Articles & Papers
DOT-2008 - Distributed Fiber Optic Temperature Sensing System for Buried Subsea Arctic Pipelines
Intec Engineering and Omnisens joined presentation at DOT-2008 in Houston - Feb. 12-14, 2008.
Distributed Fiber Optic Temperature Sensing System for Buried Subsea Arctic Pipelines
Proceedings of the Deep Offshore Technology International Conference & Exhibition, DOT’08, Houston (USA), Feb. 12-14, 2008 - (paper ID #173)
Abstract
Offshore arctic conditions pose unique design challenges to the safe operation of subsea pipelines. The pipeline route may be exposed to seabed ice gouging and permafrost thaw settlement. If the pipeline route is located near the mouth of a river, it may become exposed due
to seabed erosion from springtime river overflood draining through holes in the ice sheet (strudel scours) or river channel flows. In some areas, the seabed may have migrating bedforms or the pipeline may be subject to upheaval buckling. These arctic conditions can apply significant loads on a subsea pipeline or leave it exposed above the seabed to other applied loads.
The application of a distributed fiber optic temperature sensing system can allow the operator to monitor the condition of a pipeline and locate potential erosion events, especially for a buried subsea pipeline operating at warmer temperatures than arctic river water and seawater temperatures. Seabed erosion and possible exposure of a pipeline may be detected and located through changes in the fiber optic cable temperature when the cable is installed in close proximity to a buried pipeline. The system can also be used as a secondary means to monitor and locate potential leakage, for flow assurance data gathering, communications, permafrost thaw settlement monitoring, and potential pipeline strain and vibration monitoring.
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subsea pipeline, fiber optic temperature monitoring, seabed erosion, flow assurance, pipeline integrity