All dimensions, weight and performances are for reference only and are subject to change without advice.
Each equipment can be custom made according customer specifications.

The Internal Line-Up Clamps  have been designed and developed to help joining piping sections that have to be welded during the laying of pipelines into the sea. The main function of the machine is to correctly locate and couple through the use of suitable fittings the ends of piping sections which have a specified range of outside and inside diameter and a specified weight.

Three kinds of ILUC families can be currently supplied both for the ground and the offshore operations:

• J-Lay ILUCs - These machines have no motorization because their vertical translation is obtained through the use of a lifting winch. (optional equipment)



• Double Joint ILUCs - These machines are used into strings processing plants (both ground and offshore) to prepare double or quadruple joint pipes. They can be provided with an on board motorization to allow independent translation within the pipes. These machines are normally not designed to run on sloped pipelines. (optional equipment)

• S-Lay ILUCs - These machines are equipped with on board motorization units that allow the translation within the pipeline also in sloped conditions. (optional equipment)

The machine consists of several subassemblies and some components that are operated by electric and pneumatic power, each of them accomplishing its specific function.

Each machine can be equipped with OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT

The following main sections can usually be identified in a typical machine:

• The front section consists of a frame whose head can be provided with a plate to connect with the umbilical cable interface, depending on the process requirements. This interface is designed according to the customer specification and has the provision to feed the machine with pneumatic or electrical power, or both of them. In the J-Lay machines this interface can be designed to withstand also the machine weight and this structure can host some of the machine optional equipment (parking, position control, ...)

• The front structure is connected to the mechanical expander unit that is pneumatically operated and is the core part of the machine. The mechanical clamping of the pipe sections is assured by means of two expander rows that are extracted against the pipe inner surface. The expanding force exerted by the expanders can takes up the possible out-of-round condition of some pipe ends. The mechanical expander is equipped with a center row of copper shoes that are designed to fit the required pipe inner diameter. These copper shoes are supplied in sets and must be replaced together with other parts to adapt the machine for the required pipe inner and outer diameter.

• The rear sections consists of a frame containing the control system components, the pneumatic system valves, the motorization (pneumatic motors for the DJ and S-Lay machines) and other optional equipment (safety brakes, winches,...).

Each machine is completed with some sets of driving wheels that are installed along the structure with the purpose to align the ILUC with the pipe axis and, in some cases, to avoid the spinning of the machine around its own longitudinal axis.

 

INTERNAL LINE UP CLAMPS OPERATION

The machine can be controlled by a control desk (remote and/or local) on which all the necessary status lights and command controls are installed.

The control desk lay-out is designed according to the customer specification because the commands for the machine can also be included in existing control desks.  

The basic machine is usually supplied together with the following items.

• One electrical/radio control enclosure (ME/TXE) 

• One remote control desk (IMCD)

The operation of the machine can be adjusted through a set of parameters that are used by the control system to actuate the required functions. These parameters are stored through the software of a programmable Man-to-Machine Interface (MMI) and part of them can be edited by the operator before starting the machine operations.

The MMI software is used also to display warning and alarm messages, allowing in this way a complete monitoring of the system and of the process.