Reliable Bulk Transport on Offshore Oil Rigs

This application is a collaborative research effort by the oil industry, process industry, university sector and the research institute sector. It is aimed at achieving cost effective drilling and safer and improved occupational hygiene on offshore oil ri gs. This application consists of two sub-projects, each dealing with a specific problem as described below: Sub-project I: Attempt will be made to increase the knowledge of the erosion mechanism through a research study and thereby develop an erosion pre diction technique during pneumatic conveying of bulk materials. The main focus will be on understanding the mechanism of erosion and also the relationship of flow regime with the rate of erosion. The aim of this project also includes an attempt to link th e flow of bulk materials with the pressure drop during transport parameter optimisation from the point of view of erosion. Study of erosion mechanism will be done using a bench scale test rig to be developed with facility for monitoring change in mass of the target pieces continuously during the test period and also using full scale pneumatic transport pipelines. Sub-project II: The aim of the project includes analysis of the influence of the magnetic susceptibility of the drilling fluid on the magnetic sensor readings. The physical problem to be solved is to calculate the magnetic field inside a magnetizable cylindrical shell of given geometry as a function of the angle between the cylinder axis and the external (Earth) magnetic field. The project will also include direct and model based measurement methods for the evaluation of drilling fluid susceptibility with and without any eroded iron particles. The project will also aim at establishing the possibility of development of a cost effective and field applicable magnetic susceptibility measuring instrument for fluid-particulate suspensions.