Choosing the Right Steel Wire Brush to Effectively Clean Your Pipeline -1
May 31, 2009 – 7:50 pmFlat Wire Brush:
This Steel wire Brush is usually made of carbon steel, but also available in stainless steel and
nylon material for special applications. Flat wire brushes typically come in a
wrap around style or a spring loaded block brush style. The wire on this Steel wire Brush is
flat by design and due to its size and shape does not recoil or penetrate corrosion
pits well. Flat wire brushes are primarily used to remove dirt, scale and larger
types of debris build up from the inner pipe wall. Flat wire brushes should be
used to pave the way for other types of brushes that are designed to probe deeper
into pits.
● Round Wire Brush:
Made of carbon or stainless steel, the diameter and shape of this Steel wire Brush is
ideal for penetrating and cleaning corrosion pits. The effectiveness of using
round wire brushes can be contributed to the varied trim lengths, the bristles
lengths are uneven, which allows the Steel wire Brush to clean corrosion pits more
effectively. In addition, this style of wire has excellent rebound, rendering it more
effective as it traverses wall thickness changes allowing the brush to spring into
varying crevasses within the pipeline. Round Steel wire Brush can be manufactured
into a wrap around or spring loaded block style and because of their versatility,
this type of brush will still allow most pigs to safely pass 1.5D bend radii and
25% restrictions.
● Pencil Brush:
Constructed of fine, round wire, pencil Steel wire Brush have an even trim length and are
best used to remove rust and loose debris from inside the pipeline. Pencil brushes
have good rebound which allows the brush to maintain a level of consistency as it
progresses through varying internal diameter changes but the way the brush must
be mounted to the cleaning mandrel decreases the versatility of the pig, making
the pig itself more rigid in nature, diminishing its ability to negotiate extensive
restrictions.
● Steel wire Brush:
Typically made of carbon or stainless steel, this type of brush is primarily used in
smaller pipeline diameters and is usually not as aggressive in nature due to its fine
wire diameter and excessive flexibility.
● Scrub Brush:
This type of brush is commonly wrapped around the circumference of foam pigs.
The bristles are made of fine wire which is extremely short, usually not more than
3/8 of an inch long. This type of brush is excellent as a finishing or polishing
brush and will bring a shine to the inner pipe wall, ensuring a smooth surface.
Each of the previously mentioned brushes has a specific function in the realm of
pipeline cleaning. In addition to each brush having its own set of unique characteristics
many other factors should be considered to achieve the best cleaning results such as,
bristle length, wire diameter, pig design, pipeline bend radii and potential restrictions the
cleaning pig may have to pass through. For example, a 24-inch cleaning pig equipped
with cups, scraper discs and flat wire wrap brushes may be designed to safely traverse
1.5D bend radii and 25% restrictions. This type of pig design would be able to pass
through these pipeline features because of its basic configuration, length, placement and
type of brushes on the pig body. However, take the same pig configuration but
incorporate pencil brushes instead of wrap brushes and the dynamics of that pig will
drastically change. This is because pencil Steel wire Brush are mounted onto the pig differently
than a wrap brush. In addition, to achieve the best cleaning outcome, the trim length of a
pencil brush must be manufactured to a certain dimension in respect to the pipeline in
which it’s running; this dimension is typically shorter than that of a wrap brush.
Therefore, because of the different brush style, method of mounting and bristle
dimensions, pencil brushes tend to be less forgiving, resulting in the same 24-inch
cleaning pig being able to only pass through 3D bend radii and restrictions far less than
25%.
In conclusion, it is highly recommended that all aspects of the pipeline in question
be considered before choosing a cleaning pig equipped with Steel wire Brush. No one pig or one
specific type of brush is the answer to obtaining a clean pipeline, but using a combination
of pigs equipped with various types of brushes will effectively clean the pipeline system,
help maintain its integrity and will increase its efficiency.
Tags: Steel Wire Brush, wire brush
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