IPLCs are extremely robust and built to special high standards to withstand pipeline spread operations. IPLCs are adjustable for any wall thickness or size within the specified range—independently operated pneumatic heads allow the line-up of pipes with different wall thicknesses. When correctly used IPLCs will not damage or "bell end" the pipe.
What is Purge control? When the pipe is a corrosion-resistant alloy (CRA) material, bevels and root quality take on further importance as the root and hot pass must be back-purged to prevent oxidation of the parent material. Often the root must be free of defects to ensure full in-service performance. To handle this stringent back-purge requirement, CRC-Evans® offers a fully automated purge control system with laser vision, called V-Purge, to control and monitor the purge chamber parameters.
V-Purge is part of CRC-Evans' Vision Welding System.
Corrosion-resistant alloys such as 13Cr martensitic stainless steel, duplex, and clad materials require a back purge to remove oxygen from the pipe ID. The purge chamber is integral to the machine. The flow of purge gas is controlled from the open end of the pipe. A built-in oxygen analyzer measures the purity of the gas in the purge chamber in real time. Welding starts when the critical oxygen content is achieved in the purge chamber.
Part of CRC-Evans' Standard Welding System, the Heavy-Duty Copper Backup Clamp features a reinforced structural steel frame that deftly handles the large-diameter, heavy-wall pipes typical of offshore projects. The HDCBUC delivers 1.5 times the clamping force of standard clamps, which pushes high-low out to achieve a quality pipe-to-pipe fit. And all functions are wirelessly controlled by the stalking machine operator, which decreases the time for fit-up and eliminates errors such as lowering of the copper shoes during a welding cycle.
The Internal Pneumatic Line-Up and Copper Backup Clamp is built specifically to handle wide variations in pipe diameter, wall thickness and out-of-roundness found in pipes manufactured to API-5L requirements. Because the copper shoe segments tolerate such wide variances, fewer are needed compared to rigid shoe solutions. The shoes can also be resurfaced three times, giving you more efficient and cost-effective operation.