Shear Bonding and Thermal Properties of Particle-Filled Polymer Grout for Pipe-in-Pipe Application

Abstract

Pipe-in-Pipe (PIP) configurations are considered as a practical solution to deepwater oil production to prevent hydrate formation and paraffin deposition during the transportation of crude oil to production facilities. The optimal design of a PIP configuration requires a balance between the structural performance and the thermal insulation of the grout material used to fill the annular space. In this study, the effect of aggregates (4–19.1 mm) , sand (0.4–5 mm) , and microspheres (<0.2 mm) on the bonding shear strength and thermal conductivity of a polyurethane-based polymer grout was investigated. The shear bonding strength between grout material and steel was determined using single-lap configuration. Addition of aggregate and sand improved the bonding strength. Hot wire method was used to determine the transient thermal conductivity (k) of polymer-based insulator with and without filler materials. The average maximum bonding shear strength of polymer–aggregate and polymer–sand composite was 1.79 MPa (2...