Measurement and testing

Areas of application and value added
The oil industry relies on equipment and installation processes that are capital-intensive. These may carry significant risk and resultant additional expenditure unless adequate measurement and testing is carried out to confirm performance and operating conditions.

Qualification and assessment of in-service equipment and measurement of in-service data can result in significant cost savings through better maintenance decisions and reduced conservatism in design. Measurement and testing are also important when involved in research and development where no existing data is available, and can be invaluable when products are applied in new and innovative ways.

Jee technology and experience
Jee has worked on many projects involving measurement and testing of various products.  Jee has specific experience in the following areas:

Span monitoring: testing and monitoring of pipeline spans.  The tests helped to determine the extent, if any, of vortex-induced vibrations of the pipeline spans.  The vibration data was correlated with measured current data in order to assess the implications of any vibrations over the life of the pipelines.  The project involved selection of transducers, preferred locations for placement, data analysis and effect of transducer protection devices on measurement.

Overtrawling tests: various projects involving both scale-model tests and full-size overtrawling trials of various diameter pipelines, cables and protective structures.  Projects include fishing interaction studies, protective structure design for overtrawlability, calculation of overtrawling and impact loads, correlation between offshore trials and flume tank tests.

Noise and vibration tests: physical test to determine fatigue life and mitigation options of in-service subsea equipment subject to acoustic resonances induced by a flexible gas lift riser.  The project included validation of finite element analysis results.

Flume tank tests on vortex suppression strakes: physical flume tank tests to prove the effectiveness and to validate past CFD (computational fluid dynamics) analyses of vortex suppression strakes. The test pieces were subject to a range of Reynolds numbers while the loads in the horizontal (drag) and vertical (transverse) directions were monitored to determine evidence of vortex shedding. The pressure fluctuations in the region behind the pipe were also monitored to identify direct evidence of vortex shedding and to determine length of correlated vortices in the direction of pipe.

• Development of testing philosophies and procedures.
• Development of new equipment.
• Setting up and managing of test.
• Project management functions.