inPIPE PRODUCTS launches Mag-TRAX Magnetic Pig Signaller

UK-based pipeline pigging specialist iNPIPE PRODUCTS has launched its new non-intrusive Mag-TRAX Magnetic Pig Signaller, which enables operators to detect and monitor the passage of pigs without cutting into or welding equipment onto pipelines

What is a pipeline pig?

Pipeline pigs play an important role in pipeline maintenance and inspection. A pipeline pig is a self-contained device that travels inside a pipeline, driven by differential pressure or flow, to perform mechanical tasks such as cleaning, separating, or inspection. Intelligent pigs provide data. These are equipped with sensors and onboard electronics to measure wall thickness, detect metal loss and corrosion, and record defects

What is a pig signaller?

The pig signaller, also known as a pig detector, is a device installed on a pipeline to detect the movement of the pig. used to indicate the pig has left the launcher, arrived in a receiver or passed a certain point in the pipeline. PIg signallers can be:
• Intrusive pig signallers: These feature a mechanical probe or trigger that extends directly into the interior of the pipeline.
• Non-intrusive pig signallers: These are mounted on the outside wall of the pipeline without piercing or opening the pipe, using external sensing technologies to detect the pig.

What does the Mag-TRAX Magnetic Pig Signaller do?

inPIPE’s non-intrusive Mag-TRAX Magnetic Pig Signaller is clamped to the pipe externally and detects the magnetic field generated by a pig as it passes. It can be quickly installed, removed, and repositioned, making it particularly suited to contractors moving between pipeline projects.

The technology can be used across the pipeline sector, including liquid and gas pipeline applications, where pigs are routinely used for cleaning, maintenance, and inspection.
Suitable for pipelines from two to 72 inches in diameter, it uses digital signal processing to distinguish a passing pig from background interference and can detect through carbon steel, stainless steel, and specialist alloys up to 60mm thick.

When multiple units are integrated with iNPIPE’s Phoenix Debris Mapping Tool, operators can monitor its progress and ensure it is travelling at the optimum speed.
The new technology complements iNPIPE’s established intrusive pig signallers, which are welded to pipelines and use a mechanical trigger activated as a pig passes. Together, they form part of the company’s wider range of pipeline pigging, maintenance, isolation, and testing equipment supplied to customers worldwide.

Managing director Simon Bell said, “Mechanical pig signallers have been part of the industry for decades and our intrusive signallers continue to be widely used and specified because they’re proven, reliable and effective.

“Some projects require a signaller that operators or contractors can install quickly, without welding or penetrating the pipeline.

“Mag-TRAX offers that flexibility, while its digital capabilities provide operators with precise data. It can self-calibrate and remotely triggered, making it particularly useful where information needs to be fed back to a control room, as well as monitored directly in the field.”

He added that the initial response has been very encouraging, with customers ordering multiple units, including an oil and gas company in South America.

Available as a portable battery-powered unit or permanent 24V DC version, the bidirectional Mag-TRAX can store up to 99 time-stamped events of passage, with data viewed on its LCD display, downloaded to a PC, or transmitted to a SCADA control system.