TMM4205 SEMESTEROPPGAVE Date: 20.02.

2017
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INFORMATION

Exercise: The Semesteroppgave includes three practical industry cases

similar to what you will meet when you start your industrial carrier.
All the three cases shall be answered in a written report including
necessary text and pictures.

The actual cases shall be solved by using information from the

lectures, literature and Internet. References should be used when
reporting.

Organizing: The work shall be executed in groups each consisting of two or

three students.

Report format: The report should have a length of ca 10 pages.

Language: English or Norwegian

Delivery: The report shall be delivered within 5th of May. An electronic

version (pdf format) shall be sent to Astrid de Wijn
(Astrid.deWijn@ntnu.no).

Evaluation: Pass/fail

Contact people: Astrid deWijn (Astrid.deWijn@ntnu.no)

Nuria Espallargas (Nuria.Espallargas@ntnu.no)
Ole . Knudsen (Ole.O.Knudsen@sintef.no)
Roy Johnsen (Roy.Johnsen@ntnu.no)
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EXERCISE 1 Protective coatings on offshore drilling risers

HM Wirth produce offshore drilling risers, called CLIP Risers TM. These are 25 m long pipes, shown in the
illustration above, that are joined on the drilling rig during drilling. They consist of the following parts:

The main drill pipe

Buoyancy elements clamped around the drill pipe (the white and green material in the picture)
5 utility pipes: 2 x Choke & Kill lines, hydraulic line (stainless steel), 2 x booster lines
Clamps for holding the buoyancy elements and the utility lines together
Lock-ring for connecting the pipes into a long drilling riser

Further information about the drilling risers can be found at the following websites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pzKQ4xwtx8
http://mhwirth.com/our-products/subsea-and-risers/

The drilling risers are exposed subsea during drilling for up to a few months. They are then taken out and
transported to shore, where they are stored until the next drilling operation. They may be stored for up to
a year. The storage site is outdoors and close to the sea in e.g. Gulf of Mexico, Nigeria, Brazil and
Norway. In addition to the corrosive atmosphere and the seawater, the risers are subject to mechanical
impacts during transportation and handling. The lock ring and the connection area have very tough
requirements for fitting/tightness. No leaks are allowed. These surfaces are both coated and lubricated.
Desired lifetime is 20 years.

Your job is to specify coatings for the following surfaces (paint, metallic, thermal spray ...):
1. The main pipe outer surface (low alloy steel)
2. The four utility pipes (low alloy steel)
3. The hydraulic line (stainless steel). The material is corrosion resistant in the exposure
environments. Electric contact to the rest of the riser is likely
4. The clamps that hold the buoyancy elements and the utility lines together (low alloy steel)
5. The connection surfaces (lock ring and the gray surface in the illustration above)(low alloy steel).

Explain (a) the most relevant alternatives, (b) your choice for each surface, (c) expected coating
degradation mechanisms, and (d) drawbacks and advantages with your choices.
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EXERCISE 2 OFFSHORE WIND TURBINES INTEGRITY AND CORROSION

PROTECTION OF SUBSEA HYDRAULIC PISTON RODS

SWAY is a Norwegian company who has developed a concept for offshore wind turbines. Until now most
wind turbines have been placed onshore in landfall areas along the coast, but the wind power industry is
now investigating the possibilities for placing the turbines offshore. The main advantage of placing wind
turbines offshore is that the wind is stronger and more constant offshore in addition to esthetic aspects
(out of sight). Offshore wind turbines are of particular interest for Norway with a long and windy coastline,
and the long term experience with offshore installations gained through 30 years of petroleum activity in
the North Sea

Placing complex constructions offshore introduces several material challenges, particularly with respect to
corrosion and corrosion protection. The Figure 2-1 illustrates the tower concept developed by SWAY. In
order for the turbine to produce maximum power, it must always be aligned against the wind. The tower is
constructed for maximum strength with minimum weight and the system for rotation (point of rotation) is
therefore installed about 50-100 m below the sea level. Wind direction controlled rotation of the system is
provided by an automatic hydraulic system with the most critical component of the system being the
hydraulic piston(s) moving in and out of the hydraulic cylinder(s), ref. below figure. Hence, corrosion,
fouling, calcareous deposits etc. on these pistons is critical for the functionality of system. This, in addition
to the fact that repair and/or replacement of subsea hydraulic systems is both complicated and extremely
expensive, calls for an evaluation of this problem aiming for solutions enabling the system to operate
without problems for a lifetime of 20 years or longer.

Figure 2-1 SWAY wind turbines installed offshore (left) and typical hydraulic cylinder (right).
 TMM4205 SEMESTEROPPGAVE Date: 20.02.2017
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1. Different types of coatings/surface treatments are normally used for hydraulic piston rods depending
on exposure environment.
a. Set up a requirement list (Design Basis) for piston rods to be exposed in 1) marine
atmosphere and 2) in seawater.
b. Set up a list of min. 5 alternative coatings/surface treatments for the piston rod to achieve the
requirements described in a). Describe each system briefly including process description,
properties and strength/weaknesses for the alternatives. Information shall be collected from
open literature (Internet) or from other sources.
c. The customer wants to test alternative coatings/surface treatments before he make the final
selection. Propose a test program for the customer.
2. What alternatives do we have for corrosion protection of the hydraulic assembly (not the piston rod
treated in Question 1)?
3. What problems may be caused by cathodic protection?
4. Propose a protection system that may give us the desired 20 years lifetime for the actual design. Your
proposal may be based on coatings/surface treatment (from 1a)), other corrosion protection
techniques or smart design. You are asked to explain the reason for your proposal.
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EXERCISE 3 DESIGN OF A FLOW LINE CONNECTOR FOR SUBSEA OIL AND GAS
APPLICATIONS

A flow line connector for connecting flow lines in the oil and gas industry is under development. A typical
arrangement is shown below. The subsea structure is cathodic protected by aluminum anodes. This
applies for external surfaces only.

Example of subsea arrangement

The flow line is made of Super

Duplex Stainless Steel (SDSS)

Connectors connecting flow

lines to the manifold.

Connector
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External environment: Seawater(will also be

present inside the connector cavities outside
the seal)

Flange male Clamp

Flange female

Hub male Hub female

The connector can connect two pipe

sections with an angular misalignment of
Pipeline Seal +/- 3
Pipeline

SDSS material
SDSS material

Internal environment: oil and gas,

sand particles may be present in
The Flange and Hub is
the flow
connected by a shrink fit
connection. This opens up for
use of different material in
Flange and Hub.
 R3 = 158 mm
TMM4205 SEMESTEROPPGAVE
contact ) Date: 20.02.2017
R1 = 239 mm(radius to Page: 7 av 8

-172 mm
radius = 12 mmHub contact radius =
Transfer contact force.Seal contact
pressures ranging from 5 to 345 bar.
Make a gas tight seal contact for 3
Contact requirements (Seal Hub): F
Contact 3

F 2
3 1 F
1
radius = 239 mmClamp contact radius = F
F
Transfer contact force.Flange contact
Contact requirements (Flange Clamp):
Contact 1
R2 = 223 mm Flange Male R = 200 mmFlange Female R = -

239 mmClamp contact radius = 200 mm

in the connector Transfer contact force.Flange contact radius =
producing an axial pretension force Contact requirements (Female Male Flange):
The clamp is moved radially Contact 2

Contact forces during normal operation:

Force Description
F1 = 3 000 kN Normal force between clamp and flange (assume that the two contact areas
have the same normal force)
F2 = 5 000 kN Normal force between female and male flange
F3 = 300 kN Normal force between seal and hubs (assume that the two contact areas have
the same normal force)

Material requirements based on initial strength calculations (surface requirements are not included):
Part Minimum yield strength, y,min [MPa]
Seal 600
Hubs 400
Clamp 400

Flanges 500

The connector shall have a service life of 20 years.

For all the contacts: assume contact between two cylindrical surfaces

Answer the following questions:

1. After the connector has been made up connecting two pipe sections, it is assumed that the
connector remains in a static position, i.e. no sliding movement. For this application find suitable
materials and surface treatments for the Seal, the Hubs, the Flanges and the Clamp. It is
important to avoid unnecessary cost due to expensive material solutions.
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a. Based on the chosen material and surface treatment calculate the following using the
Hertz equations (assume line contact; cylinder against cylinder).
i. Maximum contact stress
ii. Maximum shear stress
iii. Location of maximum shear stress
iv. Contact width and contact area

Do this for the three contacts; Seal Hub, Female Male Flange and Clamp Flange.
Based on the calculated values and the used materials make comments to how these
contacts will behave. Can we expect any problems? Of special interest is the seal contact
that is crucial for the connector functionality.

b. Discuss the proposed choice of materials concerning potential corrosion problems.

2. For another connector application it is required that the connector can slid from -3 to 3 during
operation (see the figure below). This movement will be due to external loadings as temperature
expansion of long pipelines and pipeline movement due to snagging of trawling equipment
(fishing boat equipment). The contact stresses are assumed constant during the sliding. It is
required that the connector can make minimum 100 sliding motions without producing significant
wear damage on the surfaces. The sliding motion has a low speed. This dynamic application
needs a redesign of the contact surfaces. Make a new choice of surface treatments and if
necessary base materials. Assume that the calculated stresses found in 1a are still valid.

Some sliding
0 degree will be present
+3 degree -3 degree in all contacts

a. Discuss the proposed materials and surface treatments regarding potential wear
problems. Which wear mechanisms may be present in this application?
b. Discuss the possibility to use a lubricant for reducing the friction and avoiding severe
wear. Which lubrication mechanisms can be effective in this application?
c. How can a lubricant be applied to the sliding surfaces? If necessary propose design
changes.