9/22/2015

HydrostatictestWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Hydrostatictest
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Fortheautopsyprocedure,seelungfloattest.

Ahydrostatictestisawayinwhichpressurevesselssuchaspipelines,plumbing,gascylinders,boilersandfuel
tankscanbetestedforstrengthandleaks.Thetestinvolvesfillingthevesselorpipesystemwithaliquid,
usuallywater,whichmaybedyedtoaidinvisualleakdetection,andpressurizationofthevesseltothe
specifiedtestpressure.Pressuretightnesscanbetestedbyshuttingoffthesupplyvalveandobservingwhether
thereisapressureloss.Thelocationofaleakcanbevisuallyidentifiedmoreeasilyifthewatercontainsa
colorant.Strengthisusuallytestedbymeasuringpermanentdeformationofthecontainer.Hydrostatictesting
isthemostcommonmethodemployedfortestingpipesandpressurevessels.Usingthistesthelpsmaintain
safetystandardsanddurabilityofavesselovertime.Newlymanufacturedpiecesareinitiallyqualifiedusingthe
hydrostatictest.Theyarethenrequalifiedatregularintervalsusingtheproofpressuretestwhichisalsocalled
themodifiedhydrostatictest.Testingofpressurevesselsfortransportandstorageofgasesisveryimportant
becausesuchcontainerscanexplodeiftheyfailunderpressure.

Hydrostatictester

Contents
1Testingprocedures
2Examples
3Pipelinetesting
4Testingfrequency
5Seealso
6References
7Externallinks

Testingprocedures

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrostatic_test

1/4

9/22/2015

HydrostatictestWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Hydrostatictestsareconductedundertheconstraintsofeithertheindustry'sorthecustomer'sspecifications,ormayberequiredbylaw.Thevesselis
filledwithanearlyincompressibleliquidusuallywateroroilpressurisedtotestpressure,andexaminedforleaksorpermanentchangesinshape.
Redorfluorescentdyesmaybeaddedtothewatertomakeleakseasiertosee.Thetestpressureisalwaysconsiderablyhigherthantheoperating
pressuretogiveafactorofsafety.Thisfactorofsafetyistypically166.66%,143%or150%ofthedesignedworkingpressure,dependingonthe
regulationsthatapply.Forexample,ifacylinderwasratedtoDOT2015PSI(approximately139bar),itwouldbetestedataround3360PSI
(approximately232bar).Wateriscommonlyusedbecauseitischeapandeasilyavailable,andisusuallyharmlesstothesystemtobetested.
Hydraulicfluidsandoilsmaybespecifiedwherecontaminationwithwatercouldcauseproblems.Thesefluidsarenearlyincompressible,therefore
requiringrelativelylittleworktodevelopahighpressure,andisthereforealsoonlyabletoreleaseasmallamountofenergyincaseofafailureonly
asmallvolumewillescapeunderhighpressureifthecontainerfails.Ifhighpressuregaswereused,thenthegaswouldexpandtoV=(nRT)/pwithits
compressedvolumeresultinginanexplosion,withtheattendantriskofdamageorinjury.Thisistheriskwhichthetestingisintendedtomitigate.
Smallpressurevesselsarenormallytestedusingawaterjackettest.Thevesselisvisuallyexaminedfordefects
andthenplacedinacontainerfilledwithwater,andinwhichthechangeinvolumeofthevesselcanbe
measured,usuallybymonitoringthewaterlevelinacalibratedtube.Thevesselisthenpressurizedfora
specifiedperiod,usually30ormoreseconds,andifspecified,theexpansionwillbemeasuredbyreadingoffthe
amountofliquidthathasbeenforcedintothemeasuringtubebythevolumeincreaseofthepressurized
vessel.Thevesselisthendepressurized,andthepermanentvolumeincreaseduetoplasticdeformationwhile
underpressureismeasuredbycomparingthefinalvolumeinthemeasuringtubewiththevolumebefore
pressurization.Aleakwillgiveasimilarresulttopermanentset,butwillbedetectablebyholdingthevolumein
thepressurizedvesselbyclosingtheinletvalveforaperiodbeforedepressurizing,asthepressurewilldrop
steadilyduringthisperiodifthereisaleak.Inmostcasesapermanentsetthatexceedsthespecifiedmaximum
willindicatefailure.Aleakmayalsobeafailurecriterion,butitmaybethattheleakisduetopoorsealingof
thetestequipment.Ifthevesselfails,itwillnormallygothroughacondemningprocessmarkingthecylinderas
unsafe.

Waterjackettest

Theinformationneededtospecifythetestisstampedontothecylinder.Thisincludesthedesignstandard,
serialnumber,manufacturer,andmanufacturedate.Aftertesting,thevesseloritsnameplatewillusuallybe
stampmarkedwiththedateofthesuccessfultest,andthetestfacility'sidentificationmark.
Asimplertest,thatisalsoconsideredahydrostatictestbutcanbeperformedbyanyonewhohasagardenhose,istopressurizethevesselbyfillingit
withwaterandtophysicallyexaminetheoutsideforleaks.Thistypeoftestissuitableforcontainerssuchasboatfueltanks,whicharenotpressure
vesselsbutmustworkunderthehydrostaticpressureofthecontents.Ahydrostatictestheadisusuallyspecifiedasaheightabovethetanktop.The
tankispressurizedbyfillingwatertothespecifiedheightthroughatemporarystandpipeifnecessary.Itmaybenecessarytosealventsandother
outletsduringthetest.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrostatic_test

2/4

9/22/2015

HydrostatictestWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Examples
Portablefireextinguishersaresafetytoolsthatarerequiredtobeonhandinalmosteverypublicbuilding.Fireextinguishersarealsohighly
recommendedineveryhome.Overtimetheconditionsinwhichtheyarehoused,andthemannerinwhichtheyarehandledhaveanimpactonthe
structuralintegrityoftheextinguisher.Astructurallyweakenedfireextinguishercanmalfunctionorevenburstwhenitisneededthemost.To
maintainthequalityandsafetyofthisproduct,hydrostatictestingisutilized.Allcriticalcomponentsofthefireextinguishershouldbetestedtoensure
properfunction.

Pipelinetesting
Hydrotestingofpipes,pipelinesandvesselsisperformedtoexposedefectivematerialsthathavemissedpriordetection,ensurethatanyremaining
defectsareinsignificantenoughtoallowoperationatdesignpressures,exposepossibleleaksandserveasafinalvalidationoftheintegrityofthe
constructedsystem.ASMEB31.3requiresthistestingtoensuretightnessandstrength.
Buriedhighpressureoilandgaspipelinesaretestedforstrengthbypressurizingthemtoatleast125%oftheirmaximumallowableoperatingpressure
(MAOP)atanypointalongtheirlength.Sincemanylongdistancetransmissionpipelinesaredesignedtohaveasteelhoopstressof80%ofspecified
minimumyieldstrength(SMYS)atMAOP,thismeansthatthesteelisstressedtoSMYSandaboveduringthetesting,andtestsectionsmustbe
selectedtoensurethatexcessiveplasticdeformationdoesnotoccur.
Testpressuresneednotexceedavaluethatwouldproduceastresshigherthanyieldstressattesttemperature.ASMEB31.3section345.4.2(c)
Othercodesrequireamoreonerousapproach.BSPD80102requirestestingto150%ofthedesignpressurewhichshouldnotbelessthanthe
MAOPplussurgeandotherincidentaleffectsthatwilloccurduringnormaloperation.
Leaktestingisperformedbybalancingchangesinthemeasuredpressureinthetestsectionagainstthetheoreticalpressurechangescalculatedfrom
changesinthemeasuredtemperatureofthetestsection.
AustralianstandardAS2885.5"PipelinesGasandliquidpetroleum:Part5:Fieldpressuretesting"givesanexcellentexplanationofthefactors
involved.

Testingfrequency

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrostatic_test

3/4

9/22/2015

HydrostatictestWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Mostcountrieshavelegislationorbuildingcodethatrequirespressurevesselstoberegularlytested,forexampleeverytwoyears(withavisual
inspectionannually)forhighpressuregascylindersandeveryfiveortenyearsforlowerpressureonessuchasusedinfireextinguishers.Gascylinders
whichfailarenormallydestroyedaspartofthetestingprotocoltoavoidthedangersinherentinthembeingsubsequentlyused.
Thesecommongascylindershavethefollowingrequirements:
DOT3ALgascylindersmustbetestedevery5yearsandhaveanunlimitedlife.
DOT3HTgascylindersmustbetestedevery3yearsandhavea24yearlife.
DOT3AAgascylindersmustbetestedevery5yearsandhaveanunlimitedlife.(Unlessstampedwithastar(*)inwhichcasethecylindermeets
certainspecificationsandcanhavea10yearhydrostatictestlife).
TypicallyorganizationssuchasISO,ASTMandASMEspecifytheguidelinesforthedifferenttypesofpressurevessels.

Seealso
Pipelineprecommissioning

References
Externallinks
"OSHA"(http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/evacuation/portable_hydro.html).Retrieved20061005.
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hydrostatic_test&oldid=678915094"
Categories: Piping Engineering
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon1September2015,at11:46.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicense;additionaltermsmayapply.Byusingthissite,youagreetothe
TermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.WikipediaisaregisteredtrademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrostatic_test

4/4