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Nearshore Project for New Pipe Tracker
01 Dec 2004
The ShengLi Oilfield has purchased two advanced TSS440 pipe trackers for use with its new pipelay plough. The two pipe trackers have been supplied by UK company VT TSS Ltd and fitted to the front and rear of the tracked plough. Designed and built by ShengLi Oilfield engineers, the plough is capable of burying pipe up to 90cm in diameter at depths to 2m and is being used to support construction and survey activities in offshore China.
The two pipe trackers were commissioned in August and, although rated to 3,000m, are currently being used in water no more than 20m deep. The 440 pipe tracker fitted to the front of the unit is used to locate the pipe before being received by the plough. The 440 fitted to the rear can perform a post-lay survey to measure the depth of burial below the mean seabed level. Because this task would normally be undertaken separately by an ROV, the 440 has been chosen for its performance and potential to reduce installation costs.
The 440 uses pulse induction technology to generate electrical eddy currents in buried conductive objects. Precise measurement of the current discharges enables the unit to determine the object's depth and location below the seabed.
Development by VT TSS of a new mathematical technique and calibration process enables the 440 to offer detection ranges 30 to 50% greater than the previous 340 model. The increased range means that it can also deal with the potential errors that arise when a pipe or cable is in an open trench or passing through a rock berm.
MJ Information No: 20115
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