Subsea 7 Limited

Subsea 7 Lijmited

Mike Gordon

Sylvain Popineau

Philippe Benoit Jacques Hoffmann

Nicolas Monfort-Moros

Philippe Benoit Jacques Hoffman

An insulating insert is positioned around a field joint of a pipeline to insulate the field joint. The insert comprises a longitudinal series of annular or part-annular filler segments of insulating material, curved about a longitudinal axis, that are each joined to one or more adjacent segments of the series by at least one link. The links may be webs, rods or articulated links. The links are flexible relative to the segments to facilitate bending of the insert along its length by enabling relative angular displacement between adjacent segments of the series.

Insulating inserts for field joints of coated rigid pipelines

A system for coating a field joint of a pipeline places at least one body having a thermoplastics material around the field joint. The body is heated in a mould cavity around the field joint to effect thermal expansion of the thermoplastics material. Thermal expansion of the body in the mould cavity is constrained to apply elevated pressure between the body and pipe sections joined at the field joint. The elevated pressure improves bonding and fusing between the body, which forms a field joint coating, and the parent coatings and the exposed pipe sections of the pipe joints. The body need not be fully molten, which reduces the mould residence time including in-mould heating and cooling phases.

Method of and system for coating a field joint of a pipe

An insulating insert is positioned around a field joint of a pipeline to insulate the field joint. The insert includes a longitudinal series of annular or part-annular filler segments of insulating material, curved about a longitudinal axis, that are each joined to one or more adjacent segments of the series by at least one link. The links may be webs, rods or articulated links. The links are flexible relative to the segments to facilitate bending of the insert along its length by enabling relative angular displacement between adjacent segments of the series.

An injection molding apparatus has a mold tool that is positioned around a field joint of a pipeline to define a mold cavity. Two or more pumping chambers communicate with the mold tool. Each chamber is expansible to draw in molten polymer and contractible to drive the polymer into the mold cavity. Expansion of one chamber is synchronized with contraction of another chamber. The operation of supply and injection valves associated with the chambers is also synchronized, both with each other and with expansion and contraction of the chambers. In the embodiment described, two pumping chambers are defined within a common pressurizing cylinder, in which the chambers are separated by a piston. The piston is movable within the cylinder to determine and to synchronize expansion and contraction of the chambers.

Apparatus and techniques for coating pipeline field joints

A thermoplastics injection molding process coats a field joint of a pipeline by positioning a mold tool around the field joint to define a mold cavity. Thermoplastics material injected into the mold cavity forms a field joint coating that will set in the mold cavity. As the thermoplastics material shrinks in the mold cavity while the field joint coating sets, compacting pressure is applied radially inwardly within the mold cavity against a radially outer side of the field joint coating. A compacting fluid introduced into the mold cavity between the mold tool and the field joint coating may be used to apply pressure against the field joint coating. This accelerates and controls cooling of the field joint coating while maximizing quality.

Techniques for coating pipes

A method of coating a field joint of a pipeline places at least one body having a thermoplastics material around the field joint. The body is heated in a mold cavity around the field joint to effect thermal expansion of the thermoplastics material. Thermal expansion of the body in the mold cavity is constrained to apply elevated pressure between the body and pipe sections joined at the field joint. The elevated pressure improves bonding and fusing between the body, which forms a field joint coating, and the parent coatings and the exposed pipe sections of the pipe joints. The body need not be fully molten, which reduces the mold residence time including in-mold heating and cooling phases.

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Godalming, United Kingdom

Mike Gordon