EWSHM2016, Bilbao, SPAIN - Nondestructive testing · EWSHM2016, Bilbao, SPAIN New generation of...

EWSHM2016, Bilbao, SPAIN

New generation of flexible risers equipped with motion capture

Morphopipe System

N. SAGUIN-SPRYNSKI1, M. CARMONA1, L. JOUANET1, O. DELCROIX2

1 CEA, LETI, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France – 2 Technip, Flexifrance, Le Trait, France

nathalie.saguin@cea.fr ; mikael.carmona@cea.fr ; laurent.jouanet@cea.fr ; odelcroix@technip.com

Riser integrity management can be performed at different levels. As a first indicator, the system compare the actual curvature and angle

versus the expected envelop. This validate the expected and safe riser behaviour and alert the operator if required. Data from Morphopipe

combined with other data from monitoring systems or inspections can give refined indication on the status of the riser. Morphopipe will

provide valuable data for accurate re-assessment of the fatigue. The calculated life span of the riser can be updated.

Through FORSYS Subsea, the alliance between FMC Technologies and TECHNIP, Morphopipe data will act as an additional enabler of

pro-active condition-based maintenance so as to increase uptime and accelerate decision time.

CONTEXT, CHALLENGES

MONITORING SOFTWARE

ASSIOCIATED SERVICES

METHODOLOGY AND VALIDATION

Summary Structural dynamic monitoring is a fundamental element for predictive maintenance of flexible risers, subject to harsh constraints. The

collaboration CEA/Technip resulted in a new solution with MEMS accelerometers, called Morphopipe. The flexible riser equipped with

the Morphopipe system allows the estimate of the consumed service life via the curvature knowledge. The context, the technology and the

algorithms will be mentioned, as well as the industrial integration at manufacturing stage and the added values of such a system.

Use of MEMS accelerometers in manufacture challengeStructural monitoring of flexibles

• Flexible risers: multilayers structures to convoy oil/gas offshore

• Harsh constraints over 20 years

• Curvature at the bend stiffener: main parameter to estimate

(detection of extreme events, involved in cumulated fatigue)

• Needed to improve safety and will potentially extend lifetime

• Expertise in shape/motion capture via inertial sensors in CEA

• Need to use highly performant 1-axis MEMS accelerometers

• Instrumentation have to be embedded, in a non-accessible zone

during life time, with a process compatible with each project

[specific requirements: water depth, sea state, pressure,

temperature…]

• Additional instrumented layer, compliant with riser design and industrial

manufacture

• Reliability considerations: reliable sensors, redundancy, architecture and

encapsulation designed for ATEX and IECEx certification

• Calibration process dedicated in order to provide accurate final data

Schematization of the

layout of a riser

instrumented with the

Morphopipe system

The data acquisition unit and supervision software has been specifically developed

based on CyXense® from Cybernetix. It allows:

• The supervision of the electronic cards (power supply, communication) for up to

ten risers at the same time

• Administration and logs (user accounts, health check, historical logs)

• Display of data (maximum, direction, profile, localisation) and alerts

• Possibility for standard communication protocol to other system (Modbus)

Screenshots of the monitoring software (left: view of alerts tab; right: view on direction of

bending plane, location and value of maximum curvature)

INDUSTRIAL INTEGRATION

Left: Experimental dynamic setup at Technip/Flexi-France site – Flexible riser

instrumented by 5 external rings of 2 nodes and reconstructed flexible riser superimposed

(colours for variations of curvature). Right: values of curvature along the instrumented

section, compared to the radius of the davier

Schematization of the Morphopipe

principle and architecture. By

deploying at least two 1-axis

MEMS, the system creates

instrumented rings. The rings act as

inclinometers measuring the tilt of

the tangent at discrete times and at

different points of the central axis

The curvature is the space-

derivative of the tilt function, thus is

computed in filtering in space and

time the tiltsSimplified view of electronic

prototype embedded within riser

The Morphopipe layer assembly is performed

manually, step by step, at the entry point for

the manufacturing machine at Flexi-France.

Then, standard processes are used to cover

and protect it: High strength tapes and

Plastic sheathing