Systems and methods for protecting subsea pipeline from excessive stress or fatigue loading
First Claim
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1. A system for protecting subsea pipeline from excessive stress and/or fatigue loading, comprising:
- a plurality of lifting buoyancy modules capable of being attached to a subsea pipeline in a normally non-activated state and having an activation mechanism associated there with;
wherein the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules has sufficient buoyancy when at least a portion of the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules is activated to lift the subsea pipeline off the seabed to a predetermined height over a predetermined length;
wherein each of the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules is further capable of being reversibly attached to an anchor in the seabed by an anchoring tether such that the lifting buoyancy modules are constrained from lifting the subsea pipeline; and
wherein the activation mechanism associated with the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules comprises detaching at least a portion of the anchoring tethers such that at least a portion of the lifting buoyancy modules are unconstrained and thereby lift the subsea pipeline.
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Abstract
Disclosed are systems and methods for protecting subsea pipeline from damage caused by excessive stress or fatigue loading caused by geo-hazards, and environmental and operating loads. The systems and methods utilize lifting buoyancy modules capable of being attached to a section of subsea pipeline to lift the subsea pipeline off the seabed to a predetermined height over a predetermined length upon being activated by a planned or unplanned triggering event.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A system for protecting subsea pipeline from excessive stress and/or fatigue loading, comprising:
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a plurality of lifting buoyancy modules capable of being attached to a subsea pipeline in a normally non-activated state and having an activation mechanism associated there with; wherein the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules has sufficient buoyancy when at least a portion of the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules is activated to lift the subsea pipeline off the seabed to a predetermined height over a predetermined length; wherein each of the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules is further capable of being reversibly attached to an anchor in the seabed by an anchoring tether such that the lifting buoyancy modules are constrained from lifting the subsea pipeline; and wherein the activation mechanism associated with the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules comprises detaching at least a portion of the anchoring tethers such that at least a portion of the lifting buoyancy modules are unconstrained and thereby lift the subsea pipeline. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for protecting subsea pipeline from excessive stress and/or fatigue loading, comprising:
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attaching a plurality of lifting buoyancy modules having an activation mechanism associated there with to a subsea pipeline; wherein the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules has sufficient buoyancy when at least a portion of the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules is activated to lift the subsea pipeline off the seabed to a predetermined height over a predetermined length; and reversibly attaching each of the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules to an anchor in the seabed by an anchoring tether such that the lifting buoyancy modules are constrained from lifting the subsea pipeline; wherein the activation mechanism associated with the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules comprises detaching at least a portion of the anchoring tethers from the lifting buoyancy modules such that at least a portion of the lifting buoyancy modules are unconstrained and thereby lift the subsea pipeline. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification