Proplug has completed the supply of 12″ plugs to be used as a part of a pressurised spooling operation. 

For spooling operations. TWO types of plug were utilised- High Pressure (HP) & Low Pressure (LP). The combination of the plugs allows the water in the pipeline to be retained and pressurised as required during the reeling process. 

High Pressure plug (HP)- Designed & tested for use up to 150 Bar. The plug is a hydraulically set tool, complete with a polyurethane seal and set of mechanical grippers. This combination allows the plug to safely operate at these high pressures even in the event of hydraulic loss (fail safe design, grip becomes tighter with more pressure). This plug was designed to grip on the inside of the pipe, but equally Proplug can provide external gripping solutions. 

Low pressure Plug (LP) – Designed & tested for use up to 5 Bar. This pneumatically controlled plug, complete with FOUR sealing tyres (2 independent sets) was designed to retain the head of water in the pipeline. The challenging aspect of this design for the project was to allow for a 50mm (2″) expansion of relaxed diameter of seal and hold this 5 Bar. 

For operations, the LP plug was activated through the HP plug. Position of the LP plug was determined using Propipe’s Trident EM Transmitter & Receiver system. IN addition, for this project- the EM transmitter was also equipped with a pressure sensor which relayed ‘live’ pressure readings through the pipe wall. 

For this project, Proplug was involved in all aspects from Design, Manufacture, Systems Integration Trials and also providing the on-site technician support. A number of ‘world firsts’ were achieved as part of this project and Proplug were at the forefront of the action.