Materials
Composite Tether Goes To Sea
Conoco and KOP have manufactured a prototype of a carbon fiber composite tether that could extend TLP production to depths exceeding 10,000 ft/3,000 m. The design has undergone extensive static testing and fatigue loading and has been verified through hydrodynamic model testing. Sea testing is being planned.
Read MoreOther Applications Expand
A growing area in the offshore world is the refitting or “recycling” of older oil platforms to support additional production. A particularly active area for recycling is in the North Sea, where additional pipelines can be run to existing rigs for about $1 million (as opposed to spending $20 million for a new r
Read MoreCustom Wet Layup Repair Solutions
In the second group are customized repairs, employing glass or carbon reinforcement, wet out with vinyl ester, polyester or epoxy resin and applied to the pipe by trained personnel, have been available since the mid-1990s. Selection of reinforcement material, wrap thickness and overlay length is dictated by th
Read MoreComposite Piping On Hoover-Diana
EDO supplied a drain system for Hoover-Diana, a deep draft caisson vessel (DDCV) put into service in May 2000 by Exxon Mobil and British Petroleum. Hoover- Diana, located in the Gulf of Mexico’s East Breaks and Alaminos Canyon Blocks at a water depth of approximately 4,800 ft, is designated as a DDCV instead o
Read MoreRTP Niches Into Low-Pressure Applications
Wellstream (a Halliburton business unit) supplies lightweight reinforced thermoplastic pipe, or RTP, which is designed for applications intermediate between those that can use low-pressure, unreinforced thermoplastic pipe or hose, and those that require high-pressure unbonded flexible pipe. Used mainly in onsh
Read MoreInterplay Of Materials And Use Conditions Key To Design
A wide variety of thermoplastic resins is used for the inner fluid/pressure barrier layer, which contains the conveyed material and eliminates any possibility of weeping through the fiber composite. The most common are families of polyolefins (e.g., polyethylenes), polyphenylene sulfides (PPS), nylons (polyami
Read MoreFiberglass Ideal For Dry Deluge System Applications
Around 1982, offshore platforms began using dry deluge systems, where the ring main is kept full of seawater but the downstream piping is dry. The dry piping is separated from the ring main by deluge valves, which automatically open and distribute water through the dry pipe to spray nozzles during a fire. This
Read MoreDesign Issues With Subsea And Downhole Components
For structures below the water line and in the borehole, composites add to their list of benefits the key characteristic of design flexibility, because composite materials can be tailored to meet specific challenges. For example, composites can add buoyancy to low-pressure steel air cans on a spar platform’s r
Read MoreProven Performance In A Chemical Line Installation
EDO Specialty Plastics (Baton Rouge, La., U.S.A.) filament winds composite pipe and fittings for offshore facilities platforms and rigs. Founded in 1973 as Specialty Plastics and acquired by EDO in 1998, the company manufactures industrial fiberglass piping systems for the chemical, petrochemical and pulp and
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