Proceedings of the 2012 9th International Pipeline Conference IPC2012 September 24-28, 2012, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

IPC2012-90049
Effects of Cold Temperature on Pressure Transmitter/Flexible Hose Gaugeline Assembly Mounted on a Pipeline Transporting Diluted Bitumen
K.K. Botros
NOVA Research & Technology Center Calgary, Alberta, Canada

J. Geerligs
NOVA Research & Technology Center Calgary, Alberta, Canada

P. Staszelis TransCanada Pipeliens Ltd.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

ABSTRACT
Pressure transmitters (PT) are mounted on Diluted Bitumen (DilBiT) pipelines particularly in various locations around the pump stations. Conventional assembly of the PT includes short rigid tubing closely connected to the pipe. Due to fluid flow and equipment induced vibration of the main pipe, these tubing, being very short and close to the pipe, are vulnerable to break and hence becomes an integrity and reliability issue. For this reason, PTs are often mounted at a longer distance away from the pipe (of the order of 2 meters) with the use of a flexible SS hose gaugeline to dampen vibration generated at the pipe/tubing connection. While this solves the problem of tube breaking, it creates an issue surrounding the effects of the long gaugeline on the dynamic response of the PT/gaugeline assembly to pressure variations, particularly in cold ambient temperature (e.g. -40oC). An experimental setup of a typical PT/flexible hose gaugeline assembly was placed in a cold chamber, and several tests were conducted on warm (10 to 20 oC) and cold temperatures (-40oC) to compare the difference in the dynamic response of the assembly. Several fluids filling the gaugeline were tested and compared. This paper present the test results and make a recommendation of the best fluid to use for the gaugeline to cope with -40oC ambient temperature. It was also found that no heat tracing would be required if this fluid is used.

INTRODUCTION
Gauge line tubing is used to connect a static pressure measuring point in a flow to a measurement device, pressure transducer (PT). It is desirable to have this gaugeline as short as possible so as not to distort the pressure measurements. Conventional design of pressure measurements in crude oil pipeline include a short SS tube connected to the pipe on one end and a manifold of valves connecting the PT on the other end. The SS tube is typically in the order of no more than 0.3 m in length. Due to this short length of the gaugeline, the oil inside the tube is normally kept at the same temperature of the flowing oil in the pipeline which is typically warm (~ 5oC or higher). When this conventional PT mounting assembly is employed in pump station, normal pipe vibration invariably causes the tube connection to break and leak. This is primarily due to the rigidity of the entire gaugeline/manifold/PT/mount assembly. Of course, this leads to integrity and safety issues and needs to be addressed. One way to correct this situation is to mount the PT on an independent structure not connected to the pipeline, and the use of flexible hose to decouple the pipe vibration from the PT structure similar to the assembly shown in Fig. 1. While this is a plausible solution to mitigate the vibration problem, it neglected the question of whether the oil contained in the gaugeline will be kept warm since it is now required to be long and will be subjected to possible ambient temperature reaching 40oC. The present paper addresses the effects of cold ambient conditions on the accuracy and more importantly the response of the PT to fast pressure changes in the pipeline. Pressure

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response is important in operating oil pipeline as it is key in leak detection and loss of containment management. An experimental test rig was setup using a cold chamber capable of maintaining a cold ambient environment of -40oC. Four different fluids were used to fill the flexible hose to compare their relative time response to rapid pressure variations. These fluids are: 1. 2. 3. 4. Diluted Bitumen Oil (heavy oil), which the oil in the main pipeline. Univis N22 Hydraulic Oil [1]. Ethylene Glycol (70%vol)+Water(30%vol) Mix. Univar Van Frost 100 [2].

Table 1: Salient Properties of the Tested Fluids.

TEST FLUID Diluted Bitumen Oil (heavy oil) Univis N-C 22 Hydraulic Oil Ethylene Glycol Univar Van Frost 100 (Propylene Glycol) SG @20C 0.92 0.94 NA 1.109 1.05 Pour point (oC) NA -54 -13 -51 Viscosity Flash point (oC) -40 156 111 103

NA 5000 cSt @-40C NA 0.055 Pa.s @20C

Results of these tests are presented and the relative responses are compared between cases of different fluids in the flexible hose.

EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
The gauge line and PT1 assembly shown on the schematic in Figure 2, labeled cold chamber, was mounted on a rack and placed in the Puffer Hubbard -40C freezer chamber shown in Figure 3. PT1 and PT2 are Rosemount 3051S1 In-line Pressure Transmitters with accuracy better than 0.1% at -40 C ambient. PT2 measures the pressure of the hydraulic fluid source outside the freezer compartment as shown on the schematic in Figure 2 and photo in Figure 3. The hydraulic fluid pressure was controlled by the Hand Pump shown on Figure 2 which was a hydraulic fluid manual pump. Also shown on the schematic are valves used to isolate and expel air bubbles during filling and flushing of the gauge line assembly with the different test fluids. An RTD temperature sensor was mounted on the rack in the freezer chamber to monitor the cold chamber temperature during the test periods. The PT1 and PT2 pressure output as well as the cold chamber temperature measurement were recorded with a data logger on a continuous basis during each test period.

Valve to vent air bubbles during filling/pressurizing

PT1

Isolation Valve
PT2

Hand Pump

Figure 1: Characteristic Components of the Flexible Gaugeline, Fittings and Pressure Transducer (PT).

Pressure relief manual control valve

Ambient Environment

Cold Chamber

Figure 2: Schematic of the Experimental Setup.

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the top two graphs of Fig. 5 (Cold-1). The chamber was then left at the set temperature of -40oC for additionally 24 hours and the test was repeated. The results of this repeat test are shown in the bottom two graphs of Fig. 5 (Cold-2). In each of these two tests the second graph shows more details of the pressure traces (better resolution). It is evident that the cold PT pressure trace is always lagging the ambient PT. Additionally, it appears that cold temperature introduced damping as is manifested with the fast rate of pressure drops or pressure rise parts of the pressure traces.

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Figure 4: Comparison between two PTs Pressure Traces Heavy Oil Test (both PTs are at Room Temperature). Figure 3: Photos of the Experimental Setup. Hydraulic Oil-Filled Gaugeline Test Results: The second test involves hydraulic oil (Univis N22) [1]. Figure 6 shows the results of pressure traces of the two PTs (inside the cold chamber and outside the chamber) both at ambient room temperature conducted as a base case before the cold chamber to set to -40oC. The results show again that the two traces track each other very closely during the pressurizationdepressurization cycles shown. The cold temperature test results are shown in Fig. 7. As in the case of the previous test, it is evident that the cold PT pressure trace is lagging the ambient PT and that the cold temperature introduced damping during the fast rate of pressure drops or pressure rise parts of the pressure traces.

TEST RESULTS
Heavy Oil-Filled Gaugeline Test Results: The first test involves a sample of oil (DilBit) that is being transported in the pipeline. Figure 4 shows the results of pressure traces of the two PTs (inside the cold chamber and outside the chamber) both at ambient room temperature conducted as a base case before the cold chamber to set to -40oC. The results shows that the two traces track each other very closely during the pressurization-depressurization cycles shown. The cold chamber was then set to -40oC, and left for at least 12 hours after it reached this temperature to ensure that all component of the gaugeline assembly reaches equilibrium temperature with the cold environment. The results are shown on

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Freezer Temperature (oC)

Pressure (Psig)

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Ambient PT (Reference) Freezer PT Freezer Temperature

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Ambient PT (Reference) Freezer PT Freezer Temperature

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Figure 5: Comparison between two PTs Pressure Traces Heavy Oil Test (One PT is inside the Cold Chamber and the Other at Room Temperature) (Cold-2 is a repeat experiment to confirm repeatability of tests).

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Figure 6: Comparison between two PTs Pressure Traces Hydraulic Oil Test (both PTs are at Room Temperature).

Freezer Temperature (oC)

Ambient PT (Reference) Freezer PT Freezer Temperature

Warm

20

Ethylene Glycol/Water Mix-Filled Gaugeline Test Results: The third test involves a mix of 70%(vol) of Etylene Gylcol and 30%(vol) water. Figure 8 shows the results of pressure traces of the two PTs (inside the cold chamber and outside the chamber) both at ambient room temperature conducted as a base case before the cold chamber to set to -40oC. The results show again that the two traces track each other very closely during the pressurization-depressurization cycles shown. The cold temperature test results are shown in Fig. 9. With this fluid mix in the gaugeline, the cold PT pressure trace tracks very closely the ambient PT and without any sign of lagging of damping during the fast rate of pressure drops or pressure rise parts of the pressure traces.

Pressure (Psig)

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Freezer Temperature (oC)

Pressure (Psig)

Pressure (Psig)

Freezer Temperature (oC)

Pressure (Psig)

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Figure 8: Comparison between two PTs Pressure Traces Glycol/Water Mix Test (both PTs are at Room Temperature).
Freezer Temperature (oC)

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Figure 7: Comparison between two PTs Pressure Traces Hydraulic Oil Test (One PT is inside the Cold Chamber and the Other at Room Temperature).

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Time (s)

Univar Van Frost-Filled Gaugeline Test Results: The last test involves Univar Van Frost 100 [2]. Figure 10 shows the results of pressure traces of the two PTs (inside the cold chamber and outside the chamber) both at ambient room temperature conducted as a base case before the cold chamber to set to -40oC. The results show again that the two traces track each other very closely during the pressurization-depressurization cycles shown. The cold temperature test results are shown in Fig. 11. With this fluid in the gaugeline (and similar to the Glycol/Water mix), the cold PT pressure trace tracks very closely the ambient PT and without any sign of lagging of damping during the fast rate of pressure drops or pressure rise parts of the pressure traces.

Figure 9: Comparison between two PTs Pressure Traces Glycol/Water Mix Test (One PT is inside the Cold Chamber and the Other at Room Temperature).

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Freezer Temperature (oC)

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Pressure (Psig)

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the PT response when the system is pressurized. There might be minor (small) effects at the much lower pressure (below 100 psig) in the cold test as shown in Fig. 13, but it is rather insignificant. This indicates that, a small air bubble is tolerable during filling of the gaugeline, however, care should be exercised to avoid as much as possible any air to be trapped in the tubing during initial filling of the gaugeline.

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Figure 10: Comparison between two PTs Pressure Traces Univar Van Frost Test (both PTs are at Room Temperature).
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Figure 12: Effects of Air Bubble on PTs Pressure Traces Univar Van Frost Test (both PTs are at Room Temperature).

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Figure 11: Comparison between two PTs Pressure Traces Univar Van Frost Test (One PT is inside the Cold Chamber and the Other at Room Temperature).

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-20

EFFECTS OF ENTRAINED AIR BUBBLES

The last aspect of evaluating the impact of cold temperature on liquid-filled gaugeline is the effects of the presence of any air bubble introduced into the gaugeline during the initial filling procedure by an operator. For this scenario, an air bubble of size 10cm long was intentionally introduced into the tubing before the gaugeline was sealed, hence trapping this amount of air into the system at atmospheric pressure. Of course the size of this bubble will decrease when the preassure in the gaugline is increased by the hand pump. The same test procedure was then followed at ambient temperature (warm test) and then in the cold environment at -40oC (cold test). The fluid tested in this case was the Univar Van Frost. The respective test results are shown in Figs. 12 and 13 for the warm and cold tests. It is evident that the presence of this sizeable air bubble has no or little effects on

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Time (s)

Figure 13: Effects of Air Bubble on PTs Pressure Traces Univar Van Frost Test (One PT is inside the Cold Chamber and the Other at Room Temperature).

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Freezer Temperature (oC)

Freezer Temperature (oC)

-40

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Form the tests conducted on the four different fluids filling the flexible hose gaugeline; it appears that the Ethylene Glycol/Water (70/30) mix and the Propylene Glycol (Univar Van Frost 100) are the best in terms of eliminating the time lag and damping effects of the low temperature. However, there could be issues surrounding possible use of Ethylene Glycol/Water (70/30) mix, namely: Corrosion concern due to water. Toxicity of Ethylene Glycol. Possible complexity of introducing procedures for mixing the glycol with water, and chances of introducing human or systemic errors. The Univis hydraulic oil did not appear to be better than the DilBit oil being transported in the pipeline. This is likely due to the fact that this hydraulic oil contains synthetic compounds that behave in a pseudo-plastic or Bingham plastic manner like the heavy oil at low temperatures. Small air bubbles trapped in the gaugeline during the initial filling process is shown to have insignificant effects of PT response in warm or cold environment when Propylene Glycol fluid is used.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors wish to thank Gerard Lalonde and Doug Harvey for the technical dialogue throughout the course of this work. Permission to publish the test results granted by TransCanada Pipelines Limited is gratefully acknowledged.

REFERENCES
1. Univis N-C 22, IOCAENINDMOUNIVIS_N_C.pdf, www.imperialoil.ca 2. Material Safety Data Sheet; Univar NR02142 Dowfrost, The Safety, Health and Environment Department of Univar Canada Ltd., 08 April 2011.

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