Abstract
Since 1980, nearly 3000km of oil and natural gas pipelines coated with fusion bonded epoxy resin have been laid in Australia. Because the Australian pipeline industry had no prior experience with fusion bonded epoxy, the specifications used for factory and field coating of pipe were mostly derived from specifications already developed in the United States of America, Canada, Britain and Europe. At that time, none of those countries had assembled a nationally accepted Standard, and only two, Canada and Germany have since published a national standard for the application of fusion bonded epoxy resin to pipelines. (Ref. 1,2)
Because of the rapid accumulation of experience and a desire to provide the entire industry with a soundly based national standard, after prompting by the pipeline industry, the Standards Association of Australia assembled a group of appropriately qualified industry representatives to prepare a Standard for the application of fusion bonded epoxy on line pipe. The Standard is almost complete and should be issued in draft form for public comment in November 1986.
This paper provides the history of fusion bonded epoxy coating of line pipe in Australia and includes a detailed description of the draft Australian Standard, together with options for a number of tests on materials and applied coating which could gain acceptance in the industry.
It is hoped that the publication and use of a standard for application of fusion bonded epoxy resin on line pipe will result in a uniformity of requirements which should assist suppliers and users to reduce costs and further improve the quality of fusion bonded epoxy coating.
