Regarding the start-up purge
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The company’s ball catcher fails to capture the ball regularly; it gets stuck at the three-way junction ahead of the catcher or at the ball valve in front of it, and its control ability is weak, requiring operation based on experience. How is it best to modify and control it? (It uses less energy.) There are two tees connected in front of the ball collector, along with a ball valve; at the bottom of the ball collector there is a drain valve with a diameter of around 25 mm, which can be connected to the pipelines behind it using hoses for pressure relief or bypass purposes. However, the pressure control is not clear. Pipeline 300 is approximately 3–4 kilometers long, and it carries refined oil. The plan I have come up with is as follows: air is supplied from the dock to push the ball forward; the amount of oil in the storage area is monitored. When the amount of oil received reaches around 80% of the pipeline’s capacity, the main valve is closed, and oil is transferred using a drain valve and hoses. The air supply pressure at the dock is then reduced until the ball is brought to a stop. Problems existing: 1. When the supply pressure drops, the ball cannot move along the pipeline, and it is likely to get stuck in the same areas as before. 2. The drain valve is connected to a hose; due to the large change in diameter, local pressure and flow velocity increase, resulting in the breakage of the connection.
Is there no welding shield at the tee joint? Is it possible to, after emptying the pipeline, make a small hole before the tee to install a pressure gauge and a ball-pass indicator? After the ball passes through, open the DN25 valve and slowly close the main valve of the tank. Due to the relatively low pressure loss, at this point the pressure on the nitrogen gauge only needs to be slightly higher than the static pressure (mainly determined by the liquid level in the tank and elevation differences). It is possible to close the nitrogen supply valve and allow oil to flow in slowly through a DN25 pipe.
Weld a baffle (arc-shaped) on the side of the tee where the ball does not pass through, so that the ball can smoothly pass through the tee and enter the ball collection cylinder
Now, the welding guards still need to be cut open and cleared, which may affect production; the engineering modifications have a significant impact.
Behind the tee, there is a flange or a valve, right? Remove the flange and add a grid tank at the tee location; the edges of this grid tank should allow the balls to pass through
What does a grid barrel look like? Are there any pictures? Are there any diagrams available online? What is the difficulty of construction and the cost involved?
The grilles have already been seen; one needs to be fabricated on-site and placed inside the pipeline, with its bars welded to the flanges for fixation. It seems to be just a grid bucket.