WO2009023608A1 - Constant thrust restraint of pipeline walking - Google Patents
Constant thrust restraint of pipeline walking Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2009023608A1 WO2009023608A1 PCT/US2008/072725 US2008072725W WO2009023608A1 WO 2009023608 A1 WO2009023608 A1 WO 2009023608A1 US 2008072725 W US2008072725 W US 2008072725W WO 2009023608 A1 WO2009023608 A1 WO 2009023608A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- pipeline
- constant
- plet
- foundation
- thrust
- Prior art date
Links
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 7
- 230000001351 cycling effect Effects 0.000 claims 1
- 230000001747 exhibiting effect Effects 0.000 claims 1
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 description 11
- 241001317177 Glossostigma diandrum Species 0.000 description 9
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 description 6
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 5
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000002706 hydrostatic effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000013461 design Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000003780 insertion Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000037431 insertion Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000009467 reduction Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000004590 computer program Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000009193 crawling Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000011161 development Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000006073 displacement reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000008030 elimination Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000003379 elimination reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007935 neutral effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000002250 progressing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000011084 recovery Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000008439 repair process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000011160 research Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000011435 rock Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000013535 sea water Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000002689 soil Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000012360 testing method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001052 transient effect Effects 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16L1/00—Laying or reclaiming pipes; Repairing or joining pipes on or under water
- F16L1/12—Laying or reclaiming pipes on or under water
- F16L1/20—Accessories therefor, e.g. floats, weights
Definitions
- High-temperature and/or high-pressure subsea pipelines sometimes exhibit the phenomenon of thermal walking, also called crawling or ratcheting. It is axial shifting of short pipelines due to the passage of a thermal transient, usually during start-up of flow, or due to another asymmetric load in combination with pipeline heating. Behavior of a pipeline as a short pipeline is a function of whether soil resistance or friction builds-up sufficiently to restrain longitudinal motion, or is too small to prevent overall movement. Walking usually proceeds from the end where the hot fluid is introduced towards where it flows. Other factors that influence the direction of walking are the slope of the sea bottom and the application of external axial loads such as bottom tension at the touchdown point of a catenary riser.
- PLET Pipeline End Termination
- the PLET structure includes a foundation that vertically supports the pipeline end and the weight of one or more end connectors, and any valves present.
- This foundation is usually a shallow foundation such as a mudmat that is compatible with the pipelay process.
- the foundation also provides resistance to horizontal loads, but this resistance is usually relatively small compared with the thrust from the pipeline due to walking or to thermal expansion if that expansion were restrained.
- a PLET also may include a hook or yoke to facilitate installation from a pipelay vessel or recovery for repairs.
- a PLET often includes a sliding mechanism that allows pipeline expansion to occur due to temperature and pressure changes without shifting the foundation.
- a valve or a means for tie-in of other facilities is provided at locations other than the pipeline ends.
- the structure is referred to as an inline sled.
- a riser base to allow connection of a top-tensioned riser, or to isolate a catenary riser from the remainder of the pipeline for testing or maintenance.
- a foundation mat to support the weight of these components is required, however normally there is no sliding mechanism between the pipeline and foundation.
- anchors usually suction piles, provide the restraint to longitudinal movement. These anchors may also serve as an aid to pipeline installation. In most cases, the piles have been located at one end of the pipeline segment, the higher or predicted hot end, however there have also been designs with the pile near the middle of the pipeline. Fixing the pipeline near the middle of the pipeline typically requires significantly less pile capacity than fixing the end.
- the member connecting the pipeline to the pile has historically been chosen to apply tension to the pipeline at that location both for ease in handling and to avoid buckling the pipeline there, especially when at the pipeline ends.
- Piles incur significant cost both in terms of fabrication onshore and installation offshore. In addition, they constrain the subsea architecture and congest the environs around subsea trees and manifolds.
- the load required to prevent motion through a constant application of force is much less than the maximum incurred by rigidly fixing either an end or the midpoint.
- the reduction may be enough to allow the PLET, in-line sled, riser-base, or purposely-added mud mat foundation to resist the pipeline horizontal load on its own without any piles.
- the reduction in pile load may reduce cost for the pile and for its installation.
- the invention is the interposition of a subsea constant-thrust (CT) device between a point on a pipeline and a foundation capable of resisting horizontal load. Its purpose is to eliminate thermal walking while reducing horizontal loading to the foundation.
- CT constant-thrust
- Figure 1 shows an elevation of a typical PLET with the constant-thrust device inserted between the mud mat and the foundation, integrated with the sliding mechanism.
- a typical PLET contains the following elements generally present in an ordinary design without a CT device: pipe module component 93, mudmat component 94, sliding mechanism between pipe module and mudmat component 95, and yoke/hook component 96.
- a locking pin and rear shoe may also be part of the sliding mechanism.
- Figure 2 shows the CT device placed in the rigging, component 98, between a PLET yoke/hook and a separately installed foundation pile.
- Figure 3 shows an elevation of an inline sled with the constant-thrust device inserted between the pipe and the mudmat.
- This is a typical inline sled provided to support a tie-in or valve along the route.
- Inline sleds do not usually include a mechanism for longitudinal sliding; but, to allow insertion of a CT device, the pipe module structure must be separated from the mudmat by a sliding mechanism.
- Figure 4 shows an elevation of an inline mudmat and CT device when no tie-in or valve is required.
- the pipe must have a thickened section, sleeve or collar, component 99, to allow attachment of the CT device to the pipeline without overstressing the pipe.
- the pipe must be free to move longitudinally relative to the mudmat, supported on saddles or guided shoes, forms of a sliding mechanism.
- the invention is a means to eliminate thermal walking of a submarine pipeline by applying a near constant pre-specified axial force, typically with a constant-thrust device suitable for deepwater deployment.
- the application of a near constant force is achieved using a piston-in-cylinder or equivalent arrangement in which the chamber is evacuated or contains gas at a pressure that is negligible compared to the hydrostatic pressure in the depth of water in which it will reside, and in which the driving force is provided by the external pressure of the ambient ocean water.
- one atmosphere fulfils the negligible internal pressure requirement for a deepwater installation.
- the area of the piston is sized based on the external hydrostatic pressure to produce the correct required longitudinal load. For an evacuated cylinder, the pressure differential will remain constant irrespective of stroke. If the chamber is left with one atmosphere, this gas will compress through the stroke, however the pressure and pressure change will still be small compared to the unchanging external pressure and thus the total will be close to constant.
- the invention is described initially for walking caused by thermal transients progressing along the pipeline, then expanded to other drivers resulting in asymmetrical movement.
- the location, deployment, and use of a constant-thrust device will depend largely on the force level to be achieved. Whether used at a pipeline end with a PLET or along the route with an inline sled is a matter of convenience and competing demands of the subsea architecture.
- the constant-thrust device would preferably be interposed between the sliding unit of the PLET and the PLET 's foundation part.
- the constant-thrust device would be interposed between the PLET sliding portion and the fixed point on a pile or similar anchor external to the PLET. In that case it can be part of the pile top itself, or included in the rigging between the pile and PLET, or embedded in the hook/yoke.
- the constant thrust eliminates cyclically reversing loading to the foundation as well as reducing its magnitude.
- the sliding portion is locked in position, usually the cold and unpressured position, and released only after the PLET is on-bottom and the continuing pipeline is laid.
- a constant-thrust device If utilizing a cylinder type constant-thrust device, when the PLET is on the lay vessel, the gas within the cylinder will equalize with the external atmosphere if left at atmospheric pressure or close to it and thus the piston will not be energized and the sliding portion of the PLET will be in a neutral position. Similarly, if the cylinder is evacuated, the pressure difference and thrust generated will be small and will not overcome the friction in the PLET sliding mechanism.
- the hydrostatic pressure of the seawater will load the piston, thus the locking mechanism must be able to release in a controlled manner, as the sliding portion will attempt to move forward and begin stretching the adjacent length of pipe. This can easily be done using a two-chamber CT device, and opening a flooding valve to the pressure-side.
- the constant- thrust device maybe inserted between the sliding and stationary components of an inline sled or between a point on the pipeline that moves relative to an external anchor that is stationary. If an inline sled is already required for independent reasons such as support of a heavy component or restraint of torsion, it can serve to also provide longitudinal restraint. Since inline sleds usually do not slide relative to their pipelines, a sliding mechanism must be included to decouple the pipeline longitudinally from its foundation to allow insertion of a constant-thrust device between them.
- a second application is for a pipeline that traverses changing grade, especially if most of this grade change is concentrated in one location. Walking may be caused by modest grade change, which produces a small consistent and calculable downward vector that can be equilibrated by constant tension restraint. For shallow gradients the tensile restraint needed is small and may be accommodated by any of a variety of constant-thrust devices.
- a further application is to absorb the bottom tension due to a catenary riser.
- This load is easily and consistently calculable.
- a fixed restraint would be loaded to the highest load caused by displacement of the floating structure from which the riser is supported rather than the much lower load when the structure is in its centered position.
- a constant-thrust device can be preset to resist only the much lower tension at operating level, again allowing elimination of a pile in many cases and drastically reducing its size in the others.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Earth Drilling (AREA)
- Supports For Pipes And Cables (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU2008287019A AU2008287019B2 (en) | 2007-08-10 | 2008-08-09 | Constant thrust restraint of pipeline walking |
CA2694790A CA2694790C (en) | 2007-08-10 | 2008-08-09 | Constant thrust restraint of pipeline walking |
EP08797568.6A EP2174054B1 (en) | 2007-08-10 | 2008-08-09 | Constant thrust restraint of pipeline walking |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/891,241 | 2007-08-10 | ||
US11/891,241 US8011856B2 (en) | 2007-08-10 | 2007-08-10 | Constant thrust restraint of pipeline walking |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2009023608A1 true WO2009023608A1 (en) | 2009-02-19 |
Family
ID=40346710
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2008/072725 WO2009023608A1 (en) | 2007-08-10 | 2008-08-09 | Constant thrust restraint of pipeline walking |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US8011856B2 (en) |
EP (1) | EP2174054B1 (en) |
AU (1) | AU2008287019B2 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2694790C (en) |
WO (1) | WO2009023608A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20140044489A1 (en) | 2012-08-13 | 2014-02-13 | Chevron U.S.A. Inc. | Conduit displacement mitigation apparatus, methods and systems for use with subsea conduits |
JP6462223B2 (en) * | 2014-03-13 | 2019-01-30 | 三菱重工業株式会社 | Piping protection device and nuclear facility |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
KR840001048B1 (en) * | 1979-10-15 | 1984-07-26 | 앵커/달링 인더스트리이즈 인코포레이티드 | Method and apparatus for testing snubbers in situs |
JPH0571576A (en) * | 1991-09-09 | 1993-03-23 | Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Ind Co Ltd | Vibration controller for piping system and equipment |
JPH06213388A (en) * | 1993-01-20 | 1994-08-02 | Tokyu Constr Co Ltd | Pulsation absorbing device for concrete pressure feed pipe |
JP3055101U (en) * | 1998-06-19 | 1999-01-06 | 特許機器株式会社 | Seismic isolation building piping holding structure |
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US2225515A (en) * | 1938-12-10 | 1940-12-17 | Gen Spring Corp | Support device |
US2609192A (en) * | 1949-05-28 | 1952-09-02 | Eastern Metals Res Co Inc | Coil spring and coil spring assembly, including the support for such springs |
US3539136A (en) * | 1969-03-13 | 1970-11-10 | Leonard S Suozzo | Thermo-mechanical multi-function support device |
DE2306674A1 (en) * | 1973-02-10 | 1974-08-15 | Lisega Gmbh | HANGING DEVICE FOR MOVING LOADS, PRESENTLY PIPING |
US3848639A (en) * | 1973-07-12 | 1974-11-19 | T Chen | Pipe restraining device |
IT1099960B (en) * | 1978-10-17 | 1985-09-28 | Snam Progetti | ADJUSTABLE EQUIPMENT FOR THE SUPPORT OF A PIPE INSTALLED IN HIGH BOTTOMS IN CORRESPONDENCE OF A SEA BOTTOM |
DE2906547C2 (en) * | 1979-02-16 | 1980-09-18 | Mannesmann Ag, 4000 Duesseldorf | Suspension device for a hot pipeline |
US4301989A (en) * | 1979-06-29 | 1981-11-24 | Kallenbach Ralph M | Pipe whip restraint system and energy absorbing device therefor |
GB2081414A (en) * | 1980-08-08 | 1982-02-17 | Pilgrim Eng Dev | Pipe anchoring system |
DE8113061U1 (en) * | 1981-05-02 | 1982-07-22 | Schlegel GmbH, 7110 Öhringen | vice |
DE3215217A1 (en) * | 1982-04-23 | 1983-10-27 | Schlegel GmbH, 7110 Öhringen | HEIGHT-ADJUSTABLE CLAMPING AND MOUNTING DEVICE |
GB8402189D0 (en) * | 1984-01-27 | 1984-02-29 | Babcock Power Ltd | Inertia stop for sudden loads |
DE3816673A1 (en) * | 1988-05-17 | 1989-11-30 | Lisega Kraftwerktech Gmbh | HANGING DEVICE FOR SHIFTING LOADS, IN PARTICULAR PIPELINES AND THE LIKE |
US5232251A (en) * | 1991-03-18 | 1993-08-03 | Gaughan John T | Expansion joint with two sealing elements |
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US5462246A (en) * | 1993-10-27 | 1995-10-31 | Schlenker; Donald D. | Anti-rotation clamp for gated irrigation pipe |
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AUPQ119699A0 (en) * | 1999-06-25 | 1999-07-22 | J P Kenny Pty Ltd | Stabilisation of submarine elongate structures |
FR2839542B1 (en) * | 2002-05-07 | 2004-11-19 | Bouygues Offshore | BASE-SURFACE CONNECTION INSTALLATION OF A SUBSEA PIPE COMPRISING A BENDED PIPE ELEMENT HOLDED BY A BASE |
US6817808B1 (en) * | 2003-05-20 | 2004-11-16 | Mentor Subsea Technology Services, Inc. | Rotatable pipeline end termination |
JP3989482B2 (en) * | 2004-11-04 | 2007-10-10 | 本田技研工業株式会社 | Vibration isolator |
FR2886711B1 (en) * | 2005-07-13 | 2008-11-21 | Technip France Sa | DEVICE FOR REGULATING THE FLAMMING OF SUB-MARINE PIPES |
-
2007
- 2007-08-10 US US11/891,241 patent/US8011856B2/en active Active
-
2008
- 2008-08-09 CA CA2694790A patent/CA2694790C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2008-08-09 WO PCT/US2008/072725 patent/WO2009023608A1/en active Application Filing
- 2008-08-09 EP EP08797568.6A patent/EP2174054B1/en not_active Not-in-force
- 2008-08-09 AU AU2008287019A patent/AU2008287019B2/en not_active Ceased
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
KR840001048B1 (en) * | 1979-10-15 | 1984-07-26 | 앵커/달링 인더스트리이즈 인코포레이티드 | Method and apparatus for testing snubbers in situs |
JPH0571576A (en) * | 1991-09-09 | 1993-03-23 | Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Ind Co Ltd | Vibration controller for piping system and equipment |
JPH06213388A (en) * | 1993-01-20 | 1994-08-02 | Tokyu Constr Co Ltd | Pulsation absorbing device for concrete pressure feed pipe |
JP3055101U (en) * | 1998-06-19 | 1999-01-06 | 特許機器株式会社 | Seismic isolation building piping holding structure |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
See also references of EP2174054A4 * |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US20090041547A1 (en) | 2009-02-12 |
AU2008287019A1 (en) | 2009-02-19 |
CA2694790C (en) | 2015-07-07 |
EP2174054B1 (en) | 2014-11-19 |
US8011856B2 (en) | 2011-09-06 |
EP2174054A1 (en) | 2010-04-14 |
EP2174054A4 (en) | 2011-07-06 |
CA2694790A1 (en) | 2009-02-19 |
AU2008287019B2 (en) | 2014-04-17 |
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