How to Prevent a Gas Pipe From Bursting

A burst gas pipeline can cause millions of dollars in damage and put people’s lives in danger. Few industrial accidents have the sheer scope of a gas pipe explosion.

Still, shutting down a plant carries a huge cost. Finding the time to get ahead of such repairs can prove difficult. That’s why plants should perform preventive maintenance.

In this article, we’ll cover gas pipe repair strategies that can prevent these catastrophic events.

Why Does A Gas Pipe Burst?

Natural gas pipe failures occur for a wide variety of reasons. Some failures come from operator errors or accidents. Not all can be prevented.

The most common causes in 2020 came from outside forces. Common subtypes include natural forces, excavation, and vehicle crashes. Not all such incidents cause catastrophic damage, but many do.

Material or weld failures don’t occur often, but they do happen. These start from a small defect in a weld or the processing of the steel itself. The defect slowly worsens until it causes a major incident.

Because so many failures are unpreventable, it becomes even more important to get ahead of the ones you can with routine gas pipe maintenance.

Signs of a Failure

While some bursts happen spontaneously, many can be spotted early. Knowing the signs of a leaking pipe can save you a burst and a large gas pipe repair cost later.

Periodically check any pressure monitoring equipment in your system. If a pipe can’t maintain its expected pressure, that indicates a leak somewhere in the system.

Some manufacturing processes will also show lower quality during a leak. If you have unexplained quality drops, consider checking for a leak.

Preventing a Burst

Preventing gas pipe bursts requires routine maintenance at potential failure points. This can include fixing small leaks and identifying potential long-term problems.

This type of work sometimes requires shutting down a system or isolating it. Needless to say, this carries a high cost and leads to lost time and labor. Our proprietary processes allow us to repair many types of leaks and other failure points without a shutdown.

In circumstances where you expect potential outside hazards, some preventive measures can be taken. We offer a variety of coatings and linings for piping systems that improve impact resistance, chemical resistance, and guard against other potential failures.

While many plant operators feel the reflexive need to replace systems entirely, we disagree. Many systems can be repaired or safeguarded against bursts without replacement.

Don’t Wait For a Catastrophe

If a gas pipe technically performs its job but shows some signs of wear, you might feel like you can wait on repairs. If it’s not showing signs of an immediate leak, what’s the problem?

An attitude like that leaves you playing a dangerous game. Will you finally decide you need to fix it, or will the pipe show a large leak or a burst?

That’s why you should contact us if you have any potential defects. We’ll give you a cost-effective solution with the minimum possible loss of system uptime.

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