Qualification Test Program Research Articles

Novel evaluation and testing of technology qualification process of subsea oil and gas products

Use of robust products is of utmost importance in the subsea production systems to ensure the maximum utilization of the energy resources available under the seabed. To achieve highly reliable products, a comprehensive technology qualification program is proposed in this paper for the subsea electrical and electronics-based products. The recommended qualification program is specifically focused on a novel technology readiness level 4 (TRL4) process of the product used in an intended environment condition, which guarantees the product availability on the seabed without any operational failures. The analytical assessment on the products’ design, operating conditions and compliance stress tests are proposed following the internationally recognized standards, e.g. The American Petroleum Institute (API) , International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), European Standards (EN) and European Union (EU-directives). Modified environmental tests methods and novel product safety procedures are introduced for the first time to ensure that products meet the acceptance criteria set in the proposed TRL4 process. Finally, the proposed TRL4 process and its recommended test methods are exercised on the various functional units of the subsea electronic module. The experimental results show that the product is fit for use in the subsea environment after going through the proposed extensive qualification test program. • Novel Technology qualification process ensures the products’ operation on seabed. • Compliance to the proposed environmental test methods increase product reliability. • Appropriate EMC and safety test methods are identified for the Subsea products. • Proposed TRL4 qualification process ensures the safe operation of Subsea products.

Subsea valves and actuators: a review of factory acceptance testing (FAT) and recommended improvements to achieve higher reliability

Oil exploration is constantly moving into deeper waters. The costs associated with downtime and the maintenance of facilities and equipment such as valves and actuators, collectively known as Operation Expenditures (OPEX), are very high in the offshore sector of the oil and gas industry, particularly the subsea sector, where water depth may reach 1–3 km. Subsea valve and actuator failures contribute to other negative consequences such as loss of production and Health Safety and Environment (HSE) issues such as environmental pollution as a result of oil spillage. Therefore, more reliable subsea equipment, including valves and actuators, is required in the industry. The reliability of valves and actuators is largely dependent on testing, specifically factory acceptance tests (FAT) and qualification test programs. This paper reviews twelve existing tests based on international standards such as the American Petroleum Standard (API) and the International Standardization for Organization (ISO) for valves, actuators and manual gear overrides. Different types of tests such as pressure tests, function tests and operation characterization tests are included in this review. Parameters such as test pressure and duration, test preparation and methods for test implementation are discussed. Eight additional tests are proposed in this paper on the basis of industrial experience to minimize the failure rate of expensive subsea equipment and to increase its reliability.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation Hot-Mix Asphalt Round Robin Laboratory Qualification Testing Program

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT), Madison, uses a quality management program (QMP) specification for acceptance and payment of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavement. The QMP allows for product acceptance on the basis of contractor quality control (QC) testing when verified by the Wisconsin DOT quality verification (QV) tests. The contractor is required to do daily QC testing of mix properties in a department-certified, qualified laboratory located at the plant site. The Wisconsin DOT maintains a QV program (QVP) and conducts QV tests to determine the quality of the final product. QV and QC test results are compared, and a mix is considered acceptably verified if the two results are within specified limits. When test results do not meet these limits, the Wisconsin DOT performs referee tests to determine mixture conformance, acceptability, and payment. In 2011, the Wisconsin DOT began to see significant increases in the number of requests for referee testing as a result of wide disparities between QC and QV laboratory test results. To investigate this disparity, the department initiated a round robin laboratory test program. Results from the investigation proved to be insightful. The program was expanded and is now a key component of the Wisconsin DOT annual laboratory qualification certification program. This paper describes the program, how it is administered, how tests results are analyzed, and how nonconforming laboratories are identified. Test results obtained from the program are presented and recommendations developed for program improvements. The program details should be useful to other state highway agencies that use contractor QC tests for acceptance.

Technological status of reactor coolant pumps in generation III+ pressurized nuclear reactors

Abstract KSB has been developing and producing pumps for thermal power plants for nearly 90 years. Consequently, KSB also started to develop and manufacture pumps for all kinds of nuclear power plants from the very beginning of the civil use of nuclear energy. This is especially true for reactor coolant pumps for pressurized water reactors. For the generation of advanced evolutionary reactors (Generation III+ reactors), KSB developed an advanced shaft seal system which is also able to fulfill the requirements of station blackout conditions. The tests in the KSB test rigs, which were successfully completed in December 2015, proved the full functionality of the new design. For generation III+ passive plant reactors KSB developed a new reactor coolant pump type called RUV, which is based on the experience of classic reactor coolant pumps and reactor internal pumps. It is a very compact, hermetically sealed vertical pump-motor unit with a wet winding motor. A full scale prototype successfully passed the 1st stage qualification test program in October 2015.

Development, qualification, and performance validation of an optical differential pressure sensor for downhole permanent monitoring applications

This paper describes the development, qualification, and performance validation of an optical differential pressure (DP) sensor for the high-pressure and high-temperature downhole environment. The current implementation of measuring DP in downhole applications is based on the calculated difference between two static pressure sensor measurements with high uncertainties. A true DP sensor is superior in comparison due to the decreased uncertainty both in measurement and component levels. This translates to better performance in system level measurements such as flow. A development program was launched in 2007 to build an optical DP sensor targeted for two main applications: standalone use in single-phase or auxiliary use in multiphase flow measurement systems. Several prototypes have gone through multiple design phases and qualification test programs including mechanical shock and vibration tests, thermal tests, hot vibration tests, short-term stability and long-term endurance tests. The sensor was then integrated with a Venturi and tested in a single-phase flow loop to validate its performance against an electronic DP sensor and an electromagnetic flowmeter. Results suggest that optical DP sensor performs better than the electronic DP sensor in measuring differential pressures, and is on a par with the electromagnetic flowmeter.

Acoustic testing facilities at the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR) maintains a noise control program as part of its Hearing Loss Prevention Branch (HLPB). This program utilizes two large acoustic laboratories�a reverberation chamber and a hemi-anechoic chamber�to assist OMSHR engineers with the development and evaluation of noise controls. This paper discusses the design, instrumentation, and use of the NIOSH acoustics laboratories and the important role they play in noise control development and evaluation. The NIOSH reverberation chamber meets the absorption, reverberation time, and test room broadband qualification requirements specified in the ISO 3741/ANSI S12.51 acoustics standard for precision method sound power testing. As part of a qualification testing program, NIOSH conducted an uncertainty estimate for sound power level testing in the chamber. For an overall sound power measurement, this uncertainty estimate was 0.4 dB. The NIOSH hemi-anechoic chamber, which uses Eckel Industries SuperSoft Panels on the walls and ceiling, is used primarily for noise source identification to determine significant noise sources on equipment. Testing was completed to ensure that the chamber functions as a free-field. The SuperSoft panels met NIOSH requirements and the chamber was verified as a free-field per the test room qualification criteria set forth in ISO 3745.

Environmental Test Program for the Mars Exploration Rover Project

On June 10 and July 7, 2003, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched two spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida, for 6-month flights to the Red Planet, Mars. The two Mars Exploration Rover spacecraft landed safely on the planet on January 3 and 24, 2004. Prior to the successful launch, both of the spacecraft were involved in a comprehensive test campaign that included development, qualification, and protoflight test programs. Testing was performed to simulate the environments associated with launch, interplanetary cruise, landing on the planet, and Mars surface operations. Unique test requirements included operating the spacecraft while the chamber pressure was controlled to simulate the descent to the planet from deep space, high-impact landing loads, and rover operations on the surface of the planet at 8 Torr and -130 °C (-202 °F). This paper will present an overview of the test program that included vibration, pyroshock, landing loads, acoustic noise, thermal-vacuum, and solar simulation testing at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Environmental Test Laboratory facilities in Pasadena, California.

Design and qualification of the AMS-02 flight cryocoolers

Four commercial Sunpower M87N Stirling-cycle cryocoolers will be used to extend the lifetime of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02 (AMS-02) experiment. The cryocoolers will be mounted to the AMS-02 vacuum case using a structure that will thermally and mechanically decouple the cryocooler from the vacuum case. This paper discusses modifications of the Sunpower M87N cryocooler to make it acceptable for space flight applications and suitable for use on AMS-02. Details of the flight model qualification test program are presented. AMS-02 is a state-of-the-art particle physics detector containing a large superfluid helium-cooled superconducting magnet. Highly sensitive detector plates inside the magnet measure a particle’s speed, mass, charge, and direction. The AMS-02 experiment, which will be flown as an attached payload on the International Space Station, will study the properties and origin of cosmic particles and nuclei including antimatter and dark matter. Two engineering model cryocoolers have been under test at NASA Goddard since November 2001. Qualification testing of the engineering model cryocooler bracket assembly including random vibration and thermal vacuum testing was completed at the end of April 2005. The flight cryocoolers were received in December 2003. Acceptance testing of the flight cryocooler bracket assemblies began in May 2005.

Elaboration of thermal control systems on heat pipes for microsatellites Magion 4, 5 and BIRD

The strong restricted requirements to mass and power budget of microsatellite subsystems lead to choice of mainly passive thermocontrol system, specifically with heat pipe (HP) integration. An objective of this paper is to present the experience collected by authors in the field of elaboration and flight exploitation of thermocontrol systems (TCS) with heat pipes for microsatellites Magion 4 (1995), Magion 5 (1996) and BIRD (2001). Microsatellites Magion 4, 5 (Project INTERBALL) were completed with TCS including four low-temperature U-shaped heat pipes (fabricated by Kyiv Polytechnic Institute) installed in pairs on symmetrical facets of microsatellites’ bodies. Each pair of heat pipes was placed on two general flanges: one combined HP heating zones, the second combined their condensation zones. Heat pipes were fabricated from thin-wall copper shells with capillary structure of metal felt. Flanges were of aluminium, and acetone was used as heat carrier. Rated transferred heat power was not less than 60 W in the range of working temperatures from −20 to +50 °C. TCS for microsatellite BIRD included two U-shaped aluminium ammonia heat pipes (design and manufacture––Kiev Polytechnic Institute) symmetrically placed on opposite faces of the satellite. Heat pipe capillary structure was formed from 30 grooves of rectangular section. Rated transferred heat power reached 90 W in the range of working temperatures from −50 to +60 °C. Symmetrical layout of elements of TCS on microsatellite is the most acceptable due to stability of spatial orientation and geometrical symmetry of microsatellites and to enlarge the reliability of system operation. Microsatellites Magion 4, 5 and their parts have passed the full cycle of tests stipulated by Project INTERBALL. Currently Magion 5 active functioning exceeds 4.5 years and heat pipes’ operational time reaches 40 000 h. The microsatellite BIRD has passed the qualification and acceptance test programs and has been launched on 22.10.2001 by Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. Heat pipes’ technical characteristics, operating modes and their adaptation into TCS design, test and flight operation results are presented.

Microwave power module for space applications

Microwave power modules (MPMs) were originally developed to satisfy requirements for extremely small, medium to high power amplifiers for a variety of conventional military and commercial applications. MPM technology has recently been enhanced to yield a proven space-qualified amplifier. This achievement is the result of a four-year development effort by Officine Galileo B.U. Spazio, Milan Plant (OG/MI, former FIAR S.p.A. Space Division). The space-qualified MPM was developed under an R&D contract from ESTEC and subsequently qualified using a dedicated engineering qualification model (EQM). The EQM produced 150 W at Ku-band and was manufactured with the support of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and internal company funding. A brief description of the space qualified MPM is presented followed by the qualification test program and principal test results.

A mechanical cooler for the spectrometer experiment on board the integral spacecraft

The International Gamma Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) is an ESA satellite to be used for gamma ray astronomy. The detector of the gamma ray spectrometer is kept to its nominal temperature of 85 K by means of a mechanical cryocooler system. The cryocooler system, developed by MMS Bristol, consists of four 50–80 K Stirling cycle coolers, controlled by two drive electronics units, coupled such that cooling performances are guaranteed after one failure. The four displacers have a common interface, via a beryllium rod, to the instrument detector. In nominal operations the heat lift capability provided at the cryocooler interface will exceed 2000 mW at 80 K. The purpose of this paper is to present the cryocooler design and to review the main thermal, mechanical and accommodation aspects relevant to its installation and operation on the instrument and spacecraft. A brief description of the detector cryostat is also given. The measured performances of the cryocooler in the various modes of operation will be summarised and a brief survey of the model philosophy and qualification test program will be presented.

Joint Industry Qualification Test Program for High-Clearance Casing Connections

Summary As a result of recurrent, costly failures in high-clearance casing connections, several major operators and connection manufacturers developed and executed a joint industry research project to verify connection performance experimentally. The program involved unique procedures for testing both makeup characteristics and structural performance of the connections, identified inadequate connection designs, and qualified a new generation of improved high-clearance connections.

A Systems Approach to Solder Joint Fatigue in Spacecraft Electronic Packaging

Differential expansion induced fatigue resulting from temperature cycling is a leading cause of solder joint failures in spacecraft. Achieving high reliability flight hardware requires that each element of the fatigue issue be addressed carefully. This includes defining the complete thermal-cycle environment to be experienced by the hardware, developing electronic packaging concepts that are consistent with the defined environments, and validating the completed designs with a thorough qualification and acceptance test program. This paper describes a useful systems approach to solder fatigue based principally on the fundamental log-strain versus log-cycles-to-failure behavior of fatigue. This fundamental behavior has been useful to integrate diverse ground test and flight operational thermal-cycle environments into a unified electronics design approach. Each element of the approach reflects both the mechanism physics that control solder fatigue, as well as the practical realities of the hardware build, test, delivery, and application cycle.

Full scale valve qualification and flow interruption testing provides insights on industry motor operator sizing shortcomings and diagnostic testing limitations

Valve test programs sponsored by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) and conducted by researchers from the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) have yielded important insights concerning motor-operated valve operator sizing and in situ testing. The most significant of these test programs was a full-scale, high-energy qualification and flow-interruption gate valve test program conducted in the spring of 1988. For this program, we modified two representative 6 in., 900 lb valve assemblies to include a high-temperature load cell in each of the valve stems to directly measure stem thrust. Instrumentation in the flow loop and on the motor operators measured the important responses and parameters. At various times during the test program, each of the currently popular diagnostic test systems was installed to monitor the performance of the valve motor operators. The valves were subjected to the hydraulic and leakage testing requirements specified in ANSI B16.41 (QV-4) and to flow interruption (valve closure) testing at boiling water reactor (BWR) temperatures and pressures at line break conditions. Results show that for the tested valves, the variables used in current industry motor operator sizing equations underpredict actual valve thrust requirements at high temperature loadings; for one valve design, the equation may need an additional term to account for nonlinear performance. Results also show that the thrusts needed to close the valves were sensitive to the fluid temperature, and that the results of testing at lower pressures, temperatures, and flows cannot be extrapolated to design basis conditions.

The Process of Equipment Qualification Testing and Problems of Implementation

The basic process of qualifying safety- related equipment by testing is reviewed. The practical problems associated with specifying, planning, implementing, and reporting qualification test programs are addressed. Among the topics discussed are the evolution of qualification requirements, deficiencies of equipment specifications, impractical requirements, and the lack of standard test practices. The progress being made in resolving some of these problems is mentioned.

FIBER OPTICS FOR SHIPBOARD RADAR DATA TRANSMISSION

ABSTRACTOptional Fiber Optic Data Links have been installed on four different types of Shipboard Radars and an IFF System at a Navy landbased test site. These data links carry all of the signals both directions between the Radars and the Combat Information Center. The use of fiber optics solved some very real problems at the site and, at the same time, provided an excellent opportunity to evaluate the performance and reliability of the data transmission systems prior to making commitments for shipboard installations. Subsequently, detailed specifications were generated for shipboard hardware, and qualification test programs are underway. All elements of the data links must pass qualification testing or be approved as non‐standard parts before they can be installed in an operational shipboard system. This paper will describe the fiberoptic systems that are operational at the landbased test site, and will detail some of the tradeoffs that have been made for shipboard installations.

A High-Pressure Swivel for Natural Gas Service and Oscillating Motion in a Marine Environment

A joint development program has produced a unique flowline swivel for high-pressure natural gas service under continuous, small degree rotation, oscillating service. The swivel uses an elastomeric bearing element made up of alternate, frusto-conical shaped rings of metal and rubber (elastomer) to absorb continuous small degree rotary oscillations or flexures of the swivel. It accommodates larger oscillations, including complete 360-deg rotations, by locking the elastomeric element at its maximum design flexure capability and permitting the entire shaft assembly to rotate relative to the housing. A 6-in. (152.4-mm), 6000-psig (41,370-kPa) prototype successfully passed a rigorous qualification test program. The swivel should be useful in offshore marine production riser systems and loading terminals.

Technology Update On Tethered Aerostat Materials Developments

Tethered aerostat systems of today are complex flexible structures that must operate under extreme environmental conditions and in winds of at least 70 knots. Aerostat life times of ten years are expected while twenty years are desired under continuous around-the-clock opera tion in worldwide weather conditions. Lighter weight vehicles are needed to increase payload capacity. These requirements are placing new demands on the materials engineer to develop materials and materials technology to meet the needs of today. This paper deals primarily with aerostat hull materials. Recent history, the state of the art, and advanced material concepts are covered. In addition, Sheldahl's qualification test program is discussed, including several previously unreported innovations in aerostat material testing.

Effect of Room Size on Field Sound Transmission Loss Measurements

As part of the qualification testing and quality control program for the University of California Residential Building Systems (URBS) project, a field test mockup building was constructed. This facility was designed so that the test walls, having nominal ratings of 40 and 50 STC, could be measured in three different room sizes similar to those of future dormatories without disturbing the test wall to effect the change in room size. The results of the measurements will be shown and the differences discussed.

Application of beryllium on the Agena.

An extensive development and qualification testing program was undertaken to obtain design information on cross-rolled sheet beryllium for the Agena D spacecraft. Curved Be panels were used as structural skins and doors for a weight reduction redesign. Two major problem areas were curved panel buckling allowables and panel edge attachment allowables. The present paper reports the studies and tests conducted to develop edge attachment allowables for the Be panels. Various rivets, bolts, and screws were tested using simple lap joints. Several methods of locally increasing the panel edges to reduce high bearing stresses were also investigated. Based on these tests, the final attachment design used No. 10 titanium screws in combination with integral edge thickening of the panels produced by selective chemical milling. In addition, exploratory testing of adhesive bonded and brazed joints was conducted, and such joints proved to be satisfactory for certain applications. The use of Be sheet now available, with better and more consistent properties, permits its increased utilization in light weight aerospace structures.