Large Diameter Pipeline PLEM Design for Remote, Arctic Application

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen Timmermans ◽  
Ian Luff ◽  
Nicholas Long
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Cost Driver ◽  
Pile Foundations ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Operating Life ◽  
Wide Range

While subsea production template and manifold designs have come to be dominated by standardized solutions tailored for specific hardware, the design of Pipeline End Manifolds (PLEM) remains largely project-specific. Nevertheless, some trends in PLEM design for large-diameter pipelines in moderate water depths have emerged in the past years in the North Sea and elsewhere; namely, large stand-alone structures on suction pile foundations with diverless spoolpiece tie-ins. This arrangement has proven successful on numerous projects; however, the move to remote arctic fields of significant production capacity and long design life introduces new design drivers that warrant a “fresh approach” to PLEM design. The developments currently being considered for the arctic will have to deal with: - Remote location making mobilization of installation assets a significant cost driver such that separate installation of pipeline and PLEM is relatively unattractive - Harsh conditions and short weather windows for installation favoring designs that reduce the number of separate installation steps and vessels - Poorer access for maintenance and repair during the operating life favoring designs that are modular and that allow recovery of critical components using the smallest possible intervention vessels. When combined with envisioned field production lives of 40 to 50 years, this means a very different set of design drivers will apply to the PLEM design. This paper presents an alternative PLEM design developed to overcome these challenges by: - Integrating of the PLEM with the pipeline to work around current industry limitations for large diameter diverless tie-in connector systems and to minimize ROV rotated sealing surfaces subsea in normal operation, - Introducing plug technology to remove the critical dependence on long-term trouble-free performance of large bore valves, - Introducing driven pile foundations to reduce structure size, prevent long-term settlements and eliminate the need for separate pipeline support frames by maintaining the pipe centerline close to the mudline, - Modularizing the system such that key components (all remaining valves) can be retrieved without complete shutdown of flow and such that installation / intervention can be performed using a wide range of vessels, and - Incorporating lessons learned from the successful design of a North Sea vertical diverless pig launcher unit. This paper presents an overview of the alternative PLEM design and discusses the status of the technologies required.

The Design, Development and Validation of an Innovative High Strength, Self Monitoring, Composite Pipe Liner for the Restoration of Energy Transmission Pipelines

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Bethel ◽  
Steven C. Catha ◽  
Melvin F. Kanninen ◽  
Randall B. Stonesifer ◽  
Ken Charbonneau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressures ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Cylindrical Tube ◽  
High Strength ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Energy Transmission ◽  
Engineering Research ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Transmission Pipelines

The research described in this paper centers on a composite of thermoplastic materials that can be inserted in a degraded steel pipe to completely restore its strength. Through the use of fabrics consisting of ultra high strength fibers that are co-helically wrapped over a thin walled thermoplastic cylindrical tube that serves as a core, arbitrarily high pressures can be achieved. This paper first outlines the design, manufacturing and installation procedures developed for this unique material to provide a context for the engineering research. Based on this outline, the technological basis that has been developed for assuring the strength and long term durability of this concept during its insertion, and in its very long term service as a liner in energy transmission pipelines, is presented in detail. The research that is described includes burst testing of the material in stand alone pipe form, load/elongation testing of ultra high strength fabrics, and linear and nonlinear elastic and viscoelastic analysis models. This body of work indicates that the concept is fundamentally feasible for restoring a wide range of large diameter natural gas and liquid transmission pipelines to be able to carry arbitrarily high pressures over very long lifetimes. It also indicates that liners can be safely installed in long lengths even in lines with severe bends in a continuous manner. With further research the concept has the potential for eliminating hydro testing and smart pigging during service, and could possibly be installed in some lines that are currently unpiggable.

scholarly journals Changes to the chemical state of the northern hemisphere atmosphere during the second half of the twentieth century

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike J. Newland ◽  
Patricia Martinerie ◽  
Emmanuel Witrant ◽  
Detlev Helmig ◽  
David R. Worton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Secondary Products ◽  
Alkyl Nitrates ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract. The NOX (NO and NO2) and HOX (OH and HO2) budgets of the atmosphere exert a major influence on atmospheric composition, controlling removal of primary pollutants and formation of a wide range of secondary products, including ozone, that can influence human health and climate. However, there remain large uncertainties in the changes to these budgets over recent decades. Due to their short atmospheric lifetimes, NOX and HOX are highly variable in space and time, and so the measurements of these species are of very limited value for examining long term, large scale changes to their budgets. Here, we take an alternative approach by examining long-term atmospheric trends of alkyl nitrates, the formation of which is dependent on the atmospheric NO / HO2 ratio. We derive long term trends in the alkyl nitrates from measurements in firn air from the NEEM site, Greenland. Their mixing ratios increased by a factor of 4–5 between the 1970s and 1990s. This was followed by a steep decline to the sampling date of 2008. Moreover, we examine how the trends in the alkyl nitrates compare to similarly derived trends in their parent alkanes (i.e. the alkanes which, when oxidised in the presence of NOX, lead to the formation of the alkyl nitrates). The ratios of the alkyl nitrates to their parent alkanes increase from around 1970 to the late 1990's consistent with large changes to the [NO] / [HO2] ratio in the northern hemisphere atmosphere during this period. These could represent historic changes to NOX sources and sinks. Alternatively, they could represent changes to concentrations of the hydroxyl radical, OH, or to the transport time of the air masses from source regions to the Arctic.

scholarly journals Chronopolis Digital Preservation Network

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Minor ◽  
Don Sutton ◽  
Ardys Kozbial ◽  
Brad Westbrook ◽  
Michael Burek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Storage ◽  
High Speed ◽  
San Diego ◽  
Digital Preservation ◽  
Data Grid ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
First Year ◽  
Redundant Data ◽  
Wide Range

The Chronopolis Digital Preservation Initiative, one of the Library of Congress’ latest efforts to collect and preserve at-risk digital information, has completed its first year of service as a multi-member partnership to meet the archival needs of a wide range of domains.Chronopolis is a digital preservation data grid framework developed by the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego, the UC San Diego Libraries (UCSDL), and their partners at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Colorado and the University of Maryland's Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS).Chronopolis addresses a critical problem by providing a comprehensive model for the cyberinfrastructure of collection management, in which preserved intellectual capital is easily accessible, and research results, education material, and new knowledge can be incorporated smoothly over the long term. Integrating digital library, data grid, and persistent archive technologies, Chronopolis has created trusted environments that span academic institutions and research projects, with the goal of long-term digital preservation.A key goal of the Chronopolis project is to provide cross-domain collection sharing for long-term preservation. Using existing high-speed educational and research networks and mass-scale storage infrastructure investments, the partnership is leveraging the data storage capabilities at SDSC, NCAR, and UMIACS to provide a preservation data grid that emphasizes heterogeneous and highly redundant data storage systems.In this paper we will explore the major themes within Chronopolis, including:a) The philosophy and theory behind a nationally federated data grid for preservation. b) The core tools and technologies used in Chronopolis. c) The metadata schema that is being developed within Chronopolis for all of the data elements. d) Lessons learned from the first year of the project.e) Next steps in digital preservation using Chronopolis: how we plan to strengthen and broaden our network with enhanced services and new customers.

Forty Arctic Summers

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaius R. Shaver
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Student ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Ecosystem Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research ◽  
Umbrella Organization ◽  
Set Up

I was committed to long-term, site-based, research long before the Arctic (ARC) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site was established in 1987. Working with the LTER program since then has allowed me to reach my goals more easily than would have been possible otherwise. Because of my deep involvement in research in the LTER program, most of the examples I use in teaching now come from LTER sites. For the same reason, most of my communications with the public are about research in the LTER program. I learned the value of collaboration as a graduate student, from my earliest mentors and collaborators. Being a part of the LTER program has helped me to develop a wide array of enjoyable, comfortable, and productive collaborations. A message to students: be generous in all aspects of your research and professional life, because there is much more to be gained from generosity than there is to be lost. I helped set up the ARC site of the LTER program in 1987 and have made it the focus of my scientific career for the past 27 years. My experience with integrated, site-based, multidisciplinary ecosystem research actually began in 1972, however, when as a graduate student I worked with the US Tundra Biome Study at Barrow, Alaska (Brown et al. 1980; Hobbie 1980). The Tundra Biome Study and its umbrella organization, the International Biological Program (IBP), ended officially in 1974, but the ideas developed and lessons learned from these programs were central to the later development of the LTER program (Coleman 2010). These lessons were central to the formation of my own professional worldview; key among them was the idea that long-term approaches, including long-term, whole-ecosystem experiments, were essential to understanding distribution, regulation, and change in populations, communities, and ecosystems everywhere. My dissertation research, on root growth at the Barrow site, benefited greatly from the interactions I had with the diverse group who worked there. I finished my PhD in 1976, during a period when the need for a federally supported program of long-term, multidisciplinary, site-based ecological research was becoming increasingly clear.

scholarly journals The Jurassic of East Greenland: a sedimentary record of thermal subsidence, onset and culmination of rifting

2003 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 657-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Finn Surlyk
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Middle Jurassic ◽  
Sedimentary Facies ◽  
Lower Triassic ◽  
Depositional Environments ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
East Greenland ◽  
Thermal Subsidence

The Late Palaeozoic – Mesozoic extensional basin complex of East Greenland contains a record of deposition during a period of Rhaetian – Early Bajocian thermal subsidence, the onset of rifting in the Late Bajocian, its growth during the Bathonian–Kimmeridgian, culmination of rifting in the Volgian – Early Ryazanian, and waning in the Late Ryazanian – Hauterivian. The area was centred over a palaeolatitude of about 45°N in the Rhaetian and drifted northwards to about 50°N in the Hauterivian. A major climate change from arid to humid subtropical conditions took place at the Norian–Rhaetian transition. Deposition was in addition governed by a long-term sea-level rise with highstands in the Toarcian–Aalenian, latest Callovian and Kimmeridgian, and lowstands in the latest Bajocian – earliest Bathonian, Middle Oxfordian and Volgian. The Rhaetian – Lower Bajocian succession is considered the upper part of a megasequence, termed J1, with its base in the upper Lower Triassic, whereas the Upper Bajocian – Hauterivian succession forms a complete, syn-rift megasequence, termed J2. The southern part of the basin complex in Jameson Land contains a relatively complete Rhaetian–Ryazanian succession and underwent only minor tilting during Middle Jurassic – earliest Cretaceous rifting. Rhaetian – Lower Jurassic deposits are absent north of Jameson Land and this region was fragmented into strongly tilted fault blocks during the protracted rift event. The syn-rift successions of the two areas accordingly show different long-term trends in sedimentary facies. In the southern area, the J2 syn-rift megasequence forms a symmetrical regressive–transgressive–regressive cycle, whereas the J2 megasequence in the northern area shows an asymmetrical, stepwise deepening trend. A total of eight tectonostratigraphic sequences are recognised in the Rhaetian–Hauterivian interval. They reflect major changes in basin configuration, drainage systems, sediment transport and distribution patterns, and in facies and depositional environments. The sequences are bounded by regional unconformities or flooding surfaces and have average durations in the order of 10 Ma. They are subdivided into conventional unconformity-bounded depositional sequences with durations ranging from tens of thousands of years, in the Milankovitch frequency band, up to several million years. Deposition was alluvial and lacustrine in the Rhaetian–Sinemurian, but almost exclusively marine during the Pliensbachian–Hauterivian time interval when a marine strait, up to 500 km wide and more than 2000 km long, developed between Greenland and Norway, connecting the Arctic Sea and the North Sea. Coal-bearing fluvial and paralic deposits occur, however, at the base of the onlapping Middle Jurassic succession in the central and northern part of the basin complex. The sedimentary development is similar to that in the Northern North Sea and on the Norwegian shelf, and East Greenland offers important onshore analogues for virtually all of the types of deeply buried Jurassic depositional systems of these areas and especially their hydrocarbon reservoirs.

scholarly journals IPY 2007–2008 data legacy – a long story cut short

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 447-460
Author(s):  
A. Driemel ◽  
H. Grobe ◽  
M. Diepenbroek ◽  
H. Grüttemeier ◽  
S. Schumacher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Science ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
International Polar Year ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Data Products

Abstract. The International Polar Year 2007–2008 was a synchronized effort to simultaneously collect data from polar regions. Being the fourth in a row of IPYs, the demand for interdisciplinarity and new data products was high. However, despite of all the research done on land, people, ocean, ice and atmosphere and the large amount of data collected, no central archive or portal was created for IPY data. In order to address these issues, a concerted effort between PANGAEA – Data Publisher for Earth and Environmental Science, the ICSU World Data System (WDS), and the International Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI) was undertaken to extract data resulting from IPY publications for long-term preservation. 1380 IPY-related references were collected. Out of these, only 450 contained accessible data. All data was extracted, quality checked, annotated with metadata and uploaded to PANGAEA. The 450 articles dealt with a multitude of IPY topics – plankton biomass, water chemistry, ice thickness, whale sightings, Inuit health, alien species introductions by travelers or tundra biomass change – to mention just a few. Both, the Arctic and the Antarctic were investigated in the articles, and all realms (land, people, ocean, ice and atmosphere) and a wide range of countries were covered. The data compilation can now be found with the identifier doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.150150 and individually searched for using the PANGAEA search engine (www.pangaea.de) and adding "+project:ipy". With this effort, we hope to improve the visibility, accessibility and long-term storage of IPY data for future research and new data products.

scholarly journals Changes to the chemical state of the Northern Hemisphere atmosphere during the second half of the twentieth century

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (13) ◽  
pp. 8269-8283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike J. Newland ◽  
Patricia Martinerie ◽  
Emmanuel Witrant ◽  
Detlev Helmig ◽  
David R. Worton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Production Efficiency ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Secondary Products ◽  
Alkyl Nitrates ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract. The NOx (NO and NO2) and HOx (OH and HO2) budgets of the atmosphere exert a major influence on atmospheric composition, controlling removal of primary pollutants and formation of a wide range of secondary products, including ozone, that can influence human health and climate. However, there remain large uncertainties in the changes to these budgets over recent decades. Due to their short atmospheric lifetimes, NOx and HOx are highly variable in space and time, and so the measurements of these species are of limited value for examining long-term, large-scale changes to their budgets. Here, we take an alternative approach by examining long-term atmospheric trends of alkyl nitrates, the production efficiency of which is dependent on the atmospheric [NO] ∕ [HO2] ratio. We derive long-term trends in the alkyl nitrates from measurements in firn air from the NEEM site, Greenland. Their mixing ratios increased by a factor of 3–5 between the 1970s and 1990s. This was followed by a steep decline to the sampling date of 2008. Moreover, we examine how the trends in the alkyl nitrates compare to similarly derived trends in their parent alkanes (i.e. the alkanes which, when oxidised in the presence of NOx, lead to the formation of the alkyl nitrates). The ratios of the alkyl nitrates to their parent alkanes increased from around 1970 to the late 1990s. This is consistent with large changes to the [NO] ∕ [HO2] ratio in the Northern Hemisphere atmosphere during this period. Alternatively, they could represent changes to concentrations of the hydroxyl radical, OH, or to the transport time of the air masses from source regions to the Arctic.

scholarly journals Future narratives for key sectors of the economy of the Murmansk region in the context of global changes in the Arctic

2017 ◽  
pp. 19-31
Author(s):  
E.M. Klyuchnikova ◽  
◽  
L.G. Isaeva ◽  
A.V. Masloboev ◽  
T.E. Alieva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Critical Parameters ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Murmansk Region ◽  
Key Sectors ◽  
The Future

This article presents forecast of the future development of the key industries of the Murmansk region under the climate change conditions, and developments that can be used as the background for discussing measures for adaptation to climate changes and producing long-term documents. We have revealed a wide range of scenarios to identify the uncertainties that the region will inevitably face and that should be taken into account when making decisions already now. We have used the forecasting method taking into account the two critical parameters: the climate change on the regional level and the global trends in the socio-economic development. The narratives from the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) have been used as boundary conditions for creating scenarios of Murmansk region development. The local experts - representatives of industries, regional and local authorities, non-governmental and scientific organizations were involved in the forecasting process. The foresight research methodology was chosen because it is more than a long-term and strategic planning and forecasting corresponds to the social progress, in particular, the society democratization in its main areas: engaging citizens to managing the state affairs and creating conditions for manifestation of their initiatives. As a result, the issues of forecasting the future trends and challenges in the key sectors of the economy of the Arctic under the changing climate, depending on the forecast global development trends were considered. The necessity of using a structured, coherent to the global trends approach to working out regional and corporate development strategies is substantiated. On the example of the Murmansk region, the possible scenarios of development of the mining industry, and energy and human potentials depending on the global changes, including the climate change are considered.

Heat Exchanger Bolt Stress Measurements

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W. Guillot ◽  
Matthew Findlay ◽  
Corey T. Grimsley
Keyword(s):  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Thermal Gradients ◽  
Strain Gages ◽  
Thermally Induced ◽  
Bolt Stress ◽  
New Type ◽  
Leak Tightness

During a new plant startup a high pressure heat exchanger was subjected to significant thermal gradients and experienced a leak. The joint was modified and a new type of gasket was selected to eliminate the leakage. Several studs were instrumented with strain gages to gain a better understanding of the loading experienced during torquing and due to the gradients occurring during startup and normal operation. In addition to the strain gages, the temperature gradients in the flange were measured using 26 thermocouples. This paper presents the data obtained from the instrumented studs and thermocouples over a span of five months and summarizes the lessons learned. These included an assessment of the error in various bolting techniques, the benefit of bolting techniques such as multiple jack bolt tensioners, and the nature and effect of thermal gradients in flanges, the effects of spring washers on the magnitude of thermally induced loads, and problems arising from gasket quality control. Recommendations to improve the leak tightness of large diameter heat exchanger joints experiencing thermal gradients are presented.

A Review of Ice Protection Techniques for Structures in the Arctic and Offshore Harsh Environments

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Kewei Shi ◽  
Xili Duan
Keyword(s):  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Offshore Structures ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Marine Environments ◽  
External Energy ◽  
Additional Energy ◽  
Technical Limitation ◽  
Ice Accumulation ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract Icing can jeopardize local infrastructure, hinder field operation, destroy vessel superstructures, and threaten the safety of life and property in the Arctic and other cold offshore and marine environments. Research on ice protection (both anti-icing and de-icing) technologies is critical to equipment, structures and personnel in these environments. This review systematically evaluates a wide range of ice protection techniques divided into three main categories, i.e., active, passive, and hybrid ice protection techniques. Active anti/de-icing technologies include mechanical, thermal, or chemical methods, requiring an additional energy source to prevent ice formation or remove accumulated ice from the target surfaces. Passive anti/de-icing techniques can prevent ice accumulation or reduce ice adhesion without external energy sources; they create and maintain the icephobic properties of the target surfaces. Excessive energy consumption is a major technical limitation of the active ice protection technologies. On the other hand, it is challenging for any passive technology to meet the long-term ice protection requirements in the Arctic or different cold offshore/marine environments. A combination of two or more active and passive ice protection methods, i.e., a hybrid approach, seems promising and can be applied in various situations according to the specific requirements of different vessels, offshore structures, and equipment.

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