• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.25 no.6
• /
• pp.772-779
• /
• 2019

The subsea pipeline has received considerable attention as a high-value-added industry linked to the energy and steel industries including natural resource development. The design and installation of the subsea pipeline require a variety of key technologies to carry out the project. In particular, a thorough pre-verification process through pre-commissioning is essential for the safe operation of the subsea pipeline. The hydrotesting stage in the pre-commissioning process of the subsea pipeline is known to be affected significantly by the ambient temperature change; however, there is a little study based on the theoretical and numerical approach. In this study, the method of predicting the internal temperature change using the transient heat transfer method for the stage of hydrotesting during the pre-commissioning process of the subsea pipeline and the prediction method of the pressure variation in the pipeline using it were proposed. The predicted results were compared with field test results and its effectiveness was verified. The proposed analysis procedure is expected to contribute to the productivity improvement of the subsea pipeline installation project by enabling the prediction of pressure variation through pipeline heat transfer simulation from the initial design stage of the subsea pipeline installation project.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.406-413
• /
• 2022

The subsea pipeline pre-commissioning stage consists of the following processes: Flooding, Venting, Hydrotesting, Dewatering, Drying, and N2 Purging. Among these processes, drying and nitrogen purging processes are stipulated to reduce and maintain the relative humidity below dew point to prevent the generation of hydrate and the risk of gas explosion in the pipeline during operation. The purpose of this study is to develop an analysis method for the air drying and nitrogen purging process during pre-commissioning of the subsea pipeline, and to evaluate the applicability of the analysis method through comparison with on-site measurement results. An analysis method using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was introduced and applied as a method for evaluating the relative humidity inside a subsea pipeline, and it was confirmed that analysis results were in good agreement with the on-site measurement results for the air drying and nitrogen purging process of the offshore pipeline. If the developed air drying and nitrogen purging analysis method are used as pre-engineering tools for pre-commissioning of subsea pipelines in the future, it is expected to have a significant impact on the improvement of work productivity.