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FLEXSENS : INTEGRITY MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT OF FLEXIBLE RISERS AND PIPELINES

Objective

The aim of the project is to build and demonstrate FLEXSENS a system comprising a sensing device and associated processing software, capable of capturing and interpreting a range of performance signatures from flexible pipes and risers. This will enable integrity monitoring techniques to be applied to such flexibles and allow planned assessments as part of asset management programmes.
The project will result in the demonstration of a sensing device and related software undertaking performance signature capture on a flexible pipe and the subsequent data interpretation.

Flexsens is an innovative condition and integrity assessment system for flexible risers and pipes.The system integrates unique products developed by the proposers at the request of oil companies and applies them in an innovative way for the first time. Comprising flexible pipe riser design, analysing and "expert system" based assessment software (developed by MCS); location, noise and vibration measurement and analysis inspection tool (developed by Amitec) and pig drive system (developed by Caltec), FLEXSENS will provide an easy to use state-of-the-art integrity monitoring and assessment package.
The application of Flexsens aims to optimise the integrity assessment needs for individual pipeline-riser assets and therefore ensure that the correct level of inspection and maintenance is achieved while unnecessary intervention and downtime is minimised. The proposers will seek to demonstrate and validate the applicability of a Flexible Pipe Integrity Management System in establishing a planned programme of integrity management for an operator's flexible pipe system and in its ability to assess new inspection results and update the integrity programme. The industry will have a methodology, the basis of which has already been established by leading oil companies through a joint industry initiative led by MCS, to develop planned programmes for the integrity management for their flexible pipe systems in accordance with regulatory and safety requirements.
The work involves integrating the key technologies into a modular system and so will involve some initial design to ensure that the interfaces are correct. The bulk of the work, however, will concentrate on testing individual and combined modules under both static and flowing conditions. Demonstration tests will be with flexibles containing a variety of pre-determined defects and field defects from a production riser.

Call for proposal

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Coordinator

BRITISH HYDROMECHANICS RESEARCH GROUP (BHR)
EU contribution
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Address
DIVISION CALTEC CRANFIELD
MK43 0AJ Cranfield
United Kingdom

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Total cost
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