Headquartered in the USA, and represented by PipeServ, EST Group manufacture highly engineered products and repair services for shell and tube heat exchangers, condensers, coolers and chillers.
Additionally, EST Group manufactures pipe plugs and pressure testing tools to simplify and speed-up pressure testing of piping, tubing, pipe and tube systems, pressure vessels, and many unique applications. PipeServ, with EST Group Services, provides a comprehensive range of test plugs required in hydrostatic pressure testing.
Hydrostatic testing of pressure piping systems is often performed without questioning the methodology used and the results obtained. Various hydrostatic test plug designs are available to test complete piping systems or just the welded joints, all of which have their own set of parameters.
The range of test plugs from EST Group includes test plug designs to hydrostatically test open-ended piping systems and welded flange to pipe joints with their individual set of parameters and capabilities.
GripTight MAX Hydrostatic Test Plugs for Pipelines
For testing open-ended piping systems, the traditional method is either A) welding endcaps or B) weld neck flanges combined with blind flanges. Then the entire system is filled with hydrostatic test fluid, typically water and the entire system is pressurised to the desired test pressure for the agreed period of time. Depending on the system, welding of end caps or additional flanges to be used in combination with blind flanges can significantly impact time and resources. The industry required a faster way of performing such tests to:
In response to these concerns, the EST Group developed the GripTight Max High-Pressure hydrostatic test plugs. Time and effort are saved when hydrostatically testing pipelines, spools, pipe racks and process modules. The time-consuming process of welding on end caps, then cutting them off and re-levelling the pipe end, is eliminated. EST Group’s high-pressure test plugs offer a fast, safe and re-usable solution.
GripTight MAX Test Plug benefits
GripTight Max plugs (utilising new dual-serrated gripper technology) offer the following benefits:
EST Group Isolation and Test Plugs for personnel safety and weld testing
The EST Group Test Plugs range provides positive isolation and monitoring of potentially hazardous or explosive vapours upstream of a welding job and then effectively hydrotests the new weld connection. The GripTight Isolation Plug is available in a wide size range – from DN20 to DN1200 (¾-inch to 48-inch NPS) – with larger sizes available upon request. Using a traditional blind flange to test a weld in a 300 m length of DN300 Sch40 pipe would require filling the entire line with approximately 5800 litres of water. Using the GripTight Isolation Plug to test that same weld requires less than 5 litres of water.
High Lift Flange Weld Test Plug
EST Group’s High Lift Flange Weld Test Plug is a safe, reliable, 4-in-1 tool that reduces costs, downtime delays, and wastewater disposal associated with conventional flange testing. The High Lift Flange Weld Test Plug lets you monitor conditions upstream of the seal, isolate and purge the weld area, and complete the weld and hydro test with one tool. The plug isolates just the weld area, saving on filling the entire line or vessel. Requiring no flange blinds, no vacuum trucks or dehydration services, reduced NDE, and reduced water and environmental waste.
GripTight Reverse Pressure Test Plugs for testing Flange Welds
EST Group’s GripTight Reverse Pressure (GTRP) test plugs are the solution to the growing concern over the axial strength of flange-to-pipe welds. By isolating the test area between a test flange and our GTRP plug, the flange-to-pipe weld is subjected to the full axial, hoop, and radial stresses equivalent to the stresses that would be produced when using a test blind to pressurise the entire piping system.
Pressure testing using EST Group’s GTRP can effectively verify the weld integrity providing the user confidence that the flange and weld will meet the requirements when placed into service. Testing performed with the GTRP is quick, easy, and safe and meets the requirements of ASME/ANSI B16.5. Our standard GTRP plugs allow testing to pressures up to 2,250 PsiG (155 BarG), which covers up to ANSI 600# class service.
For more information, visit the Pipe Serv website.
This article featured in the July edition of The Australian Pipeliner.
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