Glass Fibers
Pre-Cured Sleeves For High-Pressure Pipes
Clock Spring is one of several composite wrap approaches developed by inventor Norman C. Fawley of NCF Industries Inc. (Santa Maria, Calif., U.S.A.). The concentrically-coiled, glass fiber-reinforced polyester composite sleeve was devised with support from the Gas Technology Institute and the gas pipeline indu
Read MoreComposites Air Cans Lighten Riser Loads
Low-pressure air cans, designed to add buoyancy to a spar platform’s riser string, are good candidates for composite materials. Up to 12 ft/3.7m in diameter and from 30 to 60 ft/9.2 to 18.5m long, the hollow structures support the riser weight and take load off of the platform’s hull. Typically installed insid
Read MoreNew-Generation Composite Buoyancy Elements Key For Deep Drilling And Production
Principal suppliers of riser buoyancy products include major producer Balmoral (Aberdeen, Scotland, U.K. and Houston, Texas, U.S.A.) and CRP Group Ltd. (Skelmersdale, Lancashire, England, U.K.), which also owns Emerson & Cuming (Canton, Mass., U.S.A.). Balmoral customizes epoxy resins, which are used to cr
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Composite Drill Pipe An Available Option
Lincoln has been producing flexible composite drill pipe for short-radius, horizontal drilling since 1991. Its nominal 2.375 inch /60.3 mm (OD), 30 ft/9m long pipe shaft is filament wound with 12K carbon fiber combined with glass fibers in epoxy resin over an elastomeric liner. Standard API rotary shoulder too
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Design Issues
Typical FRP pipe is reciprocally filament wound with a fiber angle of ±54.75° relative to the longitudinal (0°) axis. This architecture satisfies stress loads in both the circumferential (hoop) and longitudinal (axial) directions for most pipes and pressure vessels. It withstands the in-use pressure, ther
Read MoreSome Design Issues
A variety of resins can be used for offshore applications, depending on the requirements for the final product. General-purpose polyester offers a low-cost option that provides greater corrosion resistance than steel. Isophthalic polyester provides somewhat better corrosion resistance, while vinyl ester is pre
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Petrobras 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
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Issues 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 MoreComposite Drilling Risers Many Years In The Making
The development of rigid composite riser systems has a history that spans two decades. Beginning in 1979, Aerospatiale and the Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP) developed a 15,000 psi, 4 inch composite tubular. Although this project started out as a feasibility study, by the mid-1980s it had led to the manufa
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Other 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
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