Materials
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 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 MoreSubsea Wellhead And Pipeline Protection Covers
Wellhead and pipeline protection covers are required under the Norsok regulations for subsea installations in the Norwegian sector (Standard U-002, Subsea Structures and Piping System). Traditional steel wellhead covers are very large — often more than 50 ft/15m square — to allow ROVs access to the Christmas t
Read MoreComposites Used For Repair by Statoil
Statoil has used composites to repair steel topside components for more than 10 years on the Statfjord and Gullfaks platforms, using wet layup methods designed for each application, says Melve. “We repaired four water lines at an onshore oil storage facility between 1983 and 1987,” he says. “After nine years,
Read MoreCatenary Composite Risers
Catenary risers are able to absorb much more motion than top-tensioned risers, and, thus, are a common solution for wells tied back to an FPSO. Such a vessel experiences very high first-order motion in response to initial contact with wind or waves, making catenary risers a better solution than rigid component
Read MoreDownhole Composites Boost Durability, Drillability
Halliburton Energy Services, Schlumberger Oilfield Services, Weatherford International, and Baker Oil Tools, all based in Houston, Texas (U.S.A.), offer composite downhole tools — made with both thermoplastics and thermoset resins — for a variety of applications. Halliburton’s FasDrill packers and plugs
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
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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