The Rover pipeline consists of 2 42” natural gas pipelines running through the state of Ohio. They run behind my house & I can watch all the goings & comings from my back yard. They started in this area back in April. One pipe is already in the ground & I missed when they did the welding. I noticed yesterday afternoon that they were welding & would be behind my place today so I planned on going back to get some pics.
I rode back on my Polaris & spent from 9:00 A.M. until 9:30 A.M. taking pics & talking to 1 of the supervisors. I learned a lot & confirmed what I thought about the welding & cleaning process.
The process is nothing short of amazing. The heavy equipment operators are unbelievable. To be able to lift an 80’ section of pipe & move it into position for an internal weld takes a lot of skill & precision. There is a sequence of pics showing the pipes being moved into place so they can be welded internally. The internal welding machine, a wire-feed welding, is used for lining up, and internally holding two sections of pipe in position, and applying the root bead. The welder is operated remotely. If the pipe wasn’t 1st welded internally, it wouldn’t stay lined up for the external weld. The internal tool expands inside the 1st pipe & a long pole, which is attached to the welder, is placed inside the next pipe as it is moved into position. After the 2nd pipe is aligned properly, the welder is then expanded inside the 2nd pipe. The weld is then completed. While this process is going on, a 2nd crane has moved down & picked up another section of pipe & starts to move it into position. When the weld is completed, the expansion rings are loosened & the welder moves down the inside of the pipe to the next joint. The whole process takes about 5 minutes. A gang is also stacking timbers under the pipe to rest it on until the pipe goes into the ground.
There are a couple of close-ups of the cranes that are used to position the pipes. They have massive weights on the left side to keep it from tipping with the weight of the pipes. A strapped is placed around the pipe & then attached to a hook on the crane’s boom. After the internal weld is completed, a worker grabs the strap & literally runs down to the next pipe as the crane is flying down to the next pipe.
The last set of pics show the external welding machine. The crane that carries the welder has a lot of tanks on the front. I assume they are oxygen & acetylene for the welder. There are doors on either side of the welder. Once the welder is in place, 2 men go inside & make whatever adjustments are needed to align the welder on the joint. This process takes about 5 minutes as well.
I asked about how the pipeline was tested & cleaned as I knew there would be slag from the internal welds, dirt, & probably dead animals. He told me that, upon completion, a hydro test would be done. This would not only show any leaks but would flush any & every thing out of the pipeline. There are other tests as well including X-rays. Also, pieces of foam with brushes are sent down the inside of the pipeline to scrub the walls & clean it completely.
You have to admire these guys for their skill & work ethic. There was no lollygagging or standing around. Everyone was doing something all of the time, at least during the time I was out there.
They should be burying the pipe in a week or so & I hope to get another set of pics. As an aside, the woods in the background is 1 of “my” squirrel woods.
I noticed at 01:00 P.M. that 4 more external welders are working their way down the pipeline. The 1st welder must have been making a preliminary weld & the last 4 the finished welds.
I slipped back to the pipeline to get a pic of the finished weld. I also took a couple looking down the pipeline in both directions from the weld. The 1st 2 pics are the external weld. The 3rd is looking to the west, the 4th to the east.
