Hot Tap Assessments

Welding Engineering and Expert Metallurgical Support for Critical Hot Tap Assessments

A company’s level of comfort with in-service welding (hot taps) can span a wide range.

Some regard hot taps as routine maintenance, while others see them as a last resort alternative to a costly shutdown. Failed hot tap attachments can carry an extremely high consequence of failure depending on the fluid conditions. Even for companies with a positive track record of successful experience with hot taps, high-risk scenarios exist:

• Thin-wall lines below the minimum thickness in API 2201 or a company-specific guidance
• High-temperature lines, even with moderate thickness, where burn-through is a risk
  • Cold or cryogenic lines, fast-flowing liquid lines, or stagnant lines
• Lines with multiple phase flow
• Service-related issues
  • Contaminated services such as flare lines
  • Lines in sour, hydrogen, or other aggressive service
  • Gasses that thermally decompose at high temperatures
• Connections where preliminary modelling or risk assessment has identified a high risk

Let E²G’s experts in Welding Engineering and Metallurgy assist by:

• Evaluating the high-risk scenarios on a case-by-case basis
• Developing special guidance for preparation including washout/flush process for contaminated services
• Performing detailed modelling including sensitivity analysis for changes in fluid conditions
• Addressing specific application risks, including fluid decomposition and unintended chemical reactions
• Recommending modified welding parameters and techniques
• Developing specific inspection recommendations
• Interfacing directly with welding firm or construction contractor
• Calculating mechanical loads and design for loading on the existing piping system during and after the hot tap connection

Download Hot Tap Assessments Brochure