Objective
The aim of the Project is to develop new types of gas and fire detectors to be used on unmanned offshore oil and gas platforms, which ensure safe, reliable operation with the minimum maintenance requirements. In order to set the performance targets for the new detectors with regard to reliability/availability, it is believed necessary to perform the risk analysis of an optimised platform design incorporating all the latest features used in equipment and component design confining flammable and toxic gases.
The development project is based on the Infra-Red Spectrophotometric techniques, which are highly innovative in this field and promise to solve the major detection problems for such an environment being characterised by windy open areas with fog, mist, dust deposition and adverse climatic conditions.
The main result of the Project will be the development of prototypes of fire and gas detectors based on the Infra-Red Spectrophotometric techniques. In comparison with detectors employed to date, the new detectors are expected to have superior capabilities in the following areas: response, range of sensitivity, accuracy, reliability, maintenance and testing requirements and spurious signals immunity. These features are highly desirable for a successful offshore detector system and present detectors do not come up to an acceptable standard.
The technology developed will have feedback from full scale tests on wind tunnel and on offshore platforms. Possible maloperations will be recorded and analysed in view of obtaining improvements.
The risk analysis results quantify the risk reductions possible using the new gas detector system. The risk analysis results will also be considered in terms of feedback into the design specifications of mechanical components and equipment confining hazardous fluids and the policy of their maintenance/inspection.
The success of this development project will improve the reliability/availability of the fire/gas detection leading to improved operational and safety levels for automatic production systems to the extent that unmanned operation may meet the acceptance risk criteria as long as the predicted detector availabilities are achievable in practice. The project is also believed to give improvements also in the general aspects related to gas/fire detection technology, especially in relation to the performance requirements associated with the detectors sensitivity and response.
The project consists of the following main phases :
2. 1 Safety Analysis of a typical offshore platform designed for unmanned operation in order to :
- characterise the potential sources of release of flammable gases;
- characterise the availability requirements of gas/fire detection systems;
- assess the risk levels expected to be associated with the platform operation.
2. 2 Technological development of the fire/gas detection system comprising the following main phases :
2. 2. 1. Collection and assessment of the existing information about the performance of fire and gas detectors for offshore plants, used up to date.
2. 2. 2. Development of the Project, by the definition of the experimental parameters representing the offshore platform situation and the realisation of the innovative types of detectors
2. 2. 3. Project realisation, consisting of :
- proposals and design of innovative detection systems;
- construction of the new detectors prototypes;
- experimental gas dispersion studies in a wind tunnel to define gas dispersion parameters;
- set up of a testing facility (environmental simulator);
- testing of the new detectors in the test facility and offshore.
2. 3. Feedback of the results obtained from the technological activities into the Safety Analysis, in order to verify the risk levels achievable.
The risk analysis developed as indicated in Para 2. 1. will be reviewed in order to implement the results obtained.
The suitability of the risk levels will be analysed and discussed in comparison with those allowed and expected for the manned platforms.
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
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DEM - Demonstration contractsCoordinator
RG21 2YY Basingstoke
United Kingdom