End Fitting Components With Additive Passageways for Sour Service
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional end fittings for flexible pipes, especially in sour service environments, face challenges such as corrosion and hydrogen cracking due to acidic gases, requiring expensive corrosion-resistant materials and time-consuming drilling processes for passageways, which limit design flexibility and increase costs.
Innovation Solution
A method using additive manufacturing to create near net shape precursors for end fitting components, incorporating metallic base materials with integrally formed corrosion-resistant regions and non-linear fluid communication passageways, reducing the need for expensive materials and enabling complex passageway designs that conventional techniques cannot achieve.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional drilling techniques are used to create passageways through end fitting components, then the manufacturing process is simple and cheap, but the design flexibility is limited and time-consuming post-processing is required
Solution Approach 1:
The additive manufacturing process creates passageways and complex geometries during the primary manufacturing step itself, rather than requiring subsequent drilling and machining operations. The near-net-shape capability means the component is produced close to its final form, with passageways already integrated into the structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Additive manufacturing enables the creation of non-linear, three-dimensional passageway routes that cannot be achieved with conventional linear drilling. The process builds material layer-by-layer, allowing passageways to navigate around undesired regions in complex spatial paths rather than simple straight lines.
2Reliability
If corrosion-resistant alloys are used for end fittings in sour service, then corrosion and hydrogen cracking are prevented, but the manufacturing cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The end fitting component uses a base material for the bulk structure and applies corrosion-resistant material only in specific regions where it is needed, such as internal passageways and surfaces exposed to sour service. This localized approach reduces the overall amount of expensive corrosion-resistant alloy required while maintaining protection where critical.
Solution Approach 2:
The component combines a base material (such as carbon steel) with corrosion-resistant alloy regions (such as nickel alloy or duplex stainless steel) to create a composite structure. The additive manufacturing process deposits different materials in sequence, integrating the corrosion-resistant layer with the base material to form a unified component with optimized properties.
3Adaptability or versatility
If additive manufacturing is used to create near net shape precursors, then design flexibility and corrosion-resistant regions are improved, but the manufacturing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The additive manufacturing process creates passageways and complex geometries during the primary manufacturing step itself, rather than requiring subsequent drilling and machining operations. The near-net-shape capability means the component is produced close to its final form, with passageways already integrated into the structure.
4Productivity
If conventional drilling is used to create passageways, then the process is quick and simple, but non-linear passageway routes cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
Additive manufacturing enables the creation of non-linear, three-dimensional passageway routes that cannot be achieved with conventional linear drilling. The process builds material layer-by-layer, allowing passageways to navigate around undesired regions in complex spatial paths rather than simple straight lines.
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
This approach reduces the risk of hydrogen cracking, saves time and cost in machining, and allows for corrosion-resistant surfaces and passageways that can navigate around undesired regions, enhancing the performance and reliability of end fittings in harsh environments.
Implementation Method 1
via a wire and arc additive process, providing a near net shape precursor corresponding to a component part of an end fitting layer-by-layer
Data Source
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AI summary
A method, a component part of an end fitting and a preformed member for manufacturing a component part of an end fitting are disclosed. The method comprises the steps of, via an additive process, providing a near net shape (NNS) precursor corresponding to a component part of an end fitting layer-by-layer and subsequently performing at least one post NNS processing operation on the NNS precursor to provide the component part.