In the realm of industrial maintenance, time is of the essence. Accelerating process workflows without compromising on safety or efficiency is a perennial challenge. Here’s where KLINGER UK’s Reverse Integrity Gaskets show their mettle. These specialized gaskets have proven to significantly cut down the pressure testing time, a critical procedure in the maintenance of pressure safety valves and gas metering orifice plates.
Contacts mentioned in the article:
Oliver Bache, Sales Director at KLINGER UK
A leap in pressure testing efficiency
In a recent scenario, a facility aimed to fit three fuel gas metering orifice plates and recertify or replace nine pressure safety valves during a more-than-one-week outage. The traditional approach to pressure testing was turning out to be a bottleneck:
- Typical pressure test for each pressure safety valve: 1 hour
- High-pressure (HP) gas plate: 6 hours
- Medium-pressure (MP) gas plate: 8 hours
- Low-pressure (LP) gas plate: 24 hours
The conventional methods demanded roughly four days of continuous work to complete the testing. However, with KLINGER’s Reverse Integrity Gaskets, the scenario took a positive turn.
Potential in cost savings
Utilizing Reverse Integrity Gaskets for pressure testing showcased a stark contrast in time-efficiency:
- Maximum of 1 hour per joint for pressure testing
- 15 joints tested, saving over three days of testing time
- Over € 1.4 million saved in plant downtime.
The gaskets are engineered for straightforward application. The pressure test volume is meticulously minimized to only test the actual joint, with pressurization achieved through a hand pump, eliminating the need for hoses.
Introducing the range of Sentry reverse integrity gaskets
“It’s crucial to conduct leakage testing before pressurizing the pipeline to ensure integrity. Traditional leakage testing, usually done by filling the pipeline with pressurized water or gas, often entails a significant production downtime, translating to a substantial loss of earnings due to its time-consuming nature.”
Oliver Bache, Sales Director at KLINGER UK
However, KLINGER UK’s Sentry gaskets are changing the game. These gaskets are engineered to facilitate leakage testing on individual flanged joints, determining their tightness before introducing internal pressure. KLINGER UK offers a diverse range of Sentry reverse integrity gaskets, each designed to cater to specific industry needs and flange types, ensuring comprehensive coverage across various operational requirements. For example, in high-pressure and potentially hazardous pipelines, the usage of metallic gaskets is a norm given the enormous safety risks involved in the event of a failure.
- The Sentry RTJ is specifically crafted for ring joint flanges, providing a robust seal and integrity check for high-pressure environments.
- For applications requiring cathodic protection, the Sentry IK emerges as a tailored solution, safeguarding against corrosion while ensuring joint integrity.
- The Sentry DS is designed with raised face flanges in mind, offering a reliable sealing solution that accommodates conventional flange types.
- Meanwhile, the Sentry SR caters to clamped connections, a common requirement in various piping systems, ensuring a secure and leak-proof seal.
Role of gaskets in fuel gas metering orifice plates
Gaskets play a pivotal role in ensuring the integrity and accuracy of fuel gas metering orifice plates, which are utilized to measure the flow rate of fuel gases in pipelines. The gasket between the flanges of the orifice plates is crucial to prevent any leakage, which could potentially lead to inaccurate readings and hazardous situations. Thus, having a reliable gasket like the Sentry gasket from KLINGER UK is imperative to ensure the safety and precision of the metering system.
Balancing efficiency and fitting considerations
“Though highly efficient, it’s noteworthy that these gaskets are slightly thicker than standard gaskets. This aspect should be factored in during planning to ensure adequate room for fitting and a tight seal.”
Oliver Bache, Sales Director at KLINGER UK
The UK has indeed made significant strides in addressing the challenges inherent in industrial maintenance, particularly in the realm of pressure testing which is crucial for ensuring the safety and efficiency of operations involving pressure safety valves and gas metering orifice plates. By introducing the Reverse Integrity Gaskets, KLINGER UK has showcased a remarkable solution that not only accelerates the pressure testing processes but also substantially cuts down the testing time, thus expediting plant restarts and enhancing operational efficiency.
