Q. Will the composite repairs work?
A. Yes, if the composite repair solution is designed and installed
properly. Furmanite will:
- make sure the composite repairs are designed according to the best practices of the industry
- use qualification data to design the composite repair and ensure that it is relevant for your situation
- install the composite repair with appropriately trained and skilled technicians
- follow the Method Statement to the letter (critical to the performance of the composite repair)
- offer a warranty on the composite repair
Q. How long will the composite repair
last?
A. An effective carbon fiber composite repair will typically last 20 years or longer, if required (we class this as a permanent repair). Or, the composite repair can be engineered to keep the asset on line until the next scheduled shutdown or outage. Composite repair technology is more than a leak repair; it can restore structural strength and is extremely effective where rehabilitation of pipe work, pipelines, tanks, and pressure vessels is a consideration.
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Q. Where can I use a composite repair?
A. Furmanite’s composite repair technology can be applied to pipe work, pipelines, tanks, pressure vessels, and caissons, to name only a few applications. In fact, composite repairs are appropriate in most cases strengthening and repairs are required and undertaking hot work or production disruption is undesirable.
Q. Can a composite repair solution be applied to any geometric shape?
A. Yes. Using Furmanite’s composite repair technology, any geometry or structure can be repaired or strengthened. But beware! This does not apply to all composites. Repairing complex geometric shapes such as tees, wyes, elbows, or nozzles is much more challenging than repairing straight pipe work.
Q. Are composite repairs really reliable?
A. Because Furmanite’s composite repair solutions are expertly designed and installed, they are reliable throughout their design lives. However, be aware that this is not necessarily true of all composite solutions available in the marketplace!
Q. Is surface preparation important to a successful composite repair?
A. Absolutely. An effective composite repair is totally dependent on the quality of the surface preparation. To facilitate a perfect bond between the substrate material and the intermediate glass fiber, the surface must be grit blasted to a profile of between 60 and 90 microns as part of the preparation procedure. The optimal surface preparation is SA 2 ˝, or 75 microns.
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Q. Are composite repairs a good value for the money?
A. Any repair represents a good value for the money, only if it is reliable, otherwise the repair is worthless. Compared to the savings in lost production alone, the cost of a composite repair is minimal – so long as it performs reliably for as long as required. With a Furmanite composite repair solution, you can count on that.
Q. What should I look for to ensure the reliability and permanence of my composite repair?
A. Experience and credentials. Furmanite has extensive experience in composite repair technology, both onshore and offshore, and an impressive track record for delivering effective and reliable composite repair solutions. Other considerations:
- Custom composite repair designs are essential; for example, the size and shape of the defect, and its position will have a significant effect on how the composite repair performs. ‘Standard’ repairs should be avoided.
- Surface preparation in crucial to bond strength, and must be performed to match the design specifications exactly. Otherwise, performance cannot be guaranteed.
- Proper installation of the composite repair is critical, especially on any complex geometries, to ensure correct fiber orientation and strength; installation technicians must be highly skilled and qualified. Furmanite technicians are experienced and certified in composite repair technology.
- Warranties provide reassurance of the provider’s own confidence in the composite repair. Furmanite offers a warranty on the installed composite repair.
Q. What are the primary differences between Furmanite’s composite repair solutions and other wrap systems?
A. Furmanite’s composite repairs are designed to meet the individual requirements of each and every application;
- Our composite repairs are installed by fully qualified, highly skilled technicians.
- All criteria specified in the composite repair solution design are precisely adhered to in the field.
- Only after extensive composite repair material tests and trials does Furmanite employ the data and/or techniques in a field solution.
- Furmanite’s composite repair solutions conform to Industry
Workgroup and ASME standards.
- Furmanite possesses unparalleled experience and engineering expertise in the field of composite repairs.
- All Furmanite composite repairs are warranted.
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Q. What composite repair materials do you use?
A. Furmanite composite repairs are made using various woven carbon fiber fabrics because carbon fiber has very high strength characteristics – up to 10 times that of steel – and because carbon fiber is light in weight – less than Ľ of the density of steel. Furthermore, carbon fiber’s multi-directional strength capability restores full pressure containment and structural integrity – even on complex geometries.
Q. How do you qualify your data, test standards, and composite repair conformity?
A. Each composite repair made by Furmanite can be engineered to achieve optimum strength and bonding and to conform with independently-approved industry guidelines and standards. Tests are carried out on materials and full-scale pressure tests are undertaken as required by the ASME standard. Finally, designs can be verified by employing Finite Element Analysis, or FEA.
Q. What are the temperature and pressure capabilities of Furmanite’s composite repair technology?
A. Furmanite composite repairs have been successfully applied in temperature ranges from -13°F to 320°F (-25°C to 160°C), and in operational pressure ratings up to 3,072 PSI (209 bar).
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Q. What quality checks does Furmanite employ to ensure the integrity of the composite repair?
A. Furmanite’s composite repair solutions undergo quality checks at every stage of the repair and are both visual and dimensional. The integrity of the composite repair begins with knowledgeable, fully qualified and highly skilled technicians, working to established and recognized practices. As a result of extensive in-house development, clear and detailed installation guidelines for composite repair installation have been produced. These guidelines incorporate many quality hold points including, but not limited too: surface preparation, correct material ratios, application of overlaps and tapers, repair thicknesses, and cure rates.
Q. Can the performance of a composite repair be monitored after installation?
A. With Furmanite composite repairs, the substrate beneath the repair can be inspected to monitor wall thinning and defect growth under the repair, using non-destructive testing (NDT) such as radiography, pulsed eddy currents, and guided wave ultrasonics.
Q. How do I know that my Furmanite composite repair solution is going to last?
A. Furmanite composite repairs provide permanent repairs requiring minimal maintenance and are designed to retain full pipeline strength and integrity – even in the case of total corrosion of the original substrate! Each Furmanite composite repair is engineered to suit the specific application and to ensure that the technical performance meets the demand of pressure and temperature variation in the system. Accelerated performance tests are undertaken so that durability can be measured and appropriate degradation factors may be used. The tests performed by Furmanite on its composite repair solutions result in a zero maintenance requirement, which means there is no additional through-life cost after the initial installation of the composite repair.
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