pipe freezing

Distributor in S. Korea Completes Freeze Seal Test On 24” Pipe With New Accu-Freeze® Jacket And Valve Manifold Prototype

December, 2014—GEOS Co., Ltd. is the agent in South Korea for COB Industries’ Qwik-Freezer® and Accu-Freeze® Pipe Freezing Systems, and they were contracted by a large power utility company to conduct a feasibility study with regards to performing freeze seals on large diameter steam lines. Directors from GEOS visited COB Industries in Florida to discuss this project, and COB Industries experts explained that while steam cannot be frozen there is a possibility of back-filling lines with water and creating freeze seals to isolate the lines which would accomplish the primary goal.

Following subsequent meetings in Seol, GEOS was then given the green light to contract with COB to conduct the first phase of testing by conducting a Freeze Seal Test using Accu-Freeze® equipment on a 24” Carbon Steel Pipe. GEOS and COB met once again and COB proposed a custom 24” Liquid Nitrogen Freeze Jacket with multiple LN2 inlets, a manifold prototype including multiple Accu-Freeze® solenoid valves and a custom control box containing (4) Accu-Freeze® digital controllers (see photos below). COB Industries built the equipment and shipped it to S. Korea where the test was conducted by GEOS personnel. The test was 100% successful and an ice plug was formed over a 16 hour period and then pressure was applied to pressure test the 24” ice plug to over 140 PSI.

COB Industries has been manufacturing Pipe Freezing Systems for over 45 years and their patented Accu-Freeze® equipment is used by the U.S. Navy, power plants and mechanical contractors around the world.

1. Custom 24” Accu-Freeze® Jacket
2. 2. A600 Freeze Test Set-up Configuration
3. Formation of 24” Ice Plug
4. Pressure Testing 24” Ice Plug

For more information contact Cletus O’Brien or Troy Palmer at www.cob-industries.com

or call 321-723-3200.

<h2>COB Industries Accu-Freeze 12 inch freeze seal</h2>

April 2014— Accu-Freeze was used by a mechanical contractor in Montreal to perform a freeze seal on a 12” water main in the boiler room of the CBC Building in downtown Montreal. A freeze seal, or “ice plug” was required in order to change out an old valve that was seized up without having to shut down or drain out the system. They decided to contact COB Industries in order to purchase Accu-Freeze® equipment and to receive training to prepare them to tackle a critical job of this nature. In addition, they hired COB to provide a pipe freezing specialist to be on hand as a consultant while the job was carried out. The job was scheduled for the third week in April.

After a one-day Accu-Freeze® training session with COB Industries, the freeze seal was performed at the CBC building. An ice plug was achieved in approximately 6 hours in spite of moderate vibration caused by a nearby pump (vibration causes turbulence in the water inside the pipe which impedes the freezing process). Once the presence of ice plug was confirmed the old valve was disassembled and removed and the new valve was hoisted into position and attached. The valve replacement took approximately 2 hours and the ice plug was maintained throughout the process. Once the new valve was in place, the Accu-Freeze® equipment was removed, and within 2 – 3 hours the plug had thawed and the system was fully operational again.

COB Industries has been manufacturing Qwik-Freezer® (portable CO2 Pipe Freezing Kits) for over 45 years and the patented Accu-Freeze® LN2 Freeze Systems for 20 years. Accu-Freeze® is a digitally controlled Liquid Nitrogen Pipe Freezing system that automates the LN2 injections and provides the ability to control the pipe wall temperature throughout the freeze seal process. Accu-Freeze® is in use worldwide at power generating facilities, power plants, at US Navy shipyards and by mechanical contractors and building maintenance personnel in many countries.