3 ms·
I imagine it can get stuck easily; how do you deal with the jammed pipeline then?
by orbital-decay 3y ago
I imagine it can get stuck easily; how do you deal with the jammed pipeline then?
- iamthemonster 3y agoPressurise one side or depressurise another side. If it's truly stuck you have to hot tap the pipeline.
- Etheryte 3y agoReverse the flow and pump it backwards. As far as I know it's not too common of an occurrence though.
- m463 3y agoI wonder if you could just send in another pig.
- bell-cot 3y agoIANAME (...Mechanical Engineer), but I'll bet "generally no". A pig is propelled by the pressure difference across it, in the pipeline. Having two pigs in the line means they're splitting the available pressure drop - and the line is only rated for so much pressure. (Yes, in "no other way" situations you might deploy a far more complex, battery- or remotely-powered "snake pig". That'd be really cool & interesting...but also a much more expensive and unpredictable scenario. And pipelines are a big thing because they're cheap and reliable.
- jtbayly 3y agoMore to the point, I imagine a stuck pig blocks the flow, meaning you couldn’t get the second pig to go anywhere, because there wouldn’t be any flow.
- EE84M3i 3y agoThe Zapphod Beebleborx approach?
- ksherlock 3y agoI wouldn't clear a clogged toilet by taking another dump.