When ARCO Alaska, Inc. observed that their above-ground pipelines in
arctic oil fields were undergoing significant levels of wind-induced
vibration (WIV), they called on SSD to tackle the problem. This project
gave SSD the opportunity to provide a full problem solving service to
its client in a cost-effective manner. SSD spearheaded the overall
engineering effort with responsibility for the following tasks:
Literature search and review to get a better understanding of the phenomenon
Analysis and classification of field pipelines based on WIV threat
Development of specifications for field instrumentation programs
Management of, and participation in field test programs
Field data processing and interpretation
Extensive analytical correlation studies and simulation using AutoPIPE®
Development and laboratory testing of vibration mitigation systems
Field testing of alternative mitigation systems
Development of patented pipeline vibration dampers (PVD's)
Ongoing support of PVD solution
Figure 1
As a result of this effort, SSD is responsible for the development of a patented vibration damper which has been installed in over 30,000 above-ground pipeline spans for mitigation of wind-induced vibration at the Kuparuk, Lisburne and Prudhoe Bay oil fields. An example of the final PVD solution is shown in Figure 1, which the performance of a pipeline with and without PVD's is shown in Figure 2.
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