Characterization/Modeling of Wire Screen Insulation for Deep-Water Pipes

Abstract

The amount of oil consumption has been rapidly increas ing around the world; consequently , industries have expanded to offshore exploration in to deep sea waters . At sea floor depths , pipe insulation is essential to prevent the blockage with in the pipe due to paraffin build -up within crude oil . To maintain a proper inner crude oil temperature , ab ove the paraffin formation point, insulation techniques have been used to overcome the thermal issue , but these technologies still have limitations. In this study, the objective was to develop an analytical model for a wire screen joint which contained bo th nonconforming and conforming interfaces , and then compare the predicted results to experimental measured data for validation. The experimental study for this novel insulation techn ology consisted of a coaxial pipe fabricated from P110 -4140 steel with a low conductivity wire screen (Stainless Steel) as the interstitial insulation material inserted at the annulus .