Mechanical behaviors of pipeline inspection gauge (pig) in launching process based on Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) method

Successful launching of the pig is the premise for ensuring the efficiency and accuracy of the pigging operation. This study investigates the effect of the flow field on pig launching by the three-dimensional (3D) fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model based on the Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) method for the first time. Besides, the flow field experiment and the dragging experiment are conducted to verify the reliability of the simulation results. Four parameters as friction force, mandrel flip angle, pig velocity, cup deformation are selected to describe the mechanical behaviors of the pig. Research results indicate that the flow field has a significant effect on contact behaviors between the pig and the pipeline in the pig running-in stage but less effect on that in the steady stage, which presents the necessity of the FSI simulation for investigating the pig launching process.

Automated summary

This study investigates the effect of the flow field on pig launching using a three-dimensional fluid-structure interaction model. The reliability of the simulation results is verified through flow field and dragging experiments. The research indicates that the flow field significantly affects the contact behaviors between the pig and the pipeline in the pig running-in stage.