Executive Summary

Vasitars Ltd. is a technology based startup which aims at developing new dimensions of comfort and social ease
utilizing technological innovation as the weapon. As the world enters a new era of innovation where much of
monotonous and hazardous human work is going to be replaced by technology, Vasitars aims to take up the leadership
on this new stage.

We being the first Indian company to provide complete composite repair solutions to all kind of damage
scenarios in transmission pipelines. We also indulge in suggesting an appropriate design & manufacturing
for any composite structures such as composite pressure vessels, any automobile & aerospace components
armor design using composites as backing layer for impact resistant applications. We also do composite
patch repair for any failed mechanical components. Our main focus is quality.

Steel pipelines are used to transport oil and gas in the industry as well as to the storing tanks. The operating
conditions are in harsh environments and transporting a wide range of high-pressure fluids, pipelines suffer
by a variety of damage scenarios. These are damage in coating, erosion, corrosion or mechanical damage.
One of the most common problems experienced by the industry is internal and external corrosion of the pipe
lines. Depending on the severity of the problem this can have significant detrimental effects on the pressure
bearing capability of the pipelines and may lead to reduced life spans or at worst to a loss of structural
integrity, i.e. failure. In order to extend the durability of pipelines, methods to repair such damage have been
developed. A repair must be able to prevent leakage and also to restore all or part of the maximum allowable
transporting capacity of the pipeline. Usually, traditional repair methods require that the corroded or
damaged piping is taken offline while the affected pipe section is replaced or reinforced by external steel
strengthening/sealing elements. A recent application of composites for the oil and gas industry involves the
repair of corroded pipelines by external wrapping of FRP in the affected sections. Primary benefits associated
with FRP overwrap repairs are a continuous fluid transmission while the repair is installed and the fact that
no hot work or ignition is required and thus, the explosion potential is eliminated. Using composite wrap as
an alternative to pipeline replacement often saves enough resources to pay back repair costs immediately.
Sources reported completing 2 to 65 composite wrap repairs per year on pipelines 10'' and larger can save
526 thousand cubic feet (Mcf) to 27,500 Mcf of natural gas per repair. They saved 106,133 Mcf gas by
choosing composite wrap over pipeline replacement over a period of 5 years.

Challenges in current trend in repair of pipes:

 High cost
 No Indian supplier
 Proprietary in nature
 Expert skill required for application of wrap.
 Methodology

Repairing method of corroded steel pipes

Transmission pipelines in oil and gas industry experience internal and external corrosion due
to transportation of the products and operating in corrosive environment. More than 60% of
the oil and gas transmission pipe lines in the world are made by steel and they are more than
40 years old. It is essential to rehabilitation of pipe lines in order re-establish their maximum
capacity of transportation. Conventionally most corroded parts are repaired by replacing with
new or by reinforcing the defected part with an external sleeve. Recently FRP overwrap repair
systems have been introduced and accepted as an alternative repair system. ASME PCC-2 [4-
5] and ISO 24817 composite repair codes were recently developed in order to provide the rules
for designing a reliable and robust repair method. In these systems a damaged piping portion
is reinforced by wrapping it with composite material such as glass/epoxy or carbon/epoxy
around the pipes, the basic idea of the reinforcement technique is to transfer the hoop stress
in the pipe wall due to the internal pressure to the composite sleeve. They have many
advantages over traditional steel sleeve repair system but still it is cheaper and economical
to use. A study shown that FRP repair is 24% cheaper than the welded steel sleeve repair and
73% cheaper than the actual replacement of the component. Firstly, the repair is faster to be
performed as the application is easy and straight forward, the pipe line can continue to
operate while the repair is being applied. The risk of fire and explosion due to the cutting and
welding is completely eliminated. But the outer surface of pipes should be completely cleaned
before applying the FRP lay-up.
 VASITARS Repair Solutions

There are no Indian players indulged in pipeline repair using composite layup although there are few foreigen
players such as Clock Spring®, Strong Back, Armor Plate®, and Perma WrapTM. Technically, we have a different
repair methodology and proves to be one of the best and cheapest to install for all kind of repair scenarios
for pipelines ranging from 4’’ to 48’’ or more. The following section will elaborate on the materials,
technology & installation procedure.

I. The composite sleeve-

The composite wrap laminate layers made up of glass fibers of 610 gsm are 0.7mm thick. The length
and width of the wrap could be anything but decided based on the damage scenarios. Analytical &
Numerical models are developed to calculate the accurate thickness and axial extent of the repair
wrap. If the composite wrap is wound 10 times around the pipeline, the effective thickness of
reinforcing material is around 7mm. VASITARS composite wrap is available for all ranges of pipelines
between 4" and 48" in diameter.

II. Adhesive-
The adhesive used is commercially available epoxy (Araldite LY556, Hardener HY951) which is used to
hold the repair in place.

III. Load transfer (filler)-

In composite sleeve repair system, load is efficiently transferred from pipe wall to the composite layer
by using a high compressive strength filler. The external corrosion defect is filled with the high-
compressive strength filler material to rehabilitate the weakened pipe wall from further damage. The
filler material used for VASITARS Repair are Nano clay particles with a very high compressive
strength. The VASITARS research team have thoroughly studied the mechanical, thermal & impact
properties of Nano clay particles and found it to be 32 % better than the epoxy alone matrix system
in terms of their mechanical and impact properties. It has presently observed a wide range of
applications in automobile and aerospace industries worldwide.

Fig. 1-3 shows the complete procedures of our repair methodology. (P.T.O.)
 Figure 1: Pipe with a localized corrosion damage repaired with composite sleeve system

Figure 2: (a) Filling of the defect portion with/without nanoclay particles (b) Shear mixer for mixing clay in epoxy

Figure 3: Different steps of laying of composite sleeve around the pipe

 Installation

A proper installation of the VASITARS composite wrap system, the following simple steps must be followed:

Cleaning corroded pipe surfaces

Dispersion of nano clay in epoxy by using high shear mixer

Adding and mixing of curing agent in the matrix

Applying resin(gel) coating in the corroded surface

Wrapping glass/epoxy layers

Tightening the composite wrap sleeve onto the pipe to give compressive loading

Allowing the adhesive to cure for 2-3 hours

Coating the repaired pipe to prevent corrosion or ultraviolet radiation damage

Reburying the pipeline (if applicable).

The employees of our company are highly experience in these works can perform the complete repair in as
less as 2 hours. After installation, the filler, adhesive, and composite layers bond together to form a
permanent repair system that will last at least 50-55 years.
 Novelty

Novelty of our methodology is in two folds.

 First one is improving bond strength between composite wrap layers and substrate by adding nano
scale reinforcement is adhesive and resin.
 Second part of novelty is using an external mechanism to wrap the fiber mat over the surface of the
affected pipe with minimum work force. Tentative arrangement in the mechanism is shown in Figure
1. Fiber roll will make planetary motion around pipe surface.

Fiber roll

Direction of wrapping
Fiber wrap

PCD of fiber roll

rotation
Pipe

Figure 4: Pipe and fiber wrapping arrangements in a repaired system

 Economic and Environmental Benefits

Using composite wrap repair system as an alternative to pipeline replacement can lead to significant
economic and environmental benefits:

• Reduction in costs associated for ensuring uninterrupted service during a repair, such as installing
bypasses or temporary service lines.

• Using composite wraps no methane is vented to the atmosphere and hence the income lost through
natural gas losses is minimized.

• Easier and faster installation without the need for special equipment or highly skilled labor, such as
welders. A single composite wrap can be installed by a trained two-person crew within 30 minutes.

• Ability to perform repairs at full line pressure, although it is recommended to reduce the line pressure
for repair.
 Economics

Calculation of cost for composite wrap repair:

Cost estimation to repair 1 m of damaged pipeline

The cost of composite sleeve repair system depends on the remaining wall thickness, axial length of the defect and the
pipeline diameter. The primary costs associated with installing a composite wrap sleeve are labor costs, equipment and
materials, and indirect costs such as inspection services & permits. VASITARS wrap kits are available for all ranges of
pipe diameters (4’’ to 48’’). We also additionally assist with wrapping equipment developed by our team for effective
winding of composite layers with required pressure. This equipment can be used for multiple repairs and the costs can
be spread over the lifetime of the equipment. Example. 1 has been worked out to estimate the cost of a composite wrap
repair.

Estimation of cost for a 12” pipeline having working pressure of 5 bars over a length of 1m.

Thickness of wrapping need to be provided: 8.48mm

Quantity Rate(in rupee) Amount (in rupee)
Surface Preparation 500 (include chemical cleaning and sand blasting)
Glass fiber 7.32 kg 250/kg 830
Epoxy 7.32 kg 500/kg 3660
Hardener 0.732 kg 900/kg 659
Filler 0.0732 kg 12000/kg 1025
Sand paper, brush, etc --- ---- 250
Labor and Apprentice cost --- --- 800
Overhead cost ---- ----- 1000
Total 8724/-

Total cost to repair 1 meter of damaged pipeline is Rs. 8724/- which is much less than the conventional
method.
 References

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