Thermoplastic Composite Armour Layer for Lightweight Flexible Pipes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flexible pipes used in deep and ultra-deep water environments face challenges due to increased pressure and temperature, leading to potential pipe blockage and weight and cost issues with thicker, stronger materials for pressure armour layers.
Innovation Solution
A thermoplastic composite is formed by commingling polymer filaments and carbon fibre filaments to create a tape that can be wound around a pipe body, providing a lightweight yet mechanically strong pressure armour layer with varying carbon fibre concentrations for improved mechanical properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If thicker and stronger materials are used for pressure armour layers, then load response and strength are improved, but weight and material costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining polymer filaments (providing flexibility and corrosion resistance) with carbon fibre filaments (providing high tensile strength) in a commingled arrangement. This composite structure achieves the required strength to withstand radial and axial loads while maintaining lower weight compared to traditional solid metal wires, as the carbon fibre provides strength-to-weight advantage over conventional metallic pressure armour
2Strength
If thicker and stronger materials are used for pressure armour layers, then load response is improved, but material costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The composite structure combines cost-effective polymer material with high-strength carbon fibre in optimized proportions, achieving the required mechanical performance without the excessive material costs associated with using thicker solid metal wires. The commingled filament structure allows efficient material utilization and reduces overall material consumption while meeting strength requirements
3Strength
If commingled filaments are used to form thermoplastic composite, then adhesion and mechanical strength are enhanced, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges polymer filaments and carbon fibre filaments into a single commingled structure where both materials are intimately mixed at the filament level. This merging approach ensures uniform distribution and intimate contact between the polymer matrix and carbon fibre reinforcement, creating strong interfacial adhesion without requiring separate manufacturing steps for each component, thus managing complexity while achieving enhanced mechanical properties
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The thermoplastic composite enhances the mechanical strength and adhesion of the armour layer, allowing it to absorb radial and axial forces while reducing weight and material costs, offering a designable solution for flexible pipes operating in extreme conditions.
Implementation Method 1
The tape is then heated to melt the fluoropolymer around the carbon fibre filaments to form a fluoropolymer matrix
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of making a flexible pipe layer, which method comprises: commingling polymer filaments and carbon fibre filaments to form an intimate mixture, forming yarns of the commingled filaments, forming the yarns into a tape, and applying the tape to a pipe body to form a flexible pipe layer.