advantages of aerogel insulation for pip subsea tiebacks

7/29/2019 Advantages of Aerogel Insulation for PIP Subsea Tiebacks

1/28

ADVANTAGES OF AEROGELINSULATION FOR PIPE-IN-PIPE

SUBSEA TIEBACKS


2/28

- 1 -

Agenda

Aerogel technical overview and history

Nanogel particulate aerogel

Product forms for pipe-in-pipe systems

Benefits of particulate aerogel systems

Economic benefits for operators and EPIC contractors


3/28

- 2 -

Many Shortcomings in Traditional

Pipe-in-Pipe Insulation Materials

Traditional insulation materials such as PU foam, rock wool,

and others have signif icant shortcomings such as:

Mediocre K-values resulting in sub-optimal U-values

Performance degradation over time - worse performancelater in field life when it is needed most

Poor compatibil ity with high-temperature systems -volatile components degrade rapidly with heat

Air gaps around rigid pre-formed units - convection

micro-currents degrade system performance Incompatibili ty with moisture and UV exposure -

increases overhead in the yard and on barge


4/28

- 3 -

Aerogels - The Worlds Best InsulatorsMany Advantages vs. Traditional Insulation Materials

Source: LBNL Image Library

Source: NASA


5/28

- 4 -

Aerogel Thermal Efficiency Supports

Improvement in Project Economics

Equivalent U-value

Lower steel costs

Lower vessel costs

Better U-value

Eliminates need foradditional platform


6/28

- 5 -

Aerogel Superior Thermal Performance

Driven by Nano-sized Pores

20 Nano

Heat Source

Gas Molecules in Open Gas Molecules in Nano-Pores


7/28

- 6 -

Aerogel at Ambient:

Ultra-Low Thermal Conductivity

Notes: Assumes atmospheric pressure and room temperature

Source: Various sources; Cabot analysis


8/28

- 7 -

(1) Equivalent to 20 and -196 degrees C and 70 and -321 degrees FSource: Aerogel Insulation Systems for Space Launch, Dr. J .E. Fesmire,NASA Kennedy Space Center

NASA Experiments Highlight Outstanding

Performance of Aerogels at Cryogenic

Nanogel conductivity of

10.7 mW/mK at

atmospheric pressure

Test conducted under

steady-state conditions

at boundary

temperatures of

approximately 293 and77 kelvin (K)1

Results at atmospheric

pressure demonstrated

that Nanogel

performssignificantly better than

any other material

tested


9/28

- 8 -

Aerogel was Discovered in Early 1930sDevelopment Limited by High Costs and Low Scalabil ity

Aerogel was invented in 1931 by

Steven Kistler at the College of the

Pacific using supercritical drying

Removal of liquid from a gelunder both high temperature

and pressure

No collapse of aerogels fine,porous structural skeleton

1950-1970 Monsanto attempted to

commercialize - exited business

due to high costs and low

scalabili ty associated with batch

production

1980-1990 BASF and others tr ied to

develop but fail for similar reasons


10/28

- 9 -

Atmospheric Aerogel Production

Pioneered in Early 1990s

1992

1993

1996-1998

1998-1999

2000

2003

University of New Mexico researchers discover control of

gel shrinkage via silation of organogels

Cabot, Dow Corning, Hoechst, Nanopore all undertakeresearch programs aimed at control ling shrinkage through

surface modification

Cabot, Dow Corning, Hoechst file series of patents on

direct silation routes to control shrinkage

Cabot purchases/licenses Hoechst, Nanopore and Dow

Corning patent estates (46 issued patents)

Cabot begins construction of state-of-the-art plant inFrankfurt, Germany

Start-up of Nanogel aerogel production plant


11/28

- 10 -

NanogelAerogel - A Unique Material

from Cabot Corporation

Worlds best insulating solid

Lightweight

Water repellant

Highly porous

Unique microstructure

High surface area

Can be IR-opacified

Available in a variety of grades

(scale in mm)


12/28

- 11 -

Nanogel Manufacturing Process

Unique, Safe and Reasonable Cost

organogel

silation

organic water

aerogel

drying

nitrogen organic

hydrogel

silica sol

water

Patented

sub-critical

manufacturing

process

OHOH

OHOH

OHOHsilating agent

OSiRR

RSiO2 SiO2 O SiR

RR

O

Si

RRR

OSi R

RR

OSi

RR

R

OSi

R

RR

the Rs are

methyl groups


13/28

- 12 -

Aerogel is an Excellent Thermal Insulator

For Oil and Gas Applications

Extremely low thermal

conductivity

Performs from cryogenic toHPHT

Inert material - performance

stable over time

Water resistant and UV

stable - no fuss in the yard

Extremely l ight weight


14/28

- 13 -

Expansion Pack

Particle Pack Aerogel Blanket

Compression Pack

Multiple Methods of Applying Aerogel

in Pipe-in-Pipe Systems


15/28

- 14 -

Nanogel Expansion Pack

for Pipe-in-Pipe Applications

Inner PipeOuter Pipe

Over-compaction Improves Thermal Performance and Enhances

Structural Capabilities of Entire System

Over-compaction Improves Thermal Performance and Enhances

Structural Capabilities of Entire System

Mold

Target Outer

Pipe Size

Target Inner

Pipe Size

Compressed

Nanogel

Target Pipe-in-Pipe System


16/28

- 15 -

NanogelAlso Provides Significant

Mechanical Benefits to Pipe Systems

System of

cohesively packed

particles that hasrobust mechanical

properties

Strong andcompressible

particles

+Interlocking of

particles in a

packed bed


17/28

- 16 -



Before

Packed Nanogel aerogel at compression level similar to

in-service levels for pipe-in-pipe applications


18/28

- 17 -



Under Compression

Packed Nanogel aerogel easily supports weight of

3,200 lb ( 1,450 kg) car with negligible strain


19/28

- 18 -



Mechanical properties of Nanogel enable supporting loads in

pipe-in-pipe systems during installation and in operation

Mechanical properties of Nanogel enable supporting loads in

pipe-in-pipe systems during installation and in operation


20/28

- 19 -



After

Nanogel blocks remain unscathed

RearTire

FrontTire


21/28

- 20 -

Stress-Strain Analysis Shows Good

Stiffness and Stability Under Cycling

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Strain (%)

Stres

s(Pa)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Stress(PSI)

100 Cycles at +/- 1%strain of expansion pack

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

28 29 30 31 32Strain (%)

Stress(Pa)

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

5.5

Stress(psi)


22/28

- 21 -

Impressive Performance at High Pressure

Stress / strain analysis of a packed bed of Nanogel

0

5,000,000

10,000,000

15,000,000

20,000,000

25,000,000

30,000,000

35,000,000

40,000,000

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Strain (%)

Stress

(Pa)

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

Stress

(psi)

Ambient Temp

High Temp (200 C)


23/28

- 22 -

No Significant Degradation of

Performance with Accelerated Aging

Thermal Testing of Aged Samples

(1) Tested at mean temperature of 12.5 C

-20%-15%

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

0 2 4 6 8 10Aging Time (weeks)

%C

hangein

Conductivity

160 C

200 C

240 C

Upper Limit

Lower Limit


24/28

- 23 -

Nanogel Thermal Efficiency Supports

Improvement in Project Economics

Equivalent U-value

Lower steel costs

Lower vessel costs

Better U-value

Eliminates need foradditional platform


25/28

- 24 -

Illustration of Smaller Jacket Pipe CaseExpansion Pack Nanogel Creates Superior System

Notes:Pipe thickness=0.5(12.7mm)Assume K values of 15.0 and 27.0 for Expansion Pack and PU foam, respectively (before spacer impact)

Spacers assumed to be 50mm wide with conductivities of 200 mW/mK; 6-meter spacing for Expansion Pack case; no spacers for PU foam case 12.06/ 0.82

PU

Foam

Expansion Pack

Nanogel

Inner pipe OD (inches)

Target U-value(W/m2K)

Required OD for outerpipe (inches)

Achieved U-value(W/m2K)

8.625

0.70

14.0

0.68

8.625

0.70

12.75

0.55

Nanogel system requires less steel

and delivers superior barge efficiency

Nanogel system requires less steel

and delivers superior barge efficiency


26/28

- 25 -

Illustration of Longer Tieback CaseExpansion Pack Nanogel Allows >70% Longer Tieback

Notes:Pipe thickness=0.5(12.7mm)Assume K values of 15.0 and 27.0 for Expansion Pack and PU foam, respectively (before spacer impact)

Spacers assumed to be 50mm wide with conductivities of 200 mW/mK; 6-meter spacing for Expansion Pack case; no spacers for PU foam case 12.06/ 0.82

PU

Foam

Expansion Pack

Nanogel

Pipe System Size (inches)

U-value(W/m2K)

Max tieback distance (km)Wellhead temp @ 70 C

Arrival temp @ 50 C

8x12

0.90

23

8x12

0.55

40

Nanogel system increases options for field developmentNanogel system increases options for field development


27/28

- 26 -

Conclusion: Many Advantages of

Aerogel vs. Traditional Insulation

Ultra-low K-values enable best-in-class U-valueswithout vacuum - significant cost savings for operators

No performance degradation over time - strongperformance later in field life when it is needed most

Performance across a wide temperature range from

Cryogenic to HPHT

Available in product forms that eliminate air gaps - noconvection micro-currents to degrade performance

Hydrophobic and UV stable - no fussin the yardand on barge


28/28

- 27 -

advantages of aerogel insulation for pip subsea tiebacks

Documents