PROJECT INNOVATION
The project will lead to innovations in both products and service with a clear market potential in the offshore oil & gas market sector. These include.
  1. Patentable prototype ‘marinised’ Alternating Current Field Measurement (ACFM) housing that can be automatically, robotically scanned over a sub-sea structural platform jacket weld to detect surface defects including fatigue cracks. This system will be the first of its type in the world that can operate in deep waters operated from a robotic manipulator that is deployed by an ROV and does not require diver assistance or intervention. The system will be capable of evaluating defects in terms of their length and depth below the surface of the weld.
  2. Patentable prototype ‘marinised’ Phased Array - Automated Ultrasonic Test (PA-AUT) system that can be automatically, robotically scanned over a sub-sea structural platform jacket weld to detect volumetric buried defects including cracks and other planar defects. This system will be the first of its type in the world that can work in deep waters operated from a robotic manipulator that is deployed by an ROV and does not require diver assistance or intervention. The system will be capable of evaluating defects in terms of their character (type), length and depth below the surface of the weld (ligament) and through wall extent.
  3. Patentable prototype ‘marinised’ Long Range Ultrasonic Test (LRUT) housing the static probe array collar of which can be deployed by an ROV in deep water locations that cannot be routinely accessed by a diver. This system will be the first of its type in the world that can work in deep waters operated from a robotic manipulator that is deployed by an ROV and does not require diver assistance or intervention. The system will be capable of evaluating defects in terms of their character (type), length and depth below the surface of the weld (ligament) and through wall extent.
  4. Patentable prototype ‘marinised’ robotic inspection manipulators that can be deployed by an ROV. Special tooling will need to be designed, developed and marinised for manipulating and positioning the inspection head (i.e. ACFM transducer array, PA-AUT ultrasonic transducer array and LRUT ultrasonic probe collar) in the correct location on the sub-sea jacket structure or flow-line, export/import pipeline.
It is anticipated that patents may be generated to protect new knowledge on the development of the sub-sea NDT systems, sensors and techniques and also for the sub-sea marinised robotic manipulators to be used for the ACFM and PA-AUT techniques.
  SubCTest 2009