Piggable Tee, also known as a Barred Tee, is a critical pipe fitting engineered for pipeline pigging in industrial piping systems. Conforming to ASTM A234 WPB standards, this carbon steel fitting ensures corrosion protection and exceptional durability, making it ideal for boiler pipeline protection in oil and gas, petrochemical, and power generation applications. The internal bars, typically 2–4, guide pigs through the main pipeline, preventing entry into the branch while maintaining fluid or gas flow.

The Piggable Tee is manufactured using seamless or welded processes, with materials like ASTM A234 WPB (carbon steel) for general applications or ASTM A234 WP22 (low-alloy steel) for high-temperature environments. The bars are welded or integrally formed to allow 70–80% of the branch flow area, ensuring minimal turbulence and efficient pigging. Available in sizes from 2” to 48” (DN 50–DN 1200) and wall thicknesses such as SCH 40, SCH 80, or XXS, it meets diverse requirements for industrial piping systems. Rigorous testing, including tensile, hydrostatic, and non-destructive tests (radiography or ultrasonic), ensures compliance with ASME B16.9 and MSS SP-75 standards.

Designed for pipeline corrosion protection, the Piggable Tee can be coated with epoxy, galvanizing, or 3LPE to withstand harsh environments, such as those in offshore pipelines or chemical plants. Its robust construction resists wear from abrasive materials and high-pressure conditions, making it a reliable choice for boiler pipeline protection. The fitting supports welding (SMAW, GTAW, or GMAW) with low-carbon fillers, ensuring compatibility with pipelines like ASTM A106 Gr.B or API 5L Gr.B. This enhances its versatility in maintenance-intensive systems.

Compared to standard tees, the Piggable Tee is uniquely suited for pigging operations, reducing downtime and maintenance costs by preventing pig diversion. For highly corrosive environments, stainless steel options like ASTM A403 TP347H offer superior corrosion resistance, while WPB provides a cost-effective solution for general applications. The fitting’s ability to handle high-pressure and abrasive conditions makes it indispensable for industrial piping durability.

The Piggable Tee addresses critical challenges like pipeline wear, corrosion, and maintenance efficiency in industrial systems. Its advanced design and material options ensure long-term performance, safety, and reliability, making it a preferred choice for engineers seeking robust industrial piping and boiler pipeline protection solutions.

The Piggable Tee serves as both supply and discharge points within the pigged transfer line.Our Piggable Tees are designed with a compact tee branch length and an integrated tee branch pig bar. This unique design ensures the seamless passage of the pig through the tee, preventing any obstructions in the tee branch and minimizing the retention of residual product in the dead leg of the tee branch.

The concise length of the tee branch effectively reduces the dead leg in the branch, preventing residual product from flowing back into the line once the pig passes through. This means that any remaining product in the transfer line is minimal, and it gets pushed from the main line to the demister as the pig is directed back to the pig launcher.

Although the tee branch pig bars are not permanently affixed by welding, they ensure the pig's smooth and reliable passage under the tee branch without any hang-ups. Except for sanitary piggable tees, which require specific sanitary design considerations, the tee branch pig bar is an integral part of the main line piping. This guarantees that the pig bar maintains the same curved shape as the pipe, ensuring a seamless transition through the tee.

Piping Tees are used either for dividing main flow in two streams or for combining flow from two streams. Tees are normal or perpendicular to the pipe axis and normally produced by forging and are designed based on ASME B 16.9 or ASME B 16.11.

Barred tee is the special type of tee and is designed like adding bar plates inside the branch outlet on a normal tee. In pig launcher or receiver system, barred tee is used to ensure the pig could pass the branch safely.There is no international standard dimension for the barred tee. It is custom-made using the ASME B16.9/ MSS-SP 75 tee as a base with or without the help of Shell DEP 31.40.10.13-Gen or ISO 15590-2 standard.

The bar plates in sufficient quantity, thickness, and adequately spaced are welded internally at the branch to ensure the smoothness for the pig to run through the main pipe, and at the same time not affect the flow direction or getting stuck at the branch outlet. The bars are to be small enough not to restrict the flow but large enough to sustain the pressure of the flow. Sharp edges and burs are removed and the bars are to be grind to the branch curvature inorder to protect the pig sensors from damage. Bar plates are made with same material for weldability. Weld Repairs on Parent metal are prohibited. Standard practice is to avoid welding guide bars directly on the high-stress concentrated areas of the extrusion neck. Bar ends must be machined to fit the branch.