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US 5,403,121 AGranted
Subsea pipeline expansion bends
AssigneeShell Oil Company
InventorGlenn A. Lanan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This invention relates to a method of accommodating thermal expansion in subsea pipelines and a subsea pipeline. The pipeline is constructed with alternating essentially opposed bends.
Claims18
A method to accommodate thermal expansion within a buried subsea pipeline capable of operating at elevated temperatures comprising:
- providing a pipeline with bends in alternating essentially opposed directions, the angles of the bends and the distance between the bends being sufficiently small that the pipeline is not plastically deformed when one end of the pipeline is suspended from the surface of the sea, the number and angles of the bends are sufficiently large to prevent upheaval buckling, and the bend angles and distance between the bends are small enough that the pipeline can be passed through a tensioning machine and stinger of a pipeline-laying vessel;
- and installing the pipeline on a seafloor.
A subsea pipeline comprising:
- a plurality of bends in alternating opposing directions, the angles of the bends and the distances between the bends being small enough to permit suspension from the sea surface without resulting in plastic deformation at the bends, the angles of the bends and distance between the bends small enough that the pipeline may pass through a tensioning machine and a stinger of a pipe-laying vessel, and the number and angles of the bends being sufficient to prevent upheaval buckling.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.