Subsea Additive Manufacturing for Lifetime Extension

The project "Subsea Additive Manufacturing for Lifetime Extension (SAMLE)" has aimed to establish additive manufacturing (AM) as a method for repair of subsea equipment (SAM). The research project has been based on the unique habitat and robot technology of Kongsberg Ferrotech (KF) in combination with hyperbaric welding expertise from the industrial partners. Through the project, the SAM methodology has been developed for 3 defined user cases from the industry, and tested through full-scale demonstrations under water in a test tank. The methodology has also been tested and verified to 300m water depth. The SAMLE project has been a 3-year collaboration between KF and SINTEF, with Equinor, Gassco and Shell Global Technology as partners. One of the main tasks in the first year was to define the most relevant applications based on market needs. These applications have been the basis for the development of the SAM method with requirements for control system and robot. The topic of the research has been the choice of (Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing) WAAM materials, repair patterns, repair integrity and impact on the material/component. In parallel with the AM development, a Digital Twin model has been developed, which interprets input data, simulates the repair and also generates tool paths to the robot. The testing of repairs performed has included fatigue testing and mechanical tests, and all the tests have passed the pre-defined requirements. The simulations have also been adjusted based on physical tests. Three applications were chosen. The methodology described above has now been established and tested for 1) cracks in subsea structures, 2) dents in pipelines/structures and 3) filling of open holes in structures/pipes. All methods have been verified and demonstrated together with the partners in Project, and the way forward is now to establish a commercial service based on the Project results.

Prosjektet har utviklet ny robotisert metodikk for reparasjoner ved bruk av Additive Manufacturing, som kan gi en store besparelser for vedlikeholdsarbeid offshore/under vann, for både rørledninger, strukturer og skipsskrog. Samtidig vil de robotiserte metodene potensielt redusere HMS-risiko for personell, samtidig som dokumentasjonen og kvaliteten på arbeidet økes. 3 metoder er utviklet og demonstrert som en del av Prosjektet, som opprinnelig hadde fokus på O&G-næringen. Disse metodene har også en bredere anvendelse og resultatene har oppnådd stor interesse også innen andre næringer.

The idea of the SAMLE (Subsea Additive Manufacturing for Lifetime Extension) project is to introduce the Additive Manufacturing method for permanent repair of subsea components to extend its lifetime. The core of the SAM technology is the unique habitat and control technology of Kongsberg Ferrotech (KF) combined with an innovative hyperbaric wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) process, which will enable permanent repair of subsea components. The main R&D challenge is to establish the process-property-performance relationship of the SAM process to achieve predictive and controlled repair. The SAM process shall, for most cases, be applicable for hot repair i.e. repair of pipelines with active flow etc. The development method is based upon extensive simulations and verification of selected methods. The verified simulation models will be part of a digital twin. The digital twin becomes a key element in repair planning, quality control and documentation. The project is planned to be executed in a cooperation between KF and SINTEF with Equinor and Gassco as participating partners. The project is estimated to a cost of MNOK 21 over 3 years and is expected to grow the business of KF significantly after a buildup period of 5 years following a successful SAMLE development. For the operators of subsea infrastructure, one successful repair, avoiding unplanned shutdown and time consuming repair, will have a huge financial benefit for each saved day of normal production.