Small fixed teardrop fairings for vortex induced vibration suppression
AssigneeShell Oil Company
InventorsDonald W. Allen, Dean L. Henning
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A non-rotatable fairing for suppression of vortex-induced vibration of a marine tubular is provided, the tubular having a circular cross section and a centerline that is normal to the circular cross section, the fairing comprising: shaped sides that extend essentially tangentially from the outer surface of the tubular toward a point that is about a distance equal to the outside diameter of the tubular or less from the centerline of the tubular; and a means to fix the fairing to the tubular so that the fairing cannot rotate around the tubular, wherein the maximum length of the cross section of the combined fairing and tubular is between about 1.25 and about 1.5 times the outside diameter of the tubular.
Claims8
A non-rotatable fairing for suppression of vortex-induced vibration of a marine tubular having a circular cross section and a centerline that is normal to the circular cross section, the fairing comprising:
- shaped sides that extend essentially tangentially from the outer surface of the tubular toward a point that is about a distance equal to the outside diameter of the tubular or less from the centerline of the tubular;
- and
- a means to fix the fairing to the tubular so that the fairing cannot rotate around the tubular, wherein the maximum length of the cross section of the combined fairing and tubular is between about 1.25 and about 1.5 times the outside diameter of the tubular, and the fairing is made from a flat sheet of material, wrapped around the tubular, and edges of the flat material connected at the centerline of the fairing.
A method to reduce vortex induced vibrations of a marine tubular having a circular cross section and a centerline that is normal to the circular cross section, the method comprising:
- providing a fairing, the fairing comprising,
- shaped sides that conform to the tubular and extend essentially tangentially from the outer surface of the tubular toward a point that is about 0.75 of the outer diameter of the tubular or less from the centerline of the tubular, and
- a means to fix the fairing to the tubular so that the fairing cannot rotate around the tubular, wherein the maximum length of the cross section of the combined fairing and tubular is between about 1.25 and about 1.5 times the outside diameter of the tubular, and the fairing is made from a flat sheet of material, wrapped around the tubular, and edges of the flat material connected at the centerline of the fairing;
- and
- fixing the fairing to the tubular.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.