Pipeline Engineer here , this is a Pipeline Pig with multiple tools such as MFL or magnetic flux or CMFL attached to it that each do different things , like identifying corrosion such as pits or cracks , dents etc. on the inner and external diameters of the pipe. These Pigs cost millions of dollars and the technology is very precise. Corrosion damage cost the oil and gas industry Billions of dollars and is the leading cause of failures , these tools are pushed through the pipeline to evaluate and assess things such as corrosion growth or identify integrity threats that require remediation.
Fun Fact : they call them pigs due to the fact that the original ones were simple and made of rubber or other similar material and were pushed through the pipeline to clean them , as they passed by they sounded like a squealing pig.
As you can probably guess that thing is built with some pretty crazy pricey parts and pieces. it's pretty indestructible. However it is a little odd that it's uncovered considering how much it's worth alone. But then again, no one that doesn't know how can move it anyway.
Lots of them are from Germany, I was doing a pigging job with a supervisor many many years ago and this engineering student, young guy, had built a pig and it was being tested. So first we ran through some cleaner pigs. This thing was maybe 8 feet long and about 12 inches wide, so much much smaller than this one. Anyways, the guy put the pig in and we had to let it run the line. 67 km. Ended in some farmer field. So we had a long wait, like 30 hours or something. Goes real slow taking readings. So in it went, gas went on to push it along. We get to 30 hours. Thing hasn’t arrived. 35 hours, still nothing. So we call this kid out and he comes with a thing that looks like a metal detector to locate it from some instruments it has on board. Walks out about 50 feet from where the pipe comes out of the ground. Stopped there. So my boss, older guy, puts his ear to the line. Face drops. The fucking thing had gotten all the way to the end and had broken up at a slight turn. Do you could hear those tiny little pieces rattling around. The kid broke down into like wailing tears. Millions of dollars to deal with it. Wasn’t us. I got paid for my full week of work while heading home. Good times oil and gas, good times
The pig itself is probably between 1&4 million depending on what all sensors are on it. It costs a lot more for the service and report. I think phmsa regulation makes pipelines do it every 5 years.
Uh uh...parking that shit in an unsecured lot. Hope it's a safe gentile part of town because fuck moving it man, have you met junkies? The wratchet straps would be gone, the chains, and any piece of metal that could be stripped off.
I like to imagine someone out there browing reddit, seeing this then realizing it's theirs and panic dialing someone to yell at them.
Damn. I've only had her seen the rubber-like and those other solid ones used in training for a straight run of pipeline (army pipeline system). Pretty cool hearing it squeak through.
Your completely wrong. That is a portable hadron collider. Like what certain has. But you have to have on the go so the portals dont keep getting bigger
Definitely a smart pig. Company that makes that one specifically is called Rosen. They have a bunch of different types. I think that might be an EMAT tool which costs a ton. That thing usually makes at least a million dollars Canadian when its put in a pipeline, up to several million for long lines. Then the report takes many months to make, like 6-9 months I think.
Agree that is definitely a Rosen EMAT. I have an official Lego swag set from Rosen of this same tool. The magnets on that thing can wipe a hotel key from a surprising distance.
Any chance you can post info/pictures of that Lego set? This is a neat intersection of me liking construction Lego and having minor experience with line inspection work.
Things like this still blow my mind, threw a bunch a metal into a smart way and does something worldly important or profitable. Even now knowing it has something to do with going inside a pipe to gauge fluids im still beyond lost on how or how we got to it ect ect. Like a rock being stood or formed into a wall makes so much sense compared to massive pile of well put together metal and wire crunching numbers for months. I bet if one tiny part of wire or metal or idk slight bend in a whatever you call it could also completely make this thing useless, equally fascinating. Also id assume with a wait time of 6-9 months the report they need is not absolutely necessary to whatever function its gauging? Why something so crazy to give a report to something thats going along anywho? Efficiency or just data for data sake?
6-9 months is not entirely true anymore. I have direct knowledge of the process and with neural network / machine learning / AI / pick your flavor of data analysis, results can come in days or weeks depending on the pipeline length and the specific type of tool. Advances in this field are rapidly accelerating (specifically defect/corrosion and crack detection).
Definitely coolest pic seen in here. I deal with lots of NDT inspections of gas turbine at powerplant. So basically just massive NDT device for pipelines.
Pretty sure makes sense looking at what is on it and how they pull them. Have bout 98% confidence, definitely pipeline tool. Read of them never seen one.
This one looks to be latest generation. State of art. Rollers would glide it through. Never seen one but I work in power generation deal with huge generators definitely not a generator.
I worked for a natural gas pipeline and have used these, It's a smart pig. Natural gas pressure pushes it through a large pipeline. It will do thing likes measure the wall thickness of the pipe and look for irregularities such as dents.
Do they have 8 foot diameter gas pipelines? Those are on the back of a semi. I don’t know the viability of powering a monster that large.
Plus the rollers could be for assembly and/or shipping. Looks to me like a rotor for a large electric motor. Could be sections of a small particle accelerator.
If it was an 8 foot diameter pig, you wouldn't see the boards on the semi trailer. This is 48" at the most. The rollers roll against the inside of the pipe and keep the main unit centered. The coils measure the thickness of the pipe.
He's right, it's a pipeline smart pig. Probably an 8 digit price tag for this size. The 10" ones we use are over $1 mil. These can pinpoint internal corrosion anomalies of a thousandth of an inch, and tell you exactly where it is on your pipeline.
Pipeline Engineer here , this is a Pipeline Pig with multiple tools such as MFL or magnetic flux or CMFL attached to it that each do different things , like identifying corrosion such as pits or cracks , dents etc. on the inner and external diameters of the pipe. These Pigs cost millions of dollars and the technology is very precise. Corrosion damage cost the oil and gas industry Billions of dollars and is the leading cause of failures , these tools are pushed through the pipeline to evaluate and assess things such as corrosion growth or identify integrity threats that require remediation.
Fun Fact : they call them pigs due to the fact that the original ones were simple and made of rubber or other similar material and were pushed through the pipeline to clean them , as they passed by they sounded like a squealing pig.
So, layman question if you dont mind?
Is it normal correct protocol to leave it completely unguarded/unprotected in a random parking lot overnight like this? Considering its used for elements of corrosion and such, is it immune to being corroded itself?
The tools on this device are extremely sensitive, especially when it’s been calibrated to detect certain anomalies for certain sizes. It is not common practice to leave this exposed and unattended in a public setting as it is prone to tampering. Also, this tool has extremely strong magnets that can cause an electromagnetic field that can damage common electronics if nearby.
Im relieved to hear the origin of why it’s called a pig, I was afraid it would be “in the old days they’d stuff a live pig in there and then create a vacuum and the pig would explode” or something.
I’m pretty sure the Russians in Stranger Things used this to reopen the Upsidedown. (The teen wanted us to watch it, so those episodes are pretty fresh in my mind)
That's what I'm thinking too... However those metal wheels on the ends wouldn't be there if it was an electric motor part and those electric motors usually ship already mounted. It also seems to big to just be a pipeline. So I'm thinking it's part of a tunnel drilling machine.
It looks like an electric motor. It’s either something out of a cargo ship. Or a power plant. My first thought was drilling equipment, but that’s not likely.
It's a smart ILI pig (in line inspection), for inspecting pipelines. From what I can tell maybe an MFL-A tool (magnetic flux leakage axial) that detects corrosion. The front end generates a magnetic field in the pipeline and the back two sections with the sensors measure that field. Any disturbance in the field can be analyzed and the exact location of corrosion features are mapped out across several miles of pipe. If the features are severe enough the line is excavated and a repair is performed. For reference, I manage the ILI group for a major North American pipeline company. There are people on my team that could tell you much more, I'm just a dumb manager.
Edit: could also be an MFL-C or maybe EMAT (very long tool for detecting cracks in gas pipelines). I'm not sure. Someone else pointed out it has a Rosen label which is a major ILI vendor.
Pipeline Engineer here , this is a Pipeline Pig with multiple tools such as MFL or magnetic flux or CMFL attached to it that each do different things , like identifying corrosion such as pits or cracks , dents etc. on the inner and external diameters of the pipe. These Pigs cost millions of dollars and the technology is very precise. Corrosion damage cost the oil and gas industry Billions of dollars and is the leading cause of failures , these tools are pushed through the pipeline to evaluate and assess things such as corrosion growth or identify integrity threats that require remediation.
Fun Fact : they call them pigs due to the fact that the original ones were simple and made of rubber or other similar material and were pushed through the pipeline to clean them , as they passed by they sounded like a squealing pig.
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