Method of fixing an anchor to a flexible pipe armour, associated pipe and installation method
阅读说明:本技术 将锚固件固定于柔性管铠装件的方法、相关管和安装方法 (Method of fixing an anchor to a flexible pipe armour, associated pipe and installation method ) 是由 R·德哈伊斯 于 2018-04-11 设计创作,主要内容包括:将锚固件固定于柔性管铠装件的方法、相关管和安装方法。本发明涉及一种固定方法,用于将至少一个横向锚固件(70)固定在用于被接纳在柔性管端接头中的铠装件(29)上,固定方法包括以下步骤:提供接纳锚固件(70)的固定装置(80);面对铠装件(29)安置开口(84);在固定装置(80)的空腔(82)内熔融锚固件(70)的面对铠装件(29)的端部(74)以及铠装件(29)的面对锚固件(70)的区域;利用固定装置(80)将锚固件(70)横向地锻压在铠装件(29)上;及形成连接锚固件(70)和铠装件(29)的焊缝(72)。(A method of securing an anchor to a flexible pipe armor, an associated pipe and a method of installation. The invention relates to a method for fixing at least one transverse anchoring element (70) to an armor (29) intended to be received in a flexible pipe end fitting, comprising the following steps: providing a fixation device (80) receiving the anchor (70); -positioning the opening (84) facing the armor (29); melting the end (74) of the anchor (70) facing the sheath (29) and the region of the sheath (29) facing the anchor (70) in the cavity (82) of the fixing device (80); -laterally swaging the anchor (70) on the armor (29) with a fixing device (80); and forming a weld (72) connecting the anchor (70) and the armor (29).)
1. A method of fixing at least one transverse anchor (70) to an armour (29) intended to be received in an end fitting (14) of a flexible pipe (10), characterised in that the method comprises the steps of:
-a providing step: providing a fixation device (80) having a cavity (82) that receives the transverse anchor (70);
-a positioning step: an opening (84) for the cavity (82) is arranged facing the armor (29);
-a melting step: melting, within a cavity (82) of a fixing device (80), an end (74) of the transverse anchor (70) facing the armor (29) and a region of the armor (29) facing the transverse anchor (70);
-a forging step: laterally swaging the lateral anchor (70) on the armor (29) with a fixing device (80); and
-a weld forming step: a weld (72) is formed connecting the transverse anchor (70) and the armor (29).
2. Fixing method according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a heat treatment step of heat treatment of the transverse anchor (70) and the armour (29) after the forging step, a weld (72) connecting the transverse anchor (70) and the armour (29) being formed during the heat treatment step.
3. Method of fastening according to either of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the transverse dimension of the weld seam (72) is smaller than the width of the armour (29).
4. Fixing method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the melting step comprises forming a melting arc between the transverse anchor (70) and the armor (29).
5. Fixing method according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that it comprises a diffusion step of a neutral gas around at least one of said end (74) of the transverse anchor (70) and said region of the armour (29), the diffusion step being performed during a melting step and a forging step.
6. A method of fixation according to any one of claims 4 and 5, characterized in that the melting step comprises forming an ignition arc before forming the melting arc, the intensity of the ignition arc being lower than the intensity of the melting arc.
7. Fixing method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that a refractory ring is positioned around the end (74) of the transverse anchor (70) facing the armour (29) during the positioning step.
8. Fixing method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the ratio of the length of the transverse anchor (70) measured in a direction transverse to the armouring (29) to the width of the transverse anchor (70) measured in a direction parallel to the armouring (29) is greater than 2, advantageously greater than 4.
9. Fixing method according to claim 8, characterised in that the length of the transverse anchor (70) is greater than the thickness of the armour (29) measured in the same direction as the length of the transverse anchor (70), advantageously twice the thickness of the armour (29).
10. Method of fixation according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that the transverse anchor (70) is substantially cylindrical, the axis (X-X ') of which is substantially perpendicular to the axis (Y-Y') of the armouring (29) itself.
11. Fixing method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a series of fixing operations on a plurality of transverse anchors (70), each fixing operation comprising a providing step, a setting step, a melting step and a forging step, each fixing being carried out for a time interval less than or equal to 1 minute, advantageously less than 30 seconds.
12. Method for fixing according to claim 11, characterized in that said plurality of transverse anchors (70) are fixed along the armour (29) at a distance from each other comprised between 2 and 20 cm, preferably between 2 and 10 cm, advantageously between 2 and 5 cm.
13. Fixing method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transverse anchor (70) is made of steel having a mechanical tensile strength greater than or equal to 400 mpa.
14. An installation method for installing an end fitting (14) of a flexible pipe, characterised in that it comprises the following steps:
-providing a flexible pipe (10) having:
-at least one tubular sheath (20) defining a flow-through channel (16); and
-at least one tensile armour layer (24, 25) arranged on the outside with respect to the tubular sheath (20), the tensile armour layer (24, 25) having a plurality of filiform armour elements (29);
-exposing an end section (32) of each armor (29);
-arranging an end arch (50) at one end of the flexible pipe (10);
-fixing at least one anchor (70) on each armature (29) with a fixing method according to any one of claims 1 to 13;
-positioning and fixing a cover (51) on the end arch (50) so as to form a space (52) for receiving an end section (32) of the armor (29);
-introducing a filling material (64) into the space (52) so as to embed the anchor (70); and
-curing the filling material (64) around the end section (32) and the anchor (70).
15. A flexible pipe (10) having:
-at least one tubular sheath (20) defining a flow-through channel (16);
-at least one tensile armour layer (24, 25) arranged on the outside with respect to the tubular sheath (20), the tensile armour layer (24, 25) having a plurality of filiform armour elements (29); and
-at least one end fitting (14) at one end of the flexible pipe (10),
the end fitting (14) has an end arch (50) and a cover (51) defining a space (52) therebetween for receiving an end section (32) of the armor (29), the space (52) being filled with a filler material (64),
characterized in that each end section (32) has at least one anchor (70) projecting transversely, the anchor (70) being embedded in the filling material (64), the anchor (70) being fixed to the end section (32) with a fixing method according to one of claims 1 to 13.
Technical Field
The invention relates to a method for fixing at least one transverse anchoring element to an armouring element intended to be received in a flexible pipe end joint. The invention also relates to a flexible pipe and a method of installing an end fitting of the flexible pipe.
Background
Such pipes are in particular flexible pipes of the non-bonded type for the transport of hydrocarbons through bodies of water such as sea, ocean, lake or river or for water injection for oil and gas well stimulation processes.
Such Flexible pipes are made, for example, according to the standard documents API 17J (specification for Unbonded Flexible pipes) and API RP 17B (recommended use for Flexible pipes) and API 16C (Choke and KillEquipment specification) made by the american petroleum institute.
The tube is typically formed from a set of stacked concentric layers. This tube is considered to be a "non-bonded" type flexible tube in the sense of the present invention, since at least one of the layers of the flexible tube is able to move longitudinally relative to the adjacent layer when the flexible tube is bent. In particular, a non-bonded flexible pipe is a flexible pipe without bonding material connecting the layers forming the flexible pipe.
The pipe is typically positioned through the body of water between a bottom installation for collecting fluids produced at the bottom of the body of water and a floating surface installation for collecting and distributing the fluids. The surface unit may be a semi-submersible rig, a floating production storage and offloading unit, FTSO, or another floating unit.
In some cases, to produce fluids in deep water, the length of the flexible pipe exceeds 800 meters. The ends of the pipe have end fittings for connection to the underwater installation and the surface installation.
These tubes are subjected to relatively high axial tensile forces, particularly when the body of water in which the tubes are positioned is deep. These axial tensile forces are taken up by one or more tensile armour layers consisting of steel wire armour elements wound with a long pitch around the inner pipe layer and fixed at their ends in end fittings.
In this case the upper end fitting connecting the pipe to the surface installation must take up very large axial tensile forces which may reach hundreds of tons.
Axial tension not only has a high average value, but also varies from time to time depending on the vertical motion of the surface installation and pipe under the influence of water turbulence caused by rising water or waves.
The axial tension change can reach dozens of tons, and the axial tension change is repeated continuously in the whole service life of the pipe. During 20 years, the tube may need to undergo a large number of tensioning cycles. For example, over 2 million tensioning cycles may occur.
A particularly secure fixation between the tensile armour layer and the end fitting body must therefore be ensured. To this end, it is known to insert the armour end into a receiving space defined by the end fitting and then fill the receiving space with a material such as a thermosetting resin to retain the armour end.
In order to improve the retention of the armor, document WO 2008/037867 describes a method for welding an anchor to the end of the armor. The anchor is a metal member projecting laterally on the armor to widen the armor, thereby preventing it from translating and sliding within the end fitting.
The method can be further improved. In practice, the anchor is fixed to the armour by welding, for example by arc welding, in the longitudinal direction of the contact surface. This method of fixation requires intervention by qualified personnel for welding. Furthermore, it takes a long time, since by performing two longitudinal welds at a time, at least one anchor must be fixed on each end of each armature.
Disclosure of Invention
An object of the present invention is to ensure a secure fixing of armour parts in an end fitting of a flexible pipe in a simple and relatively quick manner.
To this end, the invention relates to a fixing method of the above-mentioned type, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:
-a providing step: providing a fixation device having a cavity to receive an anchor;
-a positioning step: an opening facing the armor member positioning cavity;
-a melting step: melting the end of the anchor facing the armor and the region of the armor facing the anchor within the cavity of the fixture;
-a forging step: laterally forging the anchor on the armor with a fixture; and
-a weld forming step: a weld is formed connecting the anchor and the armor.
The method according to the invention may comprise one or more of the following features considered alone or according to any technically feasible combination:
-the fixing method comprises a heat treatment step of heat treating the anchor and the armour element after the forging step, a weld seam connecting the anchor and the armour element being formed during the heat treatment step;
the transverse dimension of the weld is smaller than the width of the armor;
the melting step comprises forming a melting arc between the transverse anchor and the armour part;
-the fixation method comprises a diffusion step of diffusing a neutral gas around at least one of the end of the anchor and the region of the armor, the diffusion step being performed during the melting step and the forging step;
-the melting step comprises forming an ignition arc prior to forming the melting arc, the intensity of the ignition arc being lower than the intensity of the melting arc;
-a refractory ring is positioned around the end of the anchor facing the armor during the step of positioning;
the ratio of the length of the anchor, measured in a direction transverse to the armour, to the width of the anchor, measured in a direction parallel to the armour, is greater than 2, advantageously greater than 4;
the length of the anchor is greater than the thickness of the armour, advantageously twice the thickness of the armour, measured in the same direction as the length of the anchor;
the anchoring element is substantially cylindrical, the axis of the anchoring element being substantially perpendicular to the axis of the armour element itself;
the fixing method comprises a series of fixing operations on a plurality of transverse anchors, each fixing operation comprising a providing step, a setting step, a melting step and a forging step, each fixing being carried out for a time interval less than or equal to 1 minute, advantageously less than 30 seconds;
-said plurality of transverse anchors are fixed at a distance from each other along the armour, said distance being between 2 and 20 cm, preferably between 2 and 10 cm, advantageously between 2 and 5 cm; and
the anchor is made on the basis of steel, the mechanical tensile strength of which is greater than or equal to 400 mpa.
The invention also relates to a method for installing an end fitting for a flexible pipe, comprising the steps of:
-providing a flexible tube having:
-at least one tubular sheath defining a flow-through channel; and
-at least one tensile armour layer arranged on the outside with respect to the tubular sheath, the tensile armour layer having a plurality of filamentary armour elements;
-exposing an end section of each armor;
-arranging an end arch at one end of the flexible pipe;
-fixing at least one anchor on each armor using a fixing method according to the invention;
-positioning and fixing the cover on the end arch, thereby forming a space for receiving an end section of the armour;
-introducing a filling material into the space, thereby embedding the anchor; and
-curing the filling material around the end section and the anchor.
The invention also relates to a flexible pipe having:
-at least one tubular sheath defining a flow-through channel;
-at least one tensile armour layer arranged on the outside with respect to the tubular sheath, the tensile armour layer having a plurality of filamentary armour elements; and
-at least one end fitting at one end of the flexible pipe,
the end fitting has an end arch and a shield defining a space therebetween for receiving an end section of the armor, the space being filled with a filler material,
characterized in that each end section has at least one anchoring element projecting transversely, which anchoring element is embedded in the filling material, the anchoring element being fixed to the end section using the fixing method according to the invention.
Drawings
The invention will be better understood from a reading of the following description, given purely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially in section, of a section of flexible pipe;
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the end fitting of the flexible pipe of FIG. 1 taken along a medial axial plane;
figure 3 is a perspective view of an end of an armour element inserted into the end fitting of figure 2;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional image showing a weld formed between an anchor and armor using the method of the present invention; and
fig. 5, 6 and 7 are cross-sectional side views of the steps of the method of securing an anchor to an end of an armor as shown in fig. 3.
Detailed Description
In the following part of the present application, the expressions "outer" and "inner" are generally understood as being radial with respect to the axis a-a ' of the tube, the expression "outer" is understood as being radially relatively far from the axis a-a ', and the expression "inner" is understood as being radially relatively close to the axis a-a ' of the tube.
The expressions "front" and "rear" are understood to be axial with respect to the axis a-a' of the tube, the expression "front" is understood to be relatively far from the middle of the tube and close to one of its ends, and the expression "rear" is understood to be relatively close to the middle of the tube and far from one of its ends. The middle of the tube is a point of the tube equidistant from its two ends.
A first
The
Referring to fig. 1, the
The
The body of water is for example a sea, lake or ocean. The depth of the body of water at the fluid production device is, for example, between 500 and 3000 meters.
The fluid production apparatus has surface means, in particular floating surface means, and also has bottom means (not shown), which are typically connected to each other by a
The
When the flexible pipe is bent, at least two adjacent layers of the
As shown in fig. 1, the
According to the invention, the
The
Advantageously, the
As is known, the
The thickness of the
When present, the former 26 is formed from profiled sheet metal wound into a helix. The sheet metal coils are advantageously fixed to one another so as to be able to absorb the radial pressing forces.
In this embodiment, the
In an alternative not shown, the
The helical winding of the profiled metal sheet forming the
In this embodiment, the
The
A
Typically, the flexible pipe has at least two armour layers, but it may have more than two armour layers, for example four armour layers.
In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the
Each
"wound with a long pitch" means: the absolute value of the helix angle is less than 60 °, typically between 25 ° and 55 °.
The
The
As will be described later, with reference to fig. 2, each
The
The thickness of the
According to the embodiment of the flexible pipe shown in fig. 1, the tensile armour layers are helically wound in opposite directions around their longitudinal axis at a precise winding angle equal to 55 °. The flexible tube structure is then "balanced" and is therefore less subject to length changes and torsional effects under strong internal pressure. This structure does not include a pressure arch. Thus, the inner armor layer no longer bears against the pressure arch, but is pressed directly against the contact pressure jacket.
As shown in fig. 2, each end fitting 14 has an
The end fitting 14 also has a front sealing means 54 surrounding the
In this embodiment, the
The
The
The
The volume of the
The
As is known, the
In the embodiment of the
The
The
The end fitting 14 also has a
A
As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the
In the case of an
Advantageously, where
According to the invention, the length to width ratio of the
The
Referring to fig. 4,
The length of
As shown in fig. 4,
The
The method for fixing
The method is carried out using a
The
The
The fixing
The
The
The fixing
When
The
As shown in fig. 5, anchors 70 are provided and placed in
The
In a variant, the fixing means 80 have a loading system able to place the
Preferably, the
During the first step of setting the fixing means 80, the
Preferably, the fixing means 80 are oriented so that the axis of the
During the diffusion step, the operator activates the
After a diffusion time of about 0.5 to 2 seconds, the neutral gas at least partially drives out the air surrounding the
The neutral gas diffusion by the
Once the diffusion duration has elapsed, the melting step shown in fig. 6 is initiated. The duration of the diffusion step is advantageously programmed in the electronic controller of the fixing
During the melting step, the current generator generates a current through
Advantageously, a molten arc is initially formed between the flat surface of the
Under the effect of the heat emitted by the melting arc, the
The swaging step shown in fig. 7 is then initiated by the electronic controller of the
Finally, the method includes a heat treatment step during which the temperature in the
Advantageously, the reduction in temperature in the
Preferably, the pre-heat treatment of
The fixing method for fixing at least one
According to a first variant, not shown, the fixing method for fixing the
In this case, the
The melting step includes a preliminary step of forming an ignition arc prior to forming the melting arc.
The intensity of the ignition arc is lower than the intensity of the melting arc, causing the material of the
According to a second variant, not shown, the neutral gas diffusion is replaced by arranging a ring made of refractory material around the
During the step of positioning the fixing means 80, the ring bears against the
The loop is partially fused during the melting step and is easily detached from
The method of installation of the end fitting 14 according to the present invention is as follows.
Initially, the different layers of the
At least one
The
Then, at least one
Each
Alternatively, the at least one
Then, the
Then, the
According to a first variant, the
Then, at least one
Alternatively, the at least one
Preferably, according to a second embodiment variant of the installation method of the end fitting 14 according to the invention, the
This configuration is obtained by allowing the
Thus, once the
Then, the
Then, the
Advantageously, according to a third variant (not shown), the
Then, between the first retaining ring and the rear insertion tube, at least one
The excess length of the
Then, at least one anchor is fixed to each
Then, the
Then, the remaining components forming the
The advantages of the above method of mounting end fittings are: the necessary overall length of the end fitting is reduced and the overall cost of the flexible pipe having such an end fitting is reduced. In fact, due to the reduced length of the
The
The curing time is of the order of a few hours, in particular from 3 hours to 6 hours.
The
During operation, when the end fitting 14 is connected to another end fitting or surface installation, the axial tension generated by the weight of the
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