CE687

LECTURE21

 flexiblearenonrigidpipesandcablesforwhichthere

arethreemaintypes:
Unbondedflexibles
Umbilicalcables

Bondedhoses

UNBONDEDFLEXIBLE
Pipemadefromplasticlayersandsteel

windings
Thecarcasspreventscollapseofthe
(plastic)pressuresheathdueto
pressurebuildupinthesteelwindings;
Thepressuresheathcontainsthefluid
withinthepipeandoffersthecorrosion
resistance;
Thepressurevaultcomprises
interlockingwireswoundwithalarge
helixangle.Thisresiststhepressure
hoopstresseswhilststillbeingableto
flex;
Thedoublearmourlayersaretorque
balancedoutersteellayerswithalow
helixangle.Theyresistthetensileloads
andofferimpactresistance;
Theexternalsheathkeepsoutthe
seawater.

WHEREAREUNBONDEDFLEXIBLESUSED?
Jumpers
Integralflowlines
Dynamicrisers

Conventionaltechnology

Hybridtechnology

 Threemainusesforunbondedflexiblesare
Jumpers:shortsay30m(100ft)lengthswhichactas
spoolpiecestoconnectonepieceofequipmenttoanother(a
welltoamanifoldinthediagramabove),orareconnectedto
apipelineinsteadofarigidspooltomakethetieinfaster.
Flowlines:eventhoughtheyaremoreexpensiveto
manufacture,becauseflexiblescanbeinstalledandtiein
quickly,theycanbecosteffectiveasstaticflowlines.Thisis
particularlysoiftheycanbepulledintoaJtubeandmadeup
directlytothemanifold,suchthattheriserandjumperare
integralwiththeflowline.
Dynamicrisers:theoriginalreasonfordevelopingflexibles
wasfordynamicapplicationssuchasriserswherethepipe
needstoconnectastaticpointontheseabedtoamoving
pointonthevessel.

Manufacturersofunbondedflexibles
Technip

Le Trait, France
Flexibrs at Vitria, Esprito Santo, Brazil
Asiaflex at Tanjung Langsat Port, Malaysia (2010)
Angoflex at Lobito Angola (2010)

Wellstream
Newcastle, UK
Niteri, Brazil

NKT
Kalundborg, Denmark

Deepflex
Galvaston, Texas

UMBILICAL
Multifunctionalcable
Power
Chemicalinjection
Control

Hydraulic(HP/LP)orelectrical

Data
Electricalorfibreoptic

 Anumbilicalismultifunctionalcable.
Ithasnumbersofcomponentstwistedtogether.Diametersare

up250mm.Thetwistingallowstheumbilicaltobereeledto
smallradii(say2m)withoutdamagingtheinternal
components.

Thefunctionsinclude:

Provisionofelectricalpower,oftenhighvoltage,throughinsulated

coppercores
ChemicallinestypicallyinanylonhosewithKevlarreinforcement.
Analternativeisaduplexhose,forwhichfatigueduring
manufactureandinstallationneedstobeconsidered.
Hydraulicandelectricalcontrollinesaresimilartotheabove,but
onasmallerscale
Datalinescanbesimilartotheelectricalcontrollines,typicallyin
quads,orcanbefibreoptic.Thelatterarenormallyplacedinthe
centreoftheumbilicaltominimisebendingandaxialstrains

OTHERCOMPONENTSOFUMBILICALS
Armourwires
Sheaths
Wovengasrelease
Solid
Fillers
Spares

 Othercomponentsofanumbilicalinclude:
Armourwirestogiveprotectionandtensilestrength.
Thesearegenerallyprotectedfromcorrosionusinga
galvanisedcoating;
Extrudedsheaths,typicallyofpolyethylene,tocontain
thebundleandexcludewater.Thealternative,woven
sheaths,permitgaspermeatingfromhosestobe
releasedalongthewholelengthofthecableratherthan
atoneendattheplatform;
Lowcost,softplasticfillersareusedtofilltheinterstices
betweenthevarioustubestokeeptheumbilicalround.

WHOMAKESUMBILICALS?
Technipgroup
DucoatNewcastleupon
Tyne,England
Duco,Houston,Texas
AngoflexatLobito,Angola
Nexans(Alcatel)
Halden,Norway
Tokyo,Japan
AkerKvaerner
Mobile,Alabama
Moss,Norway

OceaneeringMultiflex
PanamaCity,Florida
Rosyth,Scotland
Niteri,RJ,Brazil
JDRumbilicalsystems
Littleport,England
Sattahip,Thailand
Prysmian(Pirelli)
VilaVelha,ES,Brazil
Cikampek,WestJava

BONDEDHOSE?
Vulcanisedrubberhosewithwireornylonreinforcement
Bondedhosesaremadefromrubberwithhelicalwireor

nylonreinforcement.
Manufacturedbywindinglayersofrubberand
reinforcementontoamandrelandthenheatingthehosein
anoventovulcanisetherubber,thusbondingallthelayers
together.
diameterlines24inor30inboreofmodestpressure
rating(say30bar)butinshortlengths10mor12m
Bondedhosesarerobust,fatigueresistant,andflexible.
Usedinsinglepointmoorings(SPMs),risersetc.
Muchhigherpressure,bondedhosesarealsoavailablein
smallerdiameters.usedfordrillingaschokeandkilllines,
andalsotopsidesforconnectiontoflowlinerisers.

TYPICALUSESOFBONDEDHOSES

WHOMAKESBONDEDHOSES?
ContinentalContiTech
DunlopatGrimsby,England
PhoenixBeattie(Taurus
Emerg),Hungary
YokohamaRubberCo
HiratsukaandIbaraki,Japan
Taoyuan,Taiwan
ManuliRubberIndustries
AscoliPiceno,Italy
Bridgestone
Tokyo,Japan

Trelleborg
ClermontFerrand,
France
BassiOffshore
Gironico,Italy
RedfernAmiflex
Preston,England
Cebo
IJmuiden,Holland

 Unbondedflexiblesforjumpers,flowlinesand

dynamicrisers.
Umbilicalsforgroupingtogetherelectricaland
hydrauliccontrollines,chemicallinesanddata
transfercables.
Bondedhosesforlargediameterandlowpressure
applicationswherefatigueisaconcernespeciallythe
risersandfloatingsectionsattachedtosinglepoint
moorings.

UNBONDEDFLEXIBLESLOADOUT
SimplerandfasterthanforrigidSlayandJlay
Process:
Loadingthepipeontothevessel
Pipelayingandthecontrolofthelaytensionand
minimumbendradius
PullinstoJtubesandtomakefirstandsecondend
connectionstosubseaequipment
Installationmethodsforflexiblerisers

PIPEROUTINGCHANNELFOR
LONGLENGTHS,ORREELS

Theloadoutoperationisreversedduringoffshorepipelaywiththeflexiblebeing
routedalongchannelsandrollersystemstothetensioners.
Alternatively,shorterlengthsofflexiblescanbeliftedondeckinreels.

LOADOUTOFLONGERFLOWLINES
Longerlengths
Directfromfactoryto
shipshold
Adjacenttoquayside
Sailingtimetosite
Features
Catenaryforspeed

tolerance
Turningcarousel

STORAGEONCAROUSEL

LOADOUTOFSHORTLENGTHS
FORRISERSANDJUMPERS

INSTALLATIONMETHODS
Jlaymethodofinstallation
Towerthroughmoonpool

(deep)
Wheelatstern(intermediate)
Chuteatside(shallow)
Curvedstern(shallow)
Choicedependenton
Bendingradiuswithtension
limit
Flexibleheldbyouterplastic
coatingtransfertosteel

TECHNIPCSOWELLSERVICER
WITHVERTICALLAYTOWER

TOWERSCHEMATIC
Ensure flexibles pass through

the tensioners

without either shearing (and

therefore tearing) the plastic

outer sheath,
crushing/ovalising the steel
internals.

To avoid shearing the outer

sheath, the tensioners are long

to distribute over a large
enough surface area.
To avoid crushing the
internals the grippers are
provided at 3 or 4 locations
around the circumference.
This makes the loading more
even, and the pipe less prone
to ovalisation.

SUBSEA7SKANDINEPTUNE
The reel can be deck-mounted. The flexible is fed over an

arch and enters the water at the stern to one side (avoiding
disturbance from the thrusters).

ACERGYCONDOR

TENSIONERONSUNRISE2000
Pipepassesover

freeboard

WHOINSTALLSUNBONDED
FLEXIBLES?
Acergy
Condor,Eagle,Falcon,

Pertinacia,PolarQueen
Subsea7
Kommandor3000,
Lochnagar,NormandSeven,
SevenSeas,SkandiNavica
andNeptune,SubseaViking,
ToisaPerseus
Technip
DeepBlue,DeepPioneer,
Sunrise2000,Venturer,
Constructor,Apache,
Wellservicer,Normand
Pioneer

Saipem
SaipemFDS,Normand

Cutter
Oceaneering
OceanIntervention
Helix(CalDive/Wellops/
Horizon)
Intrepid,ExpressLoneStar
Horizon
JRayMcDermott
GlobalIndustries
Chickasaw,Pioneer,Hercules,
Iroquois

PERFORMANCECOMPARISON
WITHSLAY

Moresteelincrosssectionthanrigids
Fivetimesthesupplycosts

JTUBERISERINSTALLATION
WirefedthroughJtube
Flexiblesectiondrawnin
Flowlineattachedandlaidnormally

FLEXIBLERISEROVERARCH
INITIATION
Deployclumpandarch
Layflexible
Installclamponriser

FLEXIBLERISEROVERARCH
LAYDOWN
Layoverarch
Deploybendstiffener
Laydownonseabed

FLEXIBLERISEROVERARCH
CONNECT

 Atypicalinstallationsequenceforaflexibleriserrunning

overanarchanduptoanFPSOinalazySconfigurationis
asfollows:
Theclumpweightandarchareprepositioned.This
involvestransportbybargetosite,andassemblyofthearch
toclumpweightsbychainsorwires.Normallytheclump
weightisliftedintothewaterandsecuredtothevessel
whilstthearchisthenliftedintothewater.Thenthepairis
loweredintoplace.
Theclumpweightcouldbeagravitybasestructureresting
ontheseabed,oritcouldbealighterstructurelatchedtoa
preinstalledpiledtemplate.
Theflowlineinstallationvesselwouldlaytheflowline
towardsthearch,andattachaclampattheposition
requiredtorestonthemidpointofthearch.

 GuidedbyanobservationROV,itlaystheflexibleoverthearch,

engagingtheclampinacowhornreceiver.Thissecurestheriser
inthecorrectposition.
Thebendstiffenerisdeployed,andtheflexiblelaidontothe
seabed.ThelaydownwireisreleasedbyROVandthelayvesselis
thencomplete.
WhentheFPSOarrivesandmoorsitattachesawiretotheriser
end,andwinchesitundertheturret
Thebendstiffenerislatched(remotely)ontheundersideofthe
turret
Theflexibleispulledfurtherintothevesselandadryconnection
madeontheturret.Theturretallowsthevesseltoweathervane
withouttwistingupthemooringsandrisers.
Theriserconfigurationisthencomplete.

FLEXIBLERISERWITHDISTRIBUTED
BUOYANCY

UNBONDEDFLEXIBLES
Flexibleflowlinesarestoredoncarouselsandlaid

throughtensioners
Firstendconnectionsarepulledstraightin,second
endsneedtoabsorbslack
Riserscanhavecomplexprocedurestogettheminto
thecorrectconfiguration