Marine Breakaway Coupling Monitoring for Failure Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Offshore oil and gas systems face challenges with marine breakaway couplings (MBCs) due to damage, unknown activation causes, and lack of scientific inspection frequency, leading to potential environmental disasters and high costs.

Innovation Solution

A marine breakaway coupling system with integrated movement sensing and monitoring nodes that detect relative movement, transmit separation signals, and analyze operational parameters to prevent uncontrolled failures and provide real-time data transmission.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If physical inspection of MBC is performed regularly, then reliability of MBC is improved, but loss of time and productivity deteriorate due to operational interruption

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveMBC functional integrityVSAvoidoffshore operation continuity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The MBC system performs self-monitoring through integrated sensors that detect its own condition parameters (acceleration, temperature, pressure, valve position) and automatically transmit status data, eliminating the need for external physical inspections by divers or ROVs while maintaining continuous reliability monitoring

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system continuously monitors MBC condition parameters and provides real-time feedback through wireless transmission to surface equipment, enabling proactive detection of degradation trends and automatic alerting before failure occurs, thus maintaining reliability without operational interruption

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Measurement precision

If movement sensing means and transmission means are integrated into MBC, then measurement precision of relative movement is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverelative movement detectionVSAvoidMBC system structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces complex mechanical movement sensing mechanisms with electronic sensors (accelerometers, position sensors) that provide precise measurement of relative movement between coupling parts through electrical signals, reducing mechanical complexity while improving measurement capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The control unit serves multiple functions: it processes signals from movement sensors, monitors other MBC parameters (temperature, pressure, valve position), and manages wireless communication, thereby reducing overall device complexity through functional integration despite adding measurement capabilities

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS12498070B2Marine breakaway couplings

Publication Date: 2025.12.16 FLEXIBLE ENGINEERED SOLUTIONS LIMITED

AI summary

A breakaway coupling system for an offloading string comprises a first coupling part 101 and a second coupling part 102. The coupling parts are connectable together to form a conduit through which fluid can flow and separable from each other to seal the conduit. The system further comprises movement sensing means 160, 162, 166, 168 arranged to sense movement of the two coupling parts relative to each other and transmission means arranged to transmit a separation signal in response to sensing of the relative movement.