PIPELINES DIVISION

Title: CONCRETE WEIGHT COATING Work Procedure No.: M L- 15

Revision No. :0
Effective from : 26.01.2004

1.0.0 SCOPE

1.1.0. This chapter covers the minimum requirements for the materials and
application of concrete coating to the exterior surface of line pipes to be used
for submerged crossing & water logged areas.

2.0.0 WORK PROCEDURE

2.1.0 Pipes shall be concrete coated to a minimum thickness as specified in

approved procedure & drawings.

2.2.0 The concrete unit weight shall be minimum 2400 Kg/m 3 and the concrete mix
shall be 1:1½:3 (1 cement: 1½ coarse sand: 3 graded stone aggregates) with
cube compressive strength not less than 210 kg/cm2 in 28 days and 140
Kg/cm 2 in 7 days, during work tests conducted in accordance with IS: 516. The
specification of ingratiates of coating are as under:

a) Ordinary Portland cement in accordance with IS: 269 shall be used unless
otherwise specified. The acceptance, rejection, storage, preservations, etc.
shall comply with IS: 269 Cement, which has hardened or partially set, shall
not be used. Test certificates from the cement manufacturers are available &
checked for every lot of cement delivered to site.

b) Sand shall be clean and free from injurious amounts of salt, alkali, deleterious
substances or organic impurities and should conform to IS: 383. Sand shall be
tested for organic impurities as per IS: 2386 (part-II).

c) Fine aggregates used shall be graded from coarse aggregates, according to

IS: 383. Unless otherwise specified, stone aggregate shall be 10 mm nominal
size.

d) The water shall preferably be limpid, fresh and clean and shall not contain
chloride and Sulphates. It shall be free from magnesium salts. It shall conform
to the requirements specified in IS: 456. Water from each source shall be
should tested and test results shall be reviewed for their acceptability before
use.

e) Iron or Barium ore aggregate may be substituted for sand to produce a denser
concrete weight coating.

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Title: CONCRETE WEIGHT COATING Work Procedure No.: M L- 15

Revision No. :0
Effective from : 26.01.2004

f) Concrete coating shall be reinforced by a layer or layers of steel reinforcement

according to approved design & drawings. Reinforcement shall consist of
welded steel wire fabric manufactured in flat sheets or in rolls (ribbon mesh)
and should conform to IS: 4948. Steel wires shall be galvanized at finished
size. The diameter of the wire and spacing of wires (mesh dimensions) shall be
selected in line with approved design. Wire fabric manufactured in flat sheets
should be 2” x 4” max, steel wire mesh of 13-gauge steel wire (2.4 mm) min.
each way. Wire fabric manufactured in rolls (ribbon mesh) shall be of 1” x 2.5”
mesh size of 14 gauge steel wire (2 mm).

g) The above dimensions are applied unless otherwise specified by designs.

Generally fabric (sheets) is used when concrete coating is applied by casting
method while ribbon mesh (rolls) is used when concrete coating is applied by
impingement method.

2.3.0 Concrete coating shall be applied either using casting or impingement method
(as specified).

2.4.0 The equipment used for performing the concrete coating shall be capable of
doing so with a reasonable degree of uniformity with respect to thickness,
density and strength. The proportioning equipment and procedure shall be of
the type to assure consistently proportioned materials by weight and the mixes
and shall ensure through mixing of all materials. Any equipment that tends to
separate the ingredients shall not be used.

2.5.0 PROCEDURE QUALIFICATION

a) Before commencement of the work, approved procedure is qualified by

performing laboratory or in field and trials necessary to select type of mix and
concrete placing procedures.

b) The type of mix, i.e. the correct combination of the cement, aggregates and
water is first determined and to this purpose, not less than five (5) samples of
concrete shall be prepared. For each mix the following shall be accurately
checked and recorded:

(i) Proportions and weights of the respective materials used

(ii) The water/cement ratio
(iii) The grading of the aggregates

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 PIPELINES DIVISION

Title: CONCRETE WEIGHT COATING Work Procedure No.: M L- 15

Revision No. :0
Effective from : 26.01.2004

c) Samples shall be prepared and tested in accordance with IS: 2386 (Part -III) to
determine the dry specific gravity of the concrete and the saturated weight after
immersion. Test for concrete specific gravity at intermediate time (7 days after
coating) shall be performed.

d) If the results of the above tests do not meet the requirements, the mix shall be
modified and concrete samples tested until a proper mix has been determined.

e) The mix so determined shall be used for sampling of concrete to be submitted

to compressive strength tests. For this purpose, at least five (5) samples shall
be tested according to IS: 516.

f) As soon as the mix type is selected, trials shall be performed by concrete

coating application on pipe lengths to test the placing procedure of the
concrete. The following shall be determined according to application method
used:

(i) Workability of the concrete and pouring or cement gun rates.

(ii) Number of pouring or passes required meeting the concrete coating thickness
as specified.
(iii) Duration of vibration depending upon the workability of the concrete and the
effectiveness of the vibrator sets.
2.6.0 APPLICATION OF REINFORCEMENT AND CONCRETE COATING

2.6.1 CONCRETE MIXING

a) The components of the concrete mix shall be weight-batched before mixing by

a proper weigh-batcher. Batch shall be based on weight of single components
with accuracy within ± 1.0% of the values corresponding to the selected type of
mix.
b) A water meter accurate to within ± 1.0% of the indicated values shall be used
for adding water to the mix.

c) The calibration of the weight-batcher and the water meter shall be checked at
frequent intervals. Two test cylinders each per day shall be obtained from

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Title: CONCRETE WEIGHT COATING Work Procedure No.: M L- 15

Revision No. :0
Effective from : 26.01.2004

batches and tested at the end of seven (7) days after coating, for compressive
strength and specific gravity.

d) The moisture content of the aggregates used shall be such as to maintain a

satisfactory control on the water/cement ratio of the concrete mix. Slump tests
according to IS: 7320 should be conducted for this purpose. The maximum
slump should result, as a rule, within 10 to 15 cm.
2.6.2 PIPE LENGTH PREPARATION

a) Prior to placing of reinforcement, the protective coating of each pipe to be

concrete coated carefully inspected and, damages if any found, shall be
repaired before start of the work. Foreign matters, if any, shall be removed
from the surface of the protective coating.

b) When the concrete coating is formed in sections, spacing material of suitable

type (i.e. sheets of polystyrene foam or similar) shall be used and installed
around the pipe for spaces between sections.

c) Pipes supported at their ends are adequately braced with interior struts or rings
to prevent undue flexure or ovality during coating and handling before
stockpiling.
2.6.3 REINFORCEMENT APPLICATION

a) Reinforcement is placed around the pipe in such a way as to cover the whole
pipe length or sections to be concrete coated. The reinforcement shall
terminate at a distance of 37.5 to 40 cm from the ends of each length of pipe.
b) When the concrete coating is formed in sections, steel reinforcement layers
shall not remain exposed in the spaces between continuous concrete coating
section.
c) When casting method is used for placing of concrete coating, reinforcement
shall rest on synthetic resin spacers forming a "crown" whose number shall be
such as to avoid any contact with the pipe's protective coating. Spacing
between the two consecutive "crown" centres shall be 500 to 1000 mm.
d) When impingement method is used for placing of concrete coating, placement
of reinforcement could start after first layer of concrete has been applied to the
pipe section, so that it has the same function of spacers. In this case, it shall be
ensured that there is no contact between steel reinforcement and pipe
protective coating.

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 PIPELINES DIVISION

Title: CONCRETE WEIGHT COATING Work Procedure No.: M L- 15

Revision No. :0
Effective from : 26.01.2004

e) Splices and attachments is done by binding with soft steel wire of 1.5 mm
diameter. Circular and longitudinal joints of wire fabric in sheets are lapped at
least for one mesh. When wire fabric in rolls (ribbon mesh) is used, the spiral
lap shall be one mesh while the spliced lap shall be three meshes.

f) One layer of reinforcing steel is provided for concrete thickness up to 50 mm

and two layers of reinforcing steel is provided for concrete thickness beyond 50
mm. If application method requires more than one pass concrete, one
reinforcement layer for each pass is to be applied independently of concrete
coating thickness.
2.6.4 CONCRETE PLACING
a) Concrete is placed within a maximum of 45 minutes from the time of mixing
(adding water to mix) and shall be handled in such a way to prevent aggregate
segregation and excessive moisture los s. Concrete containers shall
continuously be kept clean and free from hardened or partially hardened
concrete.

b) The connecting procedures shall be such as to permit a reasonable workability

and a concrete coating surface smooth and uniform. To this purpose the
workability could be improved by adding to the mix an admixture of suitable
type approved by IOCL.

c) If casting method is used, once reinforcement and mould have been applied
around the pipe, concrete mix is poured through an opening on the upper
section of the same mould. Concrete shall not be poured from a height greater
than one (1) meter. During pouring of concrete, vibrator sets applied inside of
pipe or outside the mould shall vibrate the mix so as to obtain the best possible
compactness. Pouring rate and duration of vibration shall be such as to
achieve proper consolidation of concrete and to avoid over vibration, causing
segregation.

d) If impingement method is used, placement of concrete shall be up to the

specified thickness in one continuous course, allowance being made for
splices of reinforcement and providing reinforcement in the right location.
Concrete is injected at high velocity against the exterior surface of pipe, or
applied by an equivalent method to produce a hard, tight-adhering coating of
the specified thickness.

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 PIPELINES DIVISION

Title: CONCRETE WEIGHT COATING Work Procedure No.: M L- 15

Revision No. :0
Effective from : 26.01.2004

e) No casting is interrupted or passes is stopped for more than 45 minutes.

Before placing fresh concrete against the joint, the contact surfaces shall be
carefully cleaned and wetted to obtain a good bond between eh fresh material
and the previously placed material.
f) Suitable means shall be provided to ensure that the temperature of the
concrete, when placed, shall not exceed 32°C. Where necessary aggregate
stock piles and pipe lengths to be coated is shielded from direct sunshine.
When evaporation rates are high, aggregate is sprayed with water, due
allowance being made for the extra water, in the concrete mix design. Surface
against which concrete has to be placed (moulds, reinforcement, pipe) shall
also be sprayed with water to prevent excessive loss of water from the fresh
concrete. The maximum time interval from adding water to mix and final
concrete placing shall not exceed 45 minutes. Concrete placing is completed,
as quickly as possible and exposed surfaces immediately shall be covered to
reduce excessive evaporation of water from the concrete.

g) All pipes are kept clean and free from cement concrete and grout either inside
or outside of the uncoated sections. Cement concrete and grout accidentally
present on said surfaces after concrete placing completion is fully removed
before their setting.

h) Metal bevel protectors are kept in place throughout the coating application and
after.

i) The coating at each end of the pipe is bevelled to a slope of approximately

two-to-one (2:1). It shall terminate about 50 mm short of the end of the
corrosion coating applied on the pipe surface.

2.7.0 CURING

a) Immediately after concreting, the exposed surface of the concrete is protected

during hardening from the effects of sunshine, drying winds, rain, etc. and then
after the initial set has taken place, the concrete coating is properly cured. The
coated pipe sections should be handled gently to prevent undue distortion.

b) Curing is performed in accordance with IS:456 using sealing compound. The

curing compound shall be stored, prepared and applied in strict conformity with
the instructions of the manufacturer. The ingredients of any such compound
should be non-toxic and non-inflammable and do not react with any ingredient
of the concrete, the reinforcement the immediately after the coating is complete

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Title: CONCRETE WEIGHT COATING Work Procedure No.: M L- 15

Revision No. :0
Effective from : 26.01.2004

and preferably before the pipe is removed from the concrete coating
apparatus. The surface of he concrete is lightly sprayed with water before
applying the curing compound. The membrane-curing period shall not be less
than 4 days, during which coated pipes shall not be disturbed and the pipe
surface is kept wet for seven (7) days after application of he concrete coating.

c) Before handling and hauling the concrete pipes, a check shall be made to
make sure that the concrete coating is cured. Stacking and shipment of the
coated pipes shall be initiated only after seven (7) days ensuring that the
concrete coating suffers no damage.

2.8.0 WEIGHT CHECKING

a) Minimum one test pipe shall be selected from the day's production during the
course of production. All weighing of concrete coated pipe lengths is performed
using suitable weighing device having an accuracy of one half of one percent
(0.5%). Calibration of the weighing device is checked at frequent intervals.

b) Concrete coated test pipe is weighed as soon as it is feasible to move it after

concrete placing and shall mark the weight on the inside of the pipe with paint.
The weight mark shall be followed with letter "WW" meaning Wet weight.
c) Weight of a selected test pipe shall be taken when dry prior to use and after
the 28 days of placing of concrete and mark the weight with paint on the inside
of the pipe. The weight mark is followed with letters "DW" meaning Dry Weight.

2.9.0 INSPECTION AND TESTS

a) Every length of concrete coated pipe is checked to verify insulation between

steel reinforcement and pipe by means of a MEGGER for this; provisions shall
be made during placing of concrete such as to leave at least a point of
exposed steel reinforcement, whenever the later terminates inside of concrete
coating

b) Also before delivering concrete coated pipes, every pipe length shall be
visually inspected to detect whether any damages and/or defects are present.
Repairable concrete shall be clearly marked, while the non-repairable ones
shall be removed from the pipe lengths.

c) One for every twenty concrete coated pipes, if the scale of work or production
is small, is subjected to water absorption test as follows:

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 PIPELINES DIVISION

Title: CONCRETE WEIGHT COATING Work Procedure No.: M L- 15

Revision No. :0
Effective from : 26.01.2004

(i) The concrete pipe is weighed in air when dry and the weight recorded as "dry
weight".

(ii) The pipe length is completely submerged in water of known specific gravity.

(iii) The submerged pipe length is weighed at 6 hours interval of continuous

submergence till water saturation is reached and the time and weight recorded
as "saturated weight". Reaching "water saturation" means that the difference
between the two last consecutive weighing at 6 hours intervals is not differing
more than accuracy of weighing device.

2.10.0 REPAIRING OF CONCRETE COATED PIPES

2.10.1 The repairing of damaged concrete coating shall be carried out as permitted
and in the manner as outlined in approved procedure for the same.

2.11.0 CAUSES FOR REJECTION

2.11.1 Causes for the rejection of the concrete coating includes but not limited to the
following:

a) Coating not meeting the requirements of a cceptable weight tolerances.

b) Improper placement of the reinforcement steel.

c) Coating damaged in handling or storage that is beyond repair.

d) Lack of insulation between steel reinforcement and pipe.

e) Unfinished coatings that are allowed to remain unfinished duration exceeding

45 minutes as in case of break down or otherwise.

f) Anything else not conforming to the specification.

2.12.0 MARKING

2.12.1 Every concrete coated pipe length is clearly marked by a type of paint (i.e. red
and/or white lead paint). Markings out of concrete coating is made inside of
pipe close to bevel end, in such a way that the area involved by welding
operations is not affected by paint.

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Title: CONCRETE WEIGHT COATING Work Procedure No.: M L- 15

Revision No. :0
Effective from : 26.01.2004

2.12.2 For each concrete coated pipe length, at one of the two ends, the field
identification number and the date of concrete placing is marked, while the dry
as well as the wet weight along with number of days after coating is marked at
the other end.

3.0.0 REFERENCE DRAWINGS/ DOCUMENTS

3.1.0 Cross section drawing for concrete coated line pipes.

3.2.0 Approved procedure for concrete coating of line pipes.

3.3.0 Factory test reports of cement, reinforcement and curing compound.

3.4.0 Sample test reports of sand and water.

4.0.0 REPORTING FORMAT

4.1.0 IR/18: Concrete weight coating-casting method.

5.0.0 EQUIPMENT/INSTRUMENTS

5.1.0 IOCL

5.1.0 As per site requirements.

5.2.0 CONTRACTOR

5.2.1 As per site requirements.

6.0.0 MANPOWER

6.1.0 IOCL

6.1.1 Engineer/Supervisor.

6.2.0 CONTRACTOR

6.2.1 Engineer/ Supervisor with adequate skilled/ semi skilled labourers.

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Title: CONCRETE WEIGHT COATING Work Procedure No.: M L- 15

Revision No. :0
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7.0.0 CHECK POINTS

7.1.0 Before commencement of concrete coating, a trial coating and field as well as
laboratory tests is carried out for procedure qualification. Only approved
procedure shall be followed for production concrete coating.

7.2.0 Hardened or partially set cement is not used & test certificate from cement
manufacturers for each lot is verified before its use.

7.3.0 For concrete coating of pipes to be used in marshy areas and areas where
water is saline, sulphate resistant cement is used.

7.4.0 Fine aggregate of 10 mm nominal size graded from course aggregate is used
unless otherwise specified.

7.5.0 Sand to be used is clean & free-from salt, alkali, deleterious substances or
organic impurities. It is tested for organic impurities before use.

7.6.0 If required, iron or barium ore aggregate are used in place of sand for
producing a denser concrete weight coating.

7.7.0 Water to be used, is tested and reports verified. Water is limpid, fresh & clean
and does not contain chlorides, sulphates & magnesium salts.

7.8.0 When concrete coating is applied by casting method wire fabric (sheets) are
used and in case of application of coating by impingement method ribbon
mash (rolls) are used.

7.9.0 Unit weight of concrete is minimum 2400 kg/m 3 & concrete mix is 1: 1½: 3 (1
cement: 1½ course sand: 3 graded stone aggregate). The comprehensive
strength of cubes is not less than 210 kg/cm2 in 28 days & 140 kg/cm2 in 7
days.

7.10.0 The gap between continuous concrete weighting at the welding joints is
suitably filled as per approved method.

7.11.0 A special log book for recording of following data is maintained:

a) Field identification number, mill serial number, length, weight & nominal
average outside diameter of each line pipe. Concrete coating on any line pipe

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Title: CONCRETE WEIGHT COATING Work Procedure No.: M L- 15

Revision No. :0
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is not allowed until and unless this information has been recorded in the
logbook.

b) Date of placing of concrete coating, average concrete coating thickness, "wet

weight" of concrete coated pipe & date of weighing and "dry weight" of
concrete coated pipe, 28 days after placement of coating & date of weighing in
respect of each concrete coated pipe.

c) "Unit dry weight", "negative buoyancy" and "unit saturated weight" of each
concrete coated pipe.

7.12.0 It is ensured that weight-batcher and water meter is calibrated. The calibration
is checked at frequent intervals.

7.13.0 Prior to placing of reinforcement, the protective coating of each pipe is carefully
inspected and any damage is repaired before placing the concrete. All foreign
matters are removed from the surface of protective coating before placing the
concrete.

7.14.0 Pipe supports at the ends are adequately braced with interior struts or rings to
prevent undue flexure or ovality during coating and handling.

7.15.0 The reinforcement for concrete coating is terminating at a distance of 37.5 to

40 cm from the end of the pipe.

7.16.0 In case of casting method, the reinforcement rests on synthetic resin spacers
forming a "crown" whose number are such as to avoid any contact with the
pipe's protective coating. Spacing between to consecutive crowns are
minimum 500 to 1000 mm or as specified.

7.17.0 In case of impingement method, placement of reinforcement can start after first
layer of concrete has been applied on pipe. It is ensured that steel
reinforcement is not in contact with protective coating of pipe.

7.18.0 Concrete mix is placed on pipe within 45 minutes after adding water to mix.
Containers used for placing of concrete are continuously cleaned and are free-
from hardened or partially hardened concrete.

7.19.0 In case of casting method, concrete is not be poured from a height more than
one metre. During pouring, vibrator is run continuously. In case of impingement

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Title: CONCRETE WEIGHT COATING Work Procedure No.: M L- 15

Revision No. :0
Effective from : 26.01.2004

method, concrete is placed up to specified thickness in one continuous course

and is injected at high velocity against the surface of coated pipe.

7.20.0 Casting is not interrupted or passes stopped for more than 45 minutes. If
interruption is for more than 45 minutes, before placing fresh concrete, the
c ontact surfaces is carefully cleaned at wetted to ensured good bond between
the fresh material and previously placed material.

7.21.0 At the time of casting or placing of concrete, it is ensured that the temperature
of coating does not exceed 32° C.

7.22.0 The coating at each end of the pipe is bevelled to a slope of 2: 1 and it is
terminated at about 100 mm short of the end of corrosion coating on the pipe
surface.

7.23.0 The exposed surface of concrete is protected from direct sunshine, drying
winds, rain, etc. The curing compound is applied immediately after completion
of coating. The membrane curing is not less than 4 days during which period
the coated pipe is not disturbed and exposed coating surface is kept wet for
seven (7) days.

7.24.0 The stacking and shipment of coated pipe is allowed only after seven days
provided the concrete coating surface suffers no damage.

7.25.0 Each concrete coated pipe is weighed as soon as it is feasible to move it for
taking wet weight and after 28 days of placement of concrete for dry weight.
These values should be marked with paint inside the pipe.

7.26.0 Calibration of weighing devices is checked at regular intervals.

7.27.0 After curing, every concrete coated pipe is non-destructively tested by such
means as "ringing" to determine any defects present.

7.28.0 Each concrete coated pipe is visually inspected and also checked for insulation
between steel reinforcement and the pipe using a Megger.

7.29.0 Each concrete coated pipe is clearly marked with red or white paint inside the
pipe close to bevel end is such a way that the area involved by welding
operation is not affected by paint. At one of the ends, the field identification
number and the date of concrete placing is marked while at the other end dry

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Title: CONCRETE WEIGHT COATING Work Procedure No.: M L- 15

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as well as wet weight along with the number of days after which the weight was
taken, is marked.

8.0.0 RESPONSIBILITIES

8.1.0 Direct responsibility: Field Engineer/Supervisor.

8.2.0 General Responsibility: Spread In -Charge/Site -Engineer.

8.3.0 Overall Responsibility: Engineer-In-Charge.

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