Skelmersdale, UK - Trelleborg Offshore, part of the Trelleborg Group, has designed and manufactured the world's largest bend stiffener, the company said recently.
Because the fabrication is so large, the company commissioned an extra polyurethane dispensing machine at Trelleborg Offshore's plant in Skelmersdale, England.
According to Trelleborg, a typical stiffener is around 1000 kg and up to 5 m in length. The new stiffener from Trelleborg Offshore was over twice the length and five times the weight in polyurethane, the statement said. The stiffener was specifically developed for StatoilHydro, who are responsible for the development and operation of the Vega field in the North Sea.
The record-breaking stiffener, installed by Subsea7, has an overall length of 11.3 m and a base-diameter of 1315 mm. The weight in air of the component is 8340 kg with a total PU volume of 5360 litres, the statement said.
"Extensive testing was done prior to installation and in practice the stiffener has demonstrated excellent correlation between theoretical analysis and experimental data," said John Shaw, product group manager for Trelleborg Offshore.
Trelleborg Offshore produces custom-designed integral bending stiffeners for rigid riser-end fittings. The conically shaped polyurethane mouldings are used in offshore oil & gas installations to add local stiffness to the riser, flowline, cable or umbilical, limiting bending stresses and curvature to acceptable levels, the company said. (RD)
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