As oilfield engineering enjoys a resurgence of interest and investment, companies continue to look to advancements in technology to both reduce costs, and improve the safety of offshore drilling operations. In particular, active heave compensation systems use advanced hydraulic cylinders and accumulators to achieve a system that reduces the relative motion of the drill pipe and the seabed, improving both efficiency and safety. In the area of active heave compensation systems, CPI’s unique subsea position sensor is seeing deployment into these applications due to its unique versatility and durability. Specifically, manufacturers and system integrators specifying hydraulic cylinders and accumulators for active heave compensation, are finding that our ATEX and IEC-EX certified sensors are perfect for both subsea, and surface use, both inside and external to the hydraulics. Position Sensing in Heave Compensation Hydraulics is Absolutely Critical. Oilfield Applications which use the CPI advanced draw wire sensor include many different types of heave compensation systems. For most of these, the CPI SL-2000 Safety Rated Linear Position Sensor, is both a versatile, and a durable solution.
The CPI SL-2000, A study in Durability and Ingenuity Our solution to harsh duty hydraulic cylinder position detection is unique in the world, and is often the only practical solution to harsh environments, and long stroke cylinder applications. Here are a few of the characteristics of our robust sensor design.
Call CPI Today to discuss your Oilfield Hydraulics Position Sensing Needs Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/heave-compensation-systems-for-offshore-drilling/ As Oil and Gas companies seek to expand and extend their retrieval capabilities both on and especially offshore, concerns about safety and exploration costs are never far from mind. Things have come a long way since the tragedy of Deepwater Horizon, and technology has marched on to provide more robust safety systems for offshore drilling, while keeping costs of exploration manageable. One area of particular innovation has been in the area of Blow Out Preventers (BOP) a critical safety system in deep water mining. Blowout preventers are critical to the safety of crew, the rig and environment, and to the monitoring and maintenance of well integrity. Blowout preventers are intended to provide fail-safe operation to the systems that include them by sealing the top of the wellbore in the event of an emergency. Indeed, many will recall that the in the Deepwater Horizon blowout, the pipe line going through the BOP was slightly bent and the BOP failed to cut the pipe, contributing to the accident. One unavoidable fact is that exploitable reservoirs of oil and gas are getting more and more rare and remote, leading to increased deep sea well exploration and requiring BOPs to remain submerged for as long as a year in extreme conditions. As a result, BOP assemblies have grown larger, heavier and more complex. A key focus in the technological development of BOPs over the last two decades has been limiting their footprint and weight while simultaneously increasing their safe operating capacity. Undersea BOP meets SubSea Rated Sensor Last year CPI introduced the SL-2000, a linear position sensor unique in the world for its capabilities at the extremes of machine requirements. The sensor has both intrinsic safety ratings and a subsea capability that make it a perfect match for the unique requirements of Oil and Gas exploration machinery, residing deep below the ocean surface. One of the key functions of a BOP is to be able to deliver and remove fluid from a wellbore. This fluid is not sea water, it is typically drilling fluid or “mud” pumped from a reservoir somewhere. Critical to these systems is the knowledge of liquid levels in these enormous tanks sitting on the sea floor, miles below the surface. It’s actually a perfect job for the CPI SL-2000 Subsea rated sensor. In this BOP application, our sensor is deployed on the seawater side of a hydraulic piston type cylinder that monitors the rise and fall of liquid in the tank. The sensor is entirely exposed to sea water sitting 2 miles below the surface, running fully submerged at a pressure within 10 psi of the ambient pressure. Specifications call for for our sensor to operate in seawater at up to 6000m depth or over 8800 psi. Operation at these depths, fully immersed in sea water is actually no problem for our patented sensor technology which is uniquely designed with materials that are non-compressible, and withstand corrosive seawater and hydraulic fluids alike. Our sensor can be mounted and operate fully submerged in virtually any type of fluid medium while maintaining robust operation and an extremely long life. In this undersea tank, a hydraulic piston extends and retracts with changing fluid levels in the tank. Our sensor is required to operate within 10 psi of the pressure outside the tank and supports a 5 meter cylinder stroke length. The ability to support these massive stroke lengths, at depth and pressure, submerged in sea water or hydraulic fluids are unique to the CPI design and we are the only manufacturer in the world with a technology designed to withstand all these conditions while also being both subsea and intrinsic safety rated. Long Stroke, Deep Sea Hydraulics Have Only One Real Solution to Linear Position SensingWith the SL-2000, hydraulics destined for Oil and Gas exploration applications finally have the robust linear position sensing they need. Call our sensor team today to discuss your unique application. Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/subsea-sensors-detect-reservoir-tank-levels-2-miles-under-the-sea/ The environment in which the search for oil is conducted beneath the surface of the seas is ever changing and often treacherous. It changes constantly due to the ebb and flow of the surface of the water and operation during inclement weather can be particularly treacherous. In deep water drilling, floating drill vessels are used, which are moored over the site of the well with large amounts of drilling tubular goods suspended from the anchored drilling barge, which is in constant motion. This barge is often more than a thousand feet from the ocean floor where drilling is occurring. Uncompensated stresses which compromise connections to various loads or the wellhead itself, can result in millions of dollars of additional repair expenses, long periods of downtime, and environmental disaster. In these ocean drilling platforms, motion compensation systems (aka “heave compensation) are used to nullify the effects of ocean waves on the fixed and rotating drill string and bit, wellhead risers, or in other cases, crane head tension. Systems generally fall into two categories of either active or passive heave compensation systems with active being the more modern and sophisticated of the two. Some systems use a hybrid approach, relying on active to kick in for only the most rugged conditions. Each system typically relies on the operation of one or more hydraulic cylinders or accumulators which act as “springs” to keep the load at a constant level or tension. As a way of understanding the incredible responsibility of these systems, a good heave compensation system can keep a crane load steady to within a few centimeters, in heaving seas with 10-12 meter wave heights! The Role of Linear Position Sensors in Heave Compensation Hydraulics. In active heave compensation systems, hydraulic cylinders or accumulators are manipulated by control systems which drive or drain fluid from the cylinders in response to movement detected by an MRU (Motion Reference Unit). While there are a myriad of variations on heave compensation or riser/tensioner systems, most active systems will require closed loop feedback on the position of the shaft in a hydraulic piston or accumulator over what is typically a very long stroke length.. This is an essential data point for the control system that insures both safety, and the accuracy of the overall compensation. CPI’s New Solution To An Old Problem – The SL 2000 Hydraulic Linear Position Sensor CPI’s newest sensor, the SL2000, achieves a number of things that are critical to hydraulic cylinder manufacturers attempting to deploy on the drilling platform or under water at the wellhead or surface/sea edge. ATEX & IECEx certifications – With these certifications, the SL2000 demonstrates all necessary intrinsic safety qualifications for sanctioned deployments in hazardous or combustible areas. These certifications cover regulatory requirements in both the United States and Europe. Subsea Rated, Internal Mount Capable – The new design of the SL2000 uses a short rod magnetostrictive sensor to accurately report the position of our advanced drawwire sensor. The entire sensor can be completely submerged within hydraulic fluid inside the cylinder itself and supports standardized SEACON connectors with almost any desired voltage and current signaling. Our sensor has been qualified to 1 million cycles of operation at a pressure of 5000 ft in highly oxygenated seawater. Long Stroke Lengths – Unlike other mechanically based or long rod systems, our sensor operates standard for a stroke of 10 meters. Our sensor is one of the few successfully deployed on telescoping cylinders. Even longer custom stroke lengths are available through our customization program. Cost Effective – Advances in technology and design have made the SL2000 one of the most cost effective solutions for hydraulic cylinder position sensing in harsh duty environments. The bottom line is this: If you haven’t looked looked at CPI linear position sensors for oilfield, or subsea mining hydraulics lately, then you haven’t really looked at CPI linear position sensors at all. Call us today to discuss your application or visit us at https://www.cpi-nj.com Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/motion-compensation-system-hydraulics-can-get-a-whole-lot-smarter/ |
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