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Abstract

Ice-Pigging is a process by which high Ice-Fraction Ice-Slurry is pumped through potentially topologically complex pipe systems to clean them of debris. This paper proposes replacing conventional Water-Flushing with Ice-Pigging for the cleaning of Naval Platform pipe systems pre-commissioning due to the benefits of improved effectiveness and reduced overall flushing time. To demonstrate these benefits a modified Hershel-Bulkley model is developed for Ice-Pigging alongside a Water-Flushing model to simulate the Wall Shear Stresses exerted by each method at a range of velocities and Ice-Fractions. Simulation results demonstrated that Ice- Pigging exerts several factors greater Wall Shear Stresses than Water-Flushing, with the difference increasing as the Ice-Fraction is increased. It was found that the advantages of Ice-Pigging were most prevalent at low flow velocities, where the Yield Stress of the Non-Newtonian Ice-Slurry provided large Wall Shear Stresses, whereas the water not yet in turbulent flow exerted negligible stresses. Thus, for complex pipe paths where it may be difficult to demonstrate high-velocity flow, Water-Flushing would exhibit poor performance, but Ice- Pigging would not be adversely affected. The outcomes support that Ice-Pigging would require significantly less time than Water-Flushing to clean systems to the required specification pre-commissioning, and it would likely remove a greater quantity of debris and particulates, resulting in a more effective overall flush. These advantages provide evidence that implementation of this technology would benefit the timely construction of high-quality Naval Platforms.

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