Inflatable Pipeline Spheres by Girard Industries

Girard Polyurethane Spheres

• Minimize product contamination when used to separate fluids being transported through a pipeline.
• Purge air and dewater during hydrostatic testing.
• Confirm accuracy of flow meters.
• Pass through out-of-round pipe.
• Navigate through tees, ells and full-port valves.
• Are suitable for automatic launching.
• Remove condensate and paraffin build-up.

Typical Uses of Girard Polyurethane Spheres

• Liquid Batch Separation. Girard spheres are used for separating various products such as gasolines, fuel oils, crude oils, jet fuels, and other petroleum products transported through a pipeline. Product integrity is maintained while navigating tees and ells.
    
• Line Testing. Girard spheres purge air from the pipeline to insure accurate hydrostatic testing. This is achieved by inserting a sphere ahead of the water column which displaces the air. Girard spheres can remain in the line throughout all phases of testing. Once the test is complete, the spheres are used to dewater the pipeline.
    
• Line Maintenance. Girard spheres maintain pipeline integrity by removing paraffin and condensate. During pipeline corrosion control maintenance, spheres are used to batch corrosion inhibitors.
    
• Meter provers. Girard spheres gauge volume displacement to confirm the accuracy of flow meters.

GSY - GSG - GSR 

Girard spheres are manufactured in a range of durometers for meter prover and pipeline applications. The GSY (yellow) is designed for meter prover use and the GSG (green) and GSR (red) are designed for pipeline use. Girard spheres are

 available in sizes from 2" to 36".

Maximum benefits are obtained when spheres are properly filled and sized. Specific applications will determine the most effective sizing and filler fluid to be used. In general, Girard spheres should be sized 1% larger than pipe ID. Information on recommended use is available from Corrosion Control Products Company.

Sphere Pump from Girard

A pump is recommended to properly inflate a Girard sphere. The pump is easy to operate by placing the appropriate fluid in the filling cup, attaching the hose to the valve body in the sphere, and manually pressing the handle. The pump and attachments are available from Girard Industries.