Processes
Big Blades Cut Wind Energy Cost
Rapid growth rate of composite-intensive conversion systems drives market competition and innovation.
Read MorePetrobras Pioneers Topside Composites
Petrobras (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) was the first major oil company to experiment with molded gratings in the 1980s, though these early products proved unsatisfactory due to wide variations in mechanical properties. However, advances in pultrusion and filament winding technology coupled with the availability of
Read MoreComposite 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 MoreIssues With Design
Though steel is the traditional material for coiled tubing because of its low price, it is susceptible to corrosion, fatigue failure (caused by repeated coiling and uncoiling), and troublesome joints. In larger sizes, its weight can increase transport difficulties. With the advent of secondary recovery methods
Read MoreModular Cable Offers Flexibility
The Composite Carbon Cable system developed by Doris Engineering, IFP, Soficar and Freyssinet is based on a different design. Their concept is to assemble a tether from uniformly sized strands or “modules” made up of parallel rods. Each module is hexagonally shaped, allowing any number of modules (strands) to
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
Read MoreStudies Support Viability Of Composites
Numerous studies have compared the performance and cost of steel and composite tendons. Conoco, Norske Conoco A/S (NCAS) and KOP headed several projects to qualify composite TLP tethers prior to launching a full sea test. In a recent study, they compared steel and composite TLP systems in water depths up to 9,
Read MoreA Different, All-Composite Approach
Fiberglass Structural Engineering Inc. (FSE, Bellingham, Wash., U.S.A.) has patented its innovative concept for a hybrid fiberglass and steel platform. Approximately 50 percent of the volume of a conventional steel spar hull would be replaced by hollow filament-wound Eglass and vinyl ester tubes, from 10 ft to
Read MoreComposite Accumulator Bottles Perform In Service
A riser tensioning system for a TLP consists of a tensioning ring and framework, with four to eight hydraulic cylinders — each with an attached pressure vessel or “accumulator bottle” — to support and allow movement of the rigid riser pipe. Installed in the riser wellbay, this primary structural system is desi
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