ITC-PL

 

Pipeline: ITC-PL

ITC-PL is BrainDrip’s Innervated Tubular Composite product specifically designed and manufactured for pipeline applications, using our mobile on-site manufacturing system. ITC-PL is a novel solution that addresses the aging and outdated gas and liquids distribution and transmission piping system in the United States and throughout the world, while also providing a greenfield direct burial solution in new pipeline applications. With customizability at the heart of the design and continuous health and risk monitoring embedded into the product, you get the exact product needed for the application at the lowest price point and with operational confidence over the lifetime of the product. 

ITC-PL Product Advantages

Product diameters ranging from 6 inch to 36 inch: Every project needs the right pipe diameter for the application to meet design requirements for flow, operating pressure, as well as other considerations such as line packing. The ITC-PL was designed for large diameters to fill the need in the distribution and transmission markets. Our novel design and manufacturing process allows us to apply the same materials, manufacturing techniques, quality assurance/quality control, and continuous operational health and risk monitoring to ITC-PL diameters as small as 6 inches, as large as 36 inches, and anywhere in between.

 

Pressure ranges exceeding 3,500 psig: With customizability at the heart of the design, we control the level of composite reinforcement needed to make the product for a given on-site manufacturing system. This allows us to target the optimal operating pressure requirements for the project, optimizing cost while maintaining the design safety factor. Whether your project requires moving low pressure liquids, high pressure flammable gases, or anything in between, ITC-PL is an attractive solution.

 

Optimized manufacturing process quality control with cutting edge proprietary automation: Computer vision-based machine learning algorithms are deployed in key areas of the manufacturing process, ensuring that ITC-PL meets BrainDrip’s high quality standards and industry leading specifications. ML based algorithms continuously monitor the liner polymer weld processes to ensure their integrity. In addition, vision systems provide closed-loop control of the precise application of our proprietary micro-rope fiber appointment, continuously optimizing reinforcement pitch, tension, and other key parameters as part of the fully automated manufacturing process.

 

Continuous segment lengths exceeding 10 miles in rehabilitation applications: Because the ITC-PL is manufactured on-site and is not a spooled product, the maximum continuous length of the product can exceed 10 miles and is dependent on the product diameter, pressure rating, and pathway of the host pipe in the segment.  

 

Compatibility with a wide range of gases and liquids: ITC-PL is designed for compatibility with natural gas, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, water, NGL’s, gasoline and diesel fuel, methanol, and many other gases and liquids. With changing markets especially prevalent in the energy sector, installing a product designed for a gas or liquid today should also meet the needs of the markets in 2045. For this reason, the ITC-PL was designed to provide broad fluid compatibility. Our composite liner combines base polymer materials with novel coextrusions and materials to not only provide fluid compatibility, but also to mitigate the effects of permeation. The ITC-PL has been specifically designed to meet the challenging and unique requirements of hydrogen which includes natural gas/hydrogen blends, allowing for seamless future transition from natural gas to gas blends all the way to pure hydrogen.   

 

Small footprint on-site manufacturing, with ITC-PL production rates exceeding 1 mile per day: Whether your project includes rehabilitation of a buried pipe running through a sensitive environmental area, or you are direct burying a new pipe in a greenfield application, our on-site manufacturing provides significant benefits. When combined with continuous segment lengths exceeding 10 miles, rehabilitation of the buried pipe through the sensitive environmental area can be completed without its disruption through a two-point access on either side of the area. With a compact 53-foot footprint, on-site manufacturing is accomplished at production rates of 10 ft/min ensure the project is completed quickly and at low cost, while minimizing the time and physical disruption to the surroundings. 

 

Embedded health and risk monitoring system: BrainDrip’s health and risk monitoring system is designed for and fully integrated into ITC-PL. This system combines distributed fiber optic sensing, traditional sensors, and advanced algorithms to detect third party threats such as encroachment, disruptions from events such as landslides, product health monitoring through composite strain measurement, leak detection, as well as performance metrics such as operating pressure, temperature, and flow conditions. ITC-PL is continuously monitored over the entire lifetime of the asset, providing you with unparalleled operational confidence.  

Energy Storage: ITC-SV

ITC-SV is BrainDrip’s Innervated Tubular Composite product specifically designed and manufactured for energy storage applications, using our mobile on-site manufacturing system. ITC-SV is a medium and large-scale energy storage solution that fills the gap between small scale stationary storage systems (type I-IV tanks) and extremely large-scale geologic storage. Through BrainDrip’s innovative ITC design, construction materials, and assembly, ITC-SV provides cost effective storage with high cyclability and throughput. ITC-SV also provides deep cycles, allowing operators to minimize the amount of cushion gas needed while utilizing a higher overall percentage of the stored fluid - a significant improvement compared to other storage technologies. Finally, ITC-SV can be installed in a number of different geometries, optimizing to the site requirements and cost of land.

The customizability of ITC-SV allows for the system to be optimized to a target outlet pressure, matching ITC-SV to the specific downstream application pressure and throughput requirements. With customizability at the heart of the design and continuous health and risk monitoring embedded into the product, you get the exact product needed for the application at the lowest price point and with operational confidence over the lifetime of the product.

ITC-SV Product Advantages

Cost Effective Storage Capacities Starting at 1000 MCF Natural Gas and 2,000 kg H2: ITC-SV was developed to address the market gap for medium to large scale energy storage that can be installed in any geographic location. Our portable manufacturing platform enables individual ITC-SV segments to extend multiple miles in length, providing significant storage capacity while minimizing the number of joints and fittings. The on-site manufacturing method reduces costs by enabling shipment of bulk materials to the site rather than pre-fabricated short storage segments that must conform to DOT restrictions. ITC-SV’s storage capacities provide a superior alternative solution compared to the deployment of Type I-IV ground storage arrays, as ITC-SV can be direct buried, can be installed above ground without concrete pads or other support infrastructure, and provides superior storage capacity per unit land area. ITC-SV’s storage capacities also enable direct competition with liquid conversion and storage solutions such as liquid natural gas and liquid hydrogen, eliminating the energetic penalties of the liquefaction and regasification processes while providing storage capacities unattainable with more traditional gaseous storage vessels. In addition, BrainDrip’s Health and Risk Management System provides embedded and continuous high spatial resolution health monitoring of the ITC-SV asset, providing unparalleled operating confidence in the product over any other liquid or gas storage solution. There is no upper bound on the storage capacity of ITC-SV and additional capacity can be installed and integrated into the system as needed.       

 

No geographical installation constraints: Unlike ground storage solutions such as depleted fields, salt caverns, and aquifers, ITC-PL does not require finding geologic structures and can be installed in any geographic location. In addition, because ITC-PL is an independently constructed composite structure with BrainDrip’s embedded HRMS, the risk of failure of the system is dramatically reduced in comparison to storage solutions that rely on the structure, stability, and containment of a geologic feature.

 

Multiple installation geometries for optimizing to land availability or cost: For locations where the land availability is high and/or the cost of land is low, ITC-PL can be installed as a single horizontal layer at the site in the desired geometry. For example, ITC-PL can be installed in the “pitchfork” configuration, where individual ITC segments multiple miles in length can be manufactured on-site and combined to form the storage network. When the amount of available land is limited and/or the cost of land is high, individual ITC-PL installation segments can be installed vertically into the ground in the “Silo” configuration. In the Silo configuration, existing foundation drilling rig technology is used to enable ITC segments to be installed hundreds of feet deep, providing a high storage density within a very small land footprint. For complex sites or those having unique requirements, hybrid installation of ITC-PL is possible, leveraging a combination of installation methods networked together through additional adjoining segments.  

 

High Cyclability: Due to multiple innovations in BrainDrip’s core ITC and manufacturing technologies, the cyclability of ITC-PL is high compared to competitor storage solutions. With independent axial and radial reinforcement within the composite structure, innovations in the formation of the composite reinforcement structure, and dry fit construction without the need for crosslinking and bonding between layers, ITC-PL is highly resistant to cyclic fatigue and cracking which constrains the performance of competitor products. In addition, as ITC-PL’s storage capacity approaches that of geologic storage solutions, ITC-PL’s cyclability provides high throughput and low cushion gas requirements, outperforming the slow cycle limitations of geologic systems in many operating scenarios. Finally, BrainDrip’s integrated HRMS provides continuous validation of the ITC-SV product health in harsh cycling conditions through strain monitoring of the composite structure.  

 

Storage Pressures up to 7500 psi: Storage pressure is a critical design element in the successful completion of an energy storage project, and in the determination of its cost. The customizability of the ITC-SV design and manufacturing enable tailoring the product to the exact requirements of a specific storage application. This customizability enables cost optimization for the application by designing to the exact storage capacity, pressure, and cycle requirements rather than picking a storage solution that is the “closest match”. In addition, for energy storage applications where multiple pressure levels are desired, multiple ITC-PL design variants can be installed and integrated with compression, expansion, thermal management, and other equipment. Through the independent application of axial and radial reinforcement layers within the product along with design variants in end couplers, ITC-SV can be manufactured for storage pressures up to 7500 psi, providing significant storage density and supply pressure when needed for downstream applications.       

 

Compatibility with a wide range of gases and liquids, blends: ITC-SV is designed for compatibility with natural gas, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, water, NGL’s, gasoline and diesel fuel, methanol, and many other gases and liquids. With changing markets especially prevalent in the energy sector, installing a product designed for a gas or liquid today should also meet the needs of the markets in 2045. For this reason, the ITC-SV was designed to provide broad fluid compatibility. Our composite liner combines base polymer materials with novel coextrusions and materials to not only provide fluid compatibility, but also to mitigate the effects of permeation. The ITC-SV has been specifically designed to meet the challenging and unique requirements of hydrogen which includes natural gas/hydrogen blends, allowing for seamless future transition from natural gas to gas blends all the way to pure hydrogen.

 

Low maintenance costs: Due primarily to the ability of individual continuous ITC-SV segments to be manufactured on the scale of multiple miles, the number of valves, connections, and other fittings are significantly reduced compared to traditional ground storage solutions. For this reason, ITC-SV has very low maintenance costs compared to competitor products.    

 

Embedded health and risk monitoring system: BrainDrip’s health and risk monitoring system is designed for and fully integrated into ITC-SV. This system combines distributed fiber optic sensing, traditional sensors, and advanced algorithms to detect third party threats such as encroachment, disruptions from events such as landslides, product health monitoring through composite strain measurement, leak detection, as well as performance metrics such as operating pressure, temperature, and flow conditions. ITC-SV is continuously monitored over the entire lifetime of the asset, providing you with unparalleled operational confidence. Click here for more information on BrainDrip’s HRMS (provide link to HRMS service).