SmartPad System Components

The RedLineIPS SmartPad System is comprised of components that are NOT new on the market. They all are components and parts that have been in the market for many years and have been studied, tested, validated, and revalidated by their respective manufacturers and independent labs for many years, or even decades. These existing components, however, have been integrated and utilized in a new and innovative way to achieve the following goals:

Remedy the CUPS problem for the petrochemical and gas industries.
Allow quick and inexpensive visual pipe corrosion inspection instead of the typical costly and time-consuming methods such as radiography, ultrasound, X-ray, etc.
Be usable on both new and existing piping systems.
Drastically reduce the overall cost of ownership for clients.

Cogbill’s RedLineIPS SmartPad System is composed of the following components:

Composite (FRP) SmartPad
Hydroseal Gasket
FRP SmartBands and Buckles
SmartTool

Composite (FRP) SmartPad

The SmartPad’s exoskeleton is a composite material component consisting of many layers of continuous strand mat laminated and infused with top-quality vinyl ester resin. The pads are designed, manufactured, and tested specifically for use as pipe supports. On the other hand, most manufacturers of traditional epoxied-on FRP wear pads re-purpose low-cost filament wound FRP ducts or pipe/tubing. These are designed to carry corrosive internal media but were never designed to be used as pipe supports.

Continuous Strand Mat

Also, through our specialized manufacturing process, we create custom SmartPads with meticulous precision, ensuring they perfectly match the specific outer diameter of each pipe. This meticulous craftsmanship ensures an impeccable seal between the pad and the protected pipe, elevating the system’s performance and dependability.

The SmartPad’s fiber-reinforced composite material boasts an impressive combination of features:

High Load Capacity: Crafted from robust FRP material, the SmartPad undergoes rigorous third-party lab testing, demonstrating a compressive strength exceeding 90,000 lbs. This makes it a stalwart choice for supporting pipes, both small and large, surpassing traditional steel pipes that deform sooner in lab testing than the FRP pads.
Low-Friction Outer Surface: The SmartPad’s low-friction outer surface minimizes resistance between the pad and the support structure. This ensures a smooth glide, allowing the pad and pipe combination to move effortlessly over support structures during upset movements. This feature reduces wear on both the pipe and support structure while maintaining the pad in its designated location.
UV Stability: The composite material of SmartPads exhibits UV stability, enabling it to endure prolonged exposure to sunlight without degradation. This quality is particularly crucial in outdoor and marine applications where constant sunlight exposure is a factor.
Rigorous Load Testing: SmartPads undergo extensive load testing, ensuring optimal performance in the most challenging environments. This guarantees reliability and durability, making them ideal for safeguarding large pipes with heavy contents in demanding settings like marine and offshore installations.

Each SmartPad is meticulously designed with two recessed grooves, a crucial feature that securely houses the SmartBands during application. This prevents SmartBands from slipping out of place as the pads move with the natural motions of the pipes on their supports. This thoughtful engineering ensures the ongoing stability and reliability of the entire pipe support system, allowing SmartPads to effectively protect pipes from external corrosion even in dynamic environments where pipes may experience movement, shifting, or adjustments due to various factors.

Pipes commonly undergo movement due to thermal fluctuations, including expansion and contraction. These variations result from seasonal changes, daily temperature shifts, or alterations in industrial processes. In some cases, this movement can exceed the length of the SmartPad, causing it to lose its effective position between the pipe and its supporting structure. To address this challenge and facilitate the return of the pipe and pad to their original intended location, our SmartPads feature intelligently engineered sloped edges on both sides. This innovative design streamlines the process for the pipe/pad combination to “climb back” to their original location, significantly reducing the risk of pad damage or detachment, especially during unforeseen movements within the piping system.

SmartPad Features:

SmartPad Exoskeleton: SmartPads are constructed from layers of continuous strand mat meticulously impregnated and saturated with premium vinyl ester resin.
Purpose-Built Design: Pads are designed and rigorously tested to function as FRP pipe supports from the ground up.
UV Stability and Load Testing: SmartPads are UV-stable and load-tested to ensure reliability in harsh conditions, especially in coastal and offshore facilities, and to support large-size pipes (with heavy contents).
Groove Design: SmartPad grooves prevent SmartBands from slipping or damaging the pipe, as well as protect the bands, the SmartPads, and the supporting structure.
Sloped Edges: This design feature of the SmartPads aids pad/pipe repositioning after an upset movement, ensuring continued functionality and reliability.
Vibration Dampening: SmartPads dampen vibration, thus boosting impact resistance and safety.
Customizable Design: The RedLineIPS SmartPads are customizable in terms of length, thickness, and angle of coverage, to accommodate varying needs and requirements.
The RedLineIPS SmartPad has a wide operating temperature range: -60°F to 400°F (-51°C to 204°C), making it a versatile and effective pipe support suitable for a variety of uses and environments.

Hydroseal Gasket

The Hydroseal gasket in our SmartPad is a crucial element in preventing water infiltration at the pad-pipe interface, mitigating corrosion risks. With a closed-cell structure resembling a “memory foam mattress” for pipes, this gasket snugly conforms to the pipe’s outer surface upon compression. This is achieved through the tightening of the SmartBands and also the weight of the pipe itself. The gasket enhances impact resistance and dampens vibration effectively. The design also allows protection for older pipes with uneven surfaces, a feature lacking in traditional epoxied-on FRP pads that require a smooth surface for proper adhesion.

What sets our Hydroseal gasket apart is its ability to create a watertight NEMA 4 seal between a pipe and the SmartPad’s exoskeleton when compressed. This innovation addresses a common issue with FRP wear pads and similar solutions relying on epoxy for sealing, as it eliminates the possibility of moisture entrapment between the pad and the pipe. By removing moisture from the equation, the formation of corrosion cells becomes impossible.

Unlike epoxied-on FRP pads, our Hydroseal gasket permits SmartPads to be installed without roughening the pipe’s surface, a process necessary for proper adhesion with epoxy. The Hydroseal gasket’s innovative feature lies in its ability to create a watertight NEMA 4-rated seal between the pipe and the SmartPad’s exoskeleton when compressed. In contrast, traditional FRP pads rely on an epoxy perimeter bead, introducing complexities and environmental dependencies for successful installation.

Our Hydroseal gaskets stand out for their versatility, available in a wide range of long-life materials such as Silicone, PTFE, EPDM, and more. This ensures adaptability to diverse applications, including chemically corrosive environments. The elimination of a perimeter epoxy seal, coupled with a simplified installation process, minimizes the risk of faulty installations, offering long-term protection against corrosion—a distinct advantage over traditional epoxied-on pads.

Hydroseal Gasket Features:

Resilient, closed-cell elastomer conforms to the pipe’s outer surface, forming a waterproof, NEMA 4 seal when compressed.
Eliminates the need for a perimeter epoxy seal.
Ensures the absence of moisture entrapment between pipe and pad while preventing faulty installations.
Offers a wide temperature range (-60°F to 570°F) or (-51°C to 300°C).
Crafted from long-life materials like Silicone, PTFE, EPDM, etc.
Provides chemical-resistant options.
Ideal for challenging environments, including coastal and offshore.

What is NEMA 4?

NEMA 4 is a rating SYSTEM established by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) in the United States, defining the level of protection for electrical enclosures in outdoor or industrial settings against environmental factors such as water and dust. NEMA-4 enclosures, including the SmartPad’s gasket, are designed to be watertight and dust-tight, offering a high level of protection against elements like rain, sleet, snow, splashing water, hose-directed water, and solid foreign objects such as dirt or dust.

The NEMA-4 rating on the SmartPad’s gasket reflects meticulous engineering to create an effective barrier when compressed. This barrier prevents the infiltration of water and other potentially harmful substances between the pipe and the SmartPad, effectively mitigating corrosion-related issues.

FRP SmartBands & Buckles

Our SmartBands play a pivotal role in securely fastening the SmartPads to pipes. Crafted from heavy-duty continuous-strand fiber-reinforced polymer, these bands are entirely free of metallic components. Fastened with precision using the SmartTool, once tensioned, they exhibit remarkable stability, resisting any slippage or detachment—removable only through cutting.

The substantial tension applied by the SmartTool, coupled with the pipe’s weight, effectively compresses the Hydroseal gasket, establishing a robust and enduring NEMA-4 watertight seal. This seal acts as a barrier, preventing water accumulation between the pads and the pipe, thereby averting corrosion (CUPS) over time.

The square teeth on each SmartBand are strategically designed to maintain constant tension. This ensures the persistence of the NEMA-4 seal throughout the estimated 20 to 30-year lifecycle of the SmartPad, and potentially even longer. The SmartBands, with their reliable performance, contribute significantly to the long-term integrity and functionality of the SmartPad System.

SmartBand Features:

Heavy-duty Continuous-Strand Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Straps and Buckles: Crafted from robust continuous-strand fiber-reinforced polymer, our SmartBands and buckles combination offer unparalleled strength, durability and efficiency. Most competing products use short-strand fibers, which greatly reduces their resiliency and strength.
All-Composite, Non-Metallic, Non-Corrosive: Entirely composed of non-metallic materials, the SmartBand system is resistant to corrosion, ensuring longevity and reliability.
Smooth Inner Surface, Safe on a Pipe’s Coated Surface: The smooth inner surface of the bands ensures they are gentle on a pipe’s coated surface, preventing any damage during installation or use.
Low-Profile Buckles: The low-profile design of the buckles enhances the system’s sleek and unobtrusive profile.
High Strength: Despite their non-metallic composition, SmartBands exhibit high strength, withstanding forces of up to 5,793 pounds per square inch.
Long-life Materials: Engineered from materials designed for long-term use, ensuring the SmartBand system’s resilience over an extended lifespan.
Safe and Easy to Fit: The system is designed with user safety in mind, offering an easy and secure fitting process.
High-Speed Installation: With a focus on efficiency, the SmartBand system facilitates high-speed installation, reducing installation time and equipment downtime.
High Retention Force: SmartBands boast a high retention force, providing a secure and steadfast connection between the SmartPads and pipes.
Suitable for Subsea Use: The system’s robust construction makes it suitable for subsea applications, where durability and ease of use are paramount.
Square Teeth Design Guarantees Enduring Tension: The square teeth design ensures that tension remains constant and long-lasting, contributing to the enduring reliability of the SmartBand system.

SmartTool

The RedLineIPS SmartTools are designed specifically to tighten SmartBands with ease and precision, achieving two critical objectives for the SmartPad System:

Compressing the Hydroseal Gasket: SmartTools exert ample force to compress the Hydroseal gasket, ensuring a watertight NEMA-4 rating. This guarantees long-term prevention of water ingress at the pipe/pad interface, enhancing the system’s performance and reliability.
Securing SmartPads: By fastening the SmartPads to the pipe with optimal tension, SmartTools prevent any sliding or displacement, maintaining the intended positioning throughout the system’s lifetime.

Available in various configurations, SmartTools can generate sufficient force to compress the gasket, independent of the pipe’s weight. Once tensioned, SmartBands remain secure, and their removal requires a straightforward cutting process.

Constructed from high-grade composite and metallic materials, SmartTools can withstand high force levels without damage. The ergonomic design ensures user convenience and efficient operation. Additionally, the built-in clipping mechanism facilitates the quick and easy removal of excess banding, streamlining the installation process.

SmartTool Variations:

Manual: Enables rapid and straightforward operation.
Mechanical: Provides precise application of specific force ratings, aligning with engineering standards.
Pneumatic: Facilitates the swift installation of a large number of SmartPads, enhancing efficiency.

SmartTool Features:

Fast and Easy to Use: Streamlined for efficiency and simplicity in operation.
Ergonomic Design: Designed with user comfort and safety in mind for optimal performance.
Manual, Mechanical, or Pneumatic: Versatility to cater to different installation requirements.
High Force Application: Capable of applying a high rate of force to establish a strong NEMA-4 watertight seal.
Built-in Clipping Mechanism: Allows for the easy and quick removal of excess banding material, improving efficiency and streamlining the installation process.
Usable Below the Waterline: Suitable for applications below the waterline, expanding the system’s capability and adaptability.

View the SmartPad System photo gallery –