Launchpad, September - October 2004
For a full list of proposed, active and closed projects see here
Under water in-situ repair for FPSO and semi-submersible oil rigs
Launched: 14 July 2004
Cost per sponsor: £30 000 pa, duration two years
Project Leader: Afshin Motarjemi
If repairs to an FPSO or semi-submersible oilrig are required, they must be done while the vessel is on station to avoid the unacceptable costs of removal of the vessel from service. Safety and ballast considerations dictate that such repair must be carried out underwater. In order to demonstrate that adequate weld integrity can be achieved and to qualify new wet underwater welding procedures, a programme of simulated repair welding is proposed in this project outline. The resulting test welds will be evaluated by ultrasonic testing and subjected to conventional qualification testing. The programme of work also includes cross-weld fatigue testing, the results of which will be the basis for obtaining approval for the underwater hull weld repair techniques from Classification Societies.
GRP pipe NDE assessment and development
Launched: 21 September 2004
Cost per sponsor: £20 000 pa, duration two years
Project Leader: Reiko Takahashi
The use of composite materials for pipe is expanding across many industries, driven by a range of benefits including light weight and corrosion resistance. Effective non-destructive testing (NDT) and evaluation is required if the full potential of composite pipe is to be realised by industry. This project will identify the best NDT technologies for different pipe and joint geometries, and assess the capabilities and limitations of the methods. Guidelines for inspection procedures for industrial applications will be developed.
