with d=0.40D and 0.64D,X_(p)=4OD was the optimal distance to install a group of piles,and cubical piles could mitigate scour more effectively than cylindrical piles under similar conditions.For the piles with d=D,the greatest reduction in scour depth was achieved at X_(p)=50D with any desired spacings between piles,and cylindrical piles in this dimension could protect the pipeline against scour more effectively than cubical piles.

Main Indexes of Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil and Gas

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Application of New Techniques, Materials and Technologies in West-East Gas Transportation Pipeline Project

With the application of new techniques, materials and technologies in West East Gas Transportation Pipeline (WEGTP) project, the design concept of domestic pipeline industrial construction has been updated, speeding up the development and improvement of the strength as a whole in aspects of smelting industry, pipe fabrication, pipeline construction and equipment manufacture,making China’s pipeline industry catch up with the trend of development of the world advanced level.

New application notion of pipeline transport——integrated in industry solid waste innocuous and efficient disposition

In order to solve transport problems of industry solid,firstly,a new applicationnotion of pipeline transport was presented,that is to say,combining pretreatment andtransport with disposal techniques of industry solid waste.Secondly,the integrated dis-posal and transport system for industry solid waste was introduced,in particular,the oper-ating principles,equipment set-up,key technology and technical parameters.Next,thispaper illustrated the application of this integrated system.Such as it can transport coalsludge with sufficiently high solids content(about 72%～77%)and high apparent viscosity(about 1 000～3 000 Pa.s)directly by pipeline having no use for water and addition agent.Generally,the transport distance is about 1 000 m.This system has been successfullyused in innocuous disposition and efficient utilization of other industrial byproducts or solidwastes,such as city sludge and paper making waste.The integrated system causes nopollution to the environment for its complete seal and realizes protecting the environment,conserving the energy,promoting the development of cycling economic.Finally,the paperdiscussed the research works that were needed for studying such pipeline transport sys-tem and narrates the relevant condition and application status.

The Movement of a Mixture of Cotton with an Air Stream during Pneumatic Transport by Pipeline of Variable Cross Section

The article considers the movement of a mixture of air and raw cotton through a pipeline with a variable cross-section as a multi-speed heterogeneous medium. The regularities of the movement of components inside the pipeline, the equation of change in the porosity of cotton, air pressure and component velocities in time and along the transportation line are obtained. It was found that in the initial 20 - 25 m part of the pneumatic transport pipe there is a sharp decrease in pressure and air flow velocity, while the speed of cotton increases rapidly due to which there is a strong deformation of cotton stretching under the influence of aerodynamic force, which occurs due to the difference in the velocities of the components of the mixture, as a result of which the cotton loosens, and its porosity increases intensively.

Evaluation of Stress Corrosion Cracking Damage to an API 5L X52 Pipeline Transporting Ammonia: A Case Study

The high number of leak events that took place in recent years at a 25.4 cm (10”)Øpipeline transporting anhydrous liquid ammonia, located in the Southeast of Mexico, was the main reason to carry out a number of field studies and laboratory tests that helped establish not only the failure causes but also mitigation and control solutions. The performed activities included direct evaluation at failure sites, total repair programs, metallographic studies and pipeline flexibility analyses. The obtained results were useful to conclude that the failures obeyed a cracking mechanism by Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) which was caused by the combined effect of different factors: high stress resistance, high hardness of the base metal with a microstructure prone to brittleness and residual strains originated during the pipeline construction. From the operative, logistic and financial standpoints, it is not feasible to release the stress of approximately 22 km of pipeline. Therefore, the only viable solution is to install a new pipeline with suitable fabrication, construction and installation specifications aimed at preventing the SCC phenomenon.

Experimental studies on resistance characteristics of high concentration red mud in pipeline transport

Red mud will flow in paste form under high pressure during pipeline transport.It belongs to a two-phase flow of materials with high viscosity and a high concentration of non-sedimentation,homogeneous solid-liquids.In pipeline transport,its resistance char- acteristics will be influenced by such factors as grain size,velocity,concentration,density, grain composition and pipe diameter etc..With the independently developed small-sized tube-type pressure resistance test facility,studied the resistance characteristics of red mud concerning the three influencing factors,paste concentration,velocity and pipe diameter, which attract the most attention in projects.The fine grain size of the red mud is d_(50)= 13.02μm.According to the experimental results,the pressure loss in transport will in- crease along with the increase of velocity and will fall along with the increase of pipe di- ameter.A 1% difference in paste concentration will result in a 50%～100% difference in pipeline resistance loss.These experimental data is hoped to be direct guidance to the design of high concentration and viscous material pipeline transport system.

Natural Gas Gathering and Transporting Pipeline Networks in Sichuan Province

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APPLICATION OF CONVECTION-DIFFUSION EQUATION TO THEANALYSES OF CONTAMINATION BETWEEN BATCHESIN MULTI-PRODUCTS PIPELINE TRANSPORT

Contamination between batches in multi-products pipeline transport is studied. The influences of convection and diffusion on the contamination are studied in detail. Diffusion equations, which are mainly controlled by convection, are developed under turbulent pipe flow. The diffusion equation is separated into a pure convection equation and a pure diffusion equation which are solved by characteristics method and finite difference method respectively to obtain numerical solutions. The results of numerical computation explain the forming and developing of contamination very well.