【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】The first domestically produced fully automatic SCR welding equipment was tested at sea between 2018 and 2023
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This post was last edited by “Fish Swimming in the Desert” on November 19, 2023, at 14:47. Reflecting on a decade of development in chemical engineering and technology; it’s truly wonderful to see China thriving and becoming ever more prosperous. This post serves as a starting point for discussion—the more people participate, the livelier the conversation will be. With your involvement, things will be even better! [A Decade of Great Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment] This is a continuously updated compilation post; all are welcome to join the discussion: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html Prevention comes first; human lives are paramount. ----------------------------------------- Recently, the first domestically developed fully automatic welding equipment for deep-water steel catenary risers (SCR), spearheaded by Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd. (COOEC), successfully completed sea trials. It is now ready for use in engineering projects, marking a significant breakthrough in China’s independent research and manufacturing capabilities regarding SCR welding equipment. It is said that the SCR is a key conduit for transporting offshore oil and gas from underwater to floating production platforms, and it serves as a vital facility for the development of deep-water oil and gas fields. SCR is constructed by welding together specialized steel pipes; it stands in the complex and volatile deep sea, and must operate safely under the continuous impact of extreme sea conditions such as waves for 20 years or even longer, which imposes extremely high demands on welding technology. Fully automatic welding boasts many advantages such as high welding efficiency and good welding quality, making it a key focus in the development of SCR welding equipment technology. Until now, the research, development, and manufacturing technologies for SCR fully automatic welding equipment have been in the hands of a few international companies, which has hindered the progress of independent development of high-efficiency SCR laying equipment in our country. To this end, CNOOC Engineering collaborated with domestic equipment manufacturers to develop SCR fully automatic welding equipment, organized experts to conduct in-depth research on the hardware structure and supporting systems, and successfully completed tasks such as model construction and software programming. During the functional integration and debugging of the equipment prototype, as well as the on-site welding tests, the project team conducted thorough research and made continuous efforts to break away from conventional thinking in the development of land-based pipeline welding equipment. They optimized the welding processes and carried out hundreds of welding experiments; as a result, the performance of the equipment and the quality of the welds met international industry standards, laying a solid foundation for subsequent offshore tests. Meanwhile, over the course of two years, the project completed tasks such as the development of a welding database and the evaluation of the performance of circumferential welds, thereby initially establishing a complete set of SCR fully automatic welding equipment and related technical capabilities. Next, CNOOC Engineering will build on domestic offshore engineering deep-water projects to continuously improve the technical capabilities of SCR fully automatic welding equipment. By achieving self-sufficiency in key equipment, it will enhance the quality and efficiency of SCR laying in China, thereby providing the necessary equipment and technical support for accelerating the exploration and development of deep-sea oil and gas resources in the country.
A deep-water riser is connected to a floating production platform at one end and to subsea equipment at the other; it serves as a key conduit for transporting oil and gas from the seabed to the floating production platform. SCR is a type of deep-water riser, generally used in deep-water oil and gas fields at depths of over 1500 meters. SCR has excellent adaptability and has been successfully applied to tension-leg platforms, semi-submersible platforms, floating production systems, and floating production, storage, and offloading systems; it is suitable for any existing floating structure in water depths of over 3000 meters. “SCR has replaced traditional flexible risers and top-tension risers, becoming the preferred type of riser for deep-water development, and is currently considered an effective solution for reducing the costs of deep-water riser systems. ”Li Huailiang, chief engineer of CNOOC Engineering Design Institute, told a reporter from Science and Technology Daily. However, SCR is extremely difficult to manufacture. It is constructed by welding together specialized steel pipes, and stands in the complex and unpredictable depths of the sea; it must operate safely under the constant impact of extreme sea conditions such as waves for 20 years or even longer, which imposes extremely strict requirements on welding technology. “Fully automatic welding boasts many advantages such as high welding efficiency and good welding quality, making it a key focus in the development of SCR welding equipment technology. ”Li Lixia, manager of the Welding Laboratory at CNOOC Engineering Design Institute, explained that for a long time, international SCR fully automatic welding equipment and welding technologies have been in the hands of a few multinational companies, which has hindered the progress of independent development of high-efficiency SCR laying equipment technology in China.
Both specialty steel pipes and welding equipment are essential. To gain a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the current state of SCR laying technology worldwide, the research team at CNOOC Engineering collected data from over 20 projects both domestically and internationally, compiled more than 100 welding process specifications, and brought together research expertise to conduct analyses and evaluations. At the same time, based on extensive construction experience and welding data from foreign companies, preliminary design of fully automatic welding solutions and optimization of welding processes were carried out at the beginning of 2022; in addition, a team was organized to work on the development of hardware systems and the debugging of their functions. “Welding SCR is extremely difficult; first and foremost, a good ‘skeleton’ is required – high-quality steel pipes. ”Li Lixia said. Since the steel catenary riser is formed by welding together multiple sections of standard-length steel pipes, it combines the functions of an undersea pipeline and a riser. Its upper end is freely suspended outside the platform through flexible joints, while the riser hangs vertically at the sea bottom under the effect of gravity in a catenary shape; its lower end is connected to the undersea production system, eliminating the need for undersea stress joints or flexible connections, **which reduces the difficulty and volume of underwater construction work. Compared with flexible risers and top-tensioned risers, the steel catenary riser has a simpler structure and lower cost; it does not require top-tension compensation, exhibits strong adaptability to the drifting and heaving motions of the floating body, and is suitable for high-temperature and high-pressure environments.
SCR also requires a highly skilled \"bone setter\" – SCR welding equipment. “Due to the significant drift caused by winds, waves, and currents on deep-sea floating structures, the pipes bend repeatedly, which means that the SCR riser system has to withstand extremely high peak loads, as well as alternating loads resulting from platform movements and vortex generator vibrations during its service life. ”Sun Youhui, the project leader, pointed out that the geometric discontinuities present in the weld area can easily lead to stress concentration, thereby increasing the risk of severe fractures and fatigue failure in those welds – a situation that is fatal for SCR systems. “Therefore, extremely high requirements are placed on the performance of the welds and the welding techniques. ”Sun Youhui said. To address these challenges, CNOOC collaborated with domestic equipment manufacturers to initiate the development of SCR fully automatic welding equipment. Experts were organized to conduct in-depth research on the hardware architecture and supporting systems, successfully completing tasks such as model development and software programming. During the functional integration and debugging of the equipment prototype, as well as the on-site welding tests, the project team conducted thorough research and continuous experimentation, breaking away from the conventional approaches used in the development of land-based pipeline welding equipment. They optimized the welding processes by carrying out over a hundred tests of eleven different types, including pulling, bending, punching, hardness testing, and fracture toughness testing. These efforts enabled the optimization of welding parameters, resulting in equipment performance and welding quality that meet international industry standards, thus laying a solid foundation for offshore testing. Meanwhile, over the course of two years, the research team completed tasks such as the development of a welding database and the evaluation of the performance of circumferential welds, thereby establishing a basic set of capabilities related to SCR welding technology. “Due to the high temperatures, high humidity, and high salinity at sea, the equipment is required to be resistant to high temperatures as well as to corrosion caused by salty wastewater. ”Sun Youhui explained that to ensure the reliability of the equipment, on September 11, 2023, the ship \"Ocean Oil 201\" was used to conduct offshore tests with SCR automatic welding equipment developed and manufactured in China; 50 welds were welded and inspected within 20 days, with a 100% pass rate. At present, this SCR automatic welding equipment is ready for use in engineering projects, indicating that CNOOC has fully mastered the SCR welding process and inspection techniques based on domestically produced pipes and equipment, and possesses the complete technical capability to carry out SCR installation independently.
【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Processing Equipment】Europe’s Largest Biofuel Shell REDIIGreen Module from 2017 to 2023 https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-5494161-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum Website)
This Kerna scale is really amazing; it’s fantastic