Insulation in the pipeline

A custom-built, infrared system from Heraeus Noblelight has helped Barrier Group develop a high performance, thermal insulation system for submarine pipelines.

The high power infrared system is used to cure adhesive to ensure that a polypropylene material, which imparts impact resistance, corrosion protection and additional thermal insulation, can be efficiently applied to an innovative insulation shell around a conventional steel pipe.

This is said to result in reduced lay tension, together with improvements in pipelaying productivity.

The system comprises five modules, with a total of 24, QRC short wave emitters delivering a total power of 50.4kW.