The Purpose And Scope Of Line Stopping And Hot Tapping

By Author: david lee
Total Articles: 533
Comment this article

PURPOSE AND SCOPE

This procedure applies to the act of welding or cutting on unlined metal piping, tanks, vessels or other operating equipment. It is used without emptying, purging, or blinding the steps to prepare the repair area. This process also applies to burning or welding of the external attachments on the equipment that has not been purged of the flammable materials.

The definition of hot tapping- It is a technique that is used for attaching a welded branch fitting to the piping equipment. It is used in service and then creating an outlet in that pipe or the equipment by drilling or cutting a portion of the piping, or the equipment with the fixed fitting. Basically, it is hot work that is done on the equipment or the service. The hot work includes welding, burning torches, abrasive blasting, portable grinders, or any other heat or spark producing equipment.

Hot tapping services include the use of specialized equipment and highly trained technicians who make a hole in a present pipe. The pipe must contain a liquid or steam when the ...
... outlet is still under pressure and in service. This process permits the addition of new branches without any halt of flow or leakage.

If the system is shut down, then the process plant might comprise of closing one or more production units for several hours and may be even for several days. Due to this plant owners will be concerned about the lost production time and how to bring back the production back on time efficiently.

You must consider the option of line stopping or hot tapping when- The commercial buildings require a branch line that is added to the current line and in this scenario shutting down is not an option.

Mainly a bypass line needs to be established before the main shut off happens from the valve and it can be changed, or it can be serviced. The two hot taps can be done from any of the sides for the main shut off to happen, so as to provide a temporary or a permanent bypass loop in the process.

The procedure of hot tapping comprises of a basic run-through process which connects the hot tap machine to the valve and then proceeds to slit a hole through the valve. The compartment of the hot tap gets filled up and the air is released and the valve is closed off.

Advantages of Hot Tapping

• It avoids the draining of the system

• Daily operations experience no major disruption