Pit Protect

Completed

Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Refining, transport and storage of oil and gas)

Applied Research and Development

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Civil Engineering)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Project Contact
SGN

Network Innovation Allowance

Ofgem

01 October 2016

01 January 2018

17 months

£214,329

Technical Consultancy

South East

Network Innovation Allowance

Project Contact, SGN

Project Contact, National Grid Gas Transmission

The objective of the Project is to prove the viability of using a purpose-designed pit wall coating and associated deployment equipment to prevent pit wall water ingress on the GB gas network. The success criteria for the project are: Complete research into the nature and extent of Pit Wall Water Ingress, determine the success criteria that the selected material and its delivery system will be measured against. Approval of Stage Gate 1 progress report. Complete construction of laboratory test rig, plus selection and procurement of the viable coating material(s), deployment equipment and lab test. Production of draft supporting documentation needed to demonstrate compliance with SGNs policies and procedures, and approval of Stage Gate 2 progress report. Complete the production of required volume of coating material for field trial(s) and review of proposed field trial sites. Approval of all supporting documentation, including RAMS. Completion of field trial(s) and approval of Stage Gate 3 progress report. Complete final Project report and cost assessment (providing details on the financial benefits that can be gained through using this new technique) for inclusion within the final report and submit both for approval. Approval of Stage Gate 4 final Project report.

A large number of assets within the Gas Distribution Networks (GDNs) and Gas Transmission (NGGT) are housed below ground in pits. The materials used to construct the pit walls are usually concrete, brick or fibreglass. Assets often require below ground installation due to a number of issues including, local planning requirements, local community preferences, acoustic or network configuration factors, etc. Consequently, burying an asset, such as a Gas Regulator (aka Gas Governor), valve or associated instrumentation, requires the intended housing to be designed so that it should prevent water ingress affecting the assets performance. Unfortunately, not all pit housings are currently able to completely prevent water ingress and many fail, invariably leading to a flooded pit; resulting in GDN and NGGT personnel frequently being forced to pump out the affected pits to allow them the access they need to perform their maintenance activities. There are a variety of reasons for the pits becoming flooded and a few examples of how water ingress can occur are listed below: Incorrect installation; the pit housing may have been damaged or flawed when it was originally installed. High water table; the pit location may have been placed within an existing, or developing, flood plain. Incurring damage; the pit housing may have been subject to land-slip, or other forces and stresses, causing the pit walls to fracture or buckle. Third party contaminant; a sewage or water pipe may have ruptured in proximity of the pit housing. Indirect damage; e. g. damage to the pit walls caused by vibration from road-works, road traffic, etc. It would therefore be most beneficial to permanently repair and/or remediate any affected pits to prevent the issue of water ingress ever reoccurring. The Project Partner (GnoSys) has identified two potential solutions, either using a waterborne polymer coating cured via (UV) irradiation or using an approach based on hydrophilic thermoplastic elastomers (h-TPEs) and both proposals are intended to be deployed either as a viscous fluid or melt spray deposition. They will also be subject to a full investigation and appraisal during this Project. The Project will include the following stages: Execution & Research Production, Lab Testing & Field Trial Preliminaries Lab Scale-up & Field Trials Project Closure ReportsNote : Project Documents may be available via the ENA Smarter Networks Portal using the Website link above

09/10/18