MARINE RISER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM INCLUDING SUBSEA ACOUSTIC MONITORING PLATFORM AND AN ASSOCIATED METHOD

• US 20150346064A1
• Filed: 12/16/2014
• Published: 12/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hydril USA Distribution LLC (GE Aerospace)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Guzzo, Judith Ann, Carbone, John William, Dell'Anno, Michael Joseph, Zhang, Li, Liu, Shaopeng
• Granted Patent: US 10,168,253 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 17/01 Risers
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 99/005 Testing of complete machines, e.g. washing-machines or mobile phones testing of machine parts G01M13/00; testing of electric apparatus or components G01R31/50

Abstract

A system and method for monitoring a condition of a marine riser including at least one subsea sensing and acoustic platform mechanically coupled to a riser joint of the marine riser. The at least one platform includes one or more sensors mechanically coupled to the riser joint and including plug-and-play sensor interface technology. The platform further includes a microprocessor configured to receive and analyze sensor data from the one or more sensors and provide pre-processed data representative of a determination of a condition of the riser joint. A memory module is provided including one or more software modules executable by the microprocessor and configured to provide data storage. The platform further includes an acoustic modem configured to receive the pre-processed data, communicate the condition to a topside acoustic transceiver in real-time and provide remote command configuration in response to the condition. An included power module provides power to the platform components.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

at least one subsea sensing and acoustic platform mechanically coupled to a first riser joint of a marine riser, the at least one subsea sensing and acoustic platform comprising;

one or more sensors mechanically coupled to the first riser joint, the one or more sensors including plug-and-play sensor interface technology;

a microprocessor configured to receive and analyze sensor data from the one or more sensors and provide pre-processed data representative of a determination of a condition of the first riser joint and whether the condition satisfies transmission criterion;

a memory module including one or more software modules executable by the microprocessor and configured to provide data storage;

an acoustic modem configured to receive the pre-processed data, communicate the condition to a topside acoustic transceiver in real-time, at least one of send and receive one or more remote command configurations in response to the condition; and

a power module configured to provide power to the one or more sensors, the microprocessor, the memory module and the acoustic modem.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors includes at least one of strain gauge, an angular rate sensor, a curvature sensor, and an inclinometer.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more sensors include one or more motion sensors configured to detect motion of riser string over set time interval.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor includes a software platform/operating system (OS) configured to provide interfacing with one or more components of the system.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor is configured to calculate basic statistics from raw sensor data received from the one or more sensors.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory module is a plug-and-play module.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the power module comprises a battery.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more software modules comprise:

a communication module stored in the memory module and executable by the at least one microprocessor, the communication module configured to receive sensor data from the one or more sensors mechanically coupled to the first riser joint;

an analysis module stored in the memory module and executable by the at least one microprocessor, the analysis module communicatively coupled with the communication module;

a decision module stored in the memory module and executable by the at least one microprocessor, the decision module communicatively coupled with the analysis module and configured to determine whether the condition satisfies a transmission criterion; and

a notification module stored in the memory module and executable by the at least one microprocessor, the notification module communicatively coupled with the decision module and configured to send a notification including the condition via the acoustic modem to the topside acoustic transceiver in real-time.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the analysis module further receives at least one of displacement data, velocity data and acceleration data from the one or more sensors and calculates at least one of bending and motion of the first riser joint based on the at least one of displacement data, velocity data and acceleration data.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the analysis module further calculates a vibrational characteristic of the first riser joint based on the displacement data, velocity data and acceleration data.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the analysis module further receives additional data from one or more sensors coupled to a second riser joint of the marine riser and determines the condition based on the additional data.

12. A marine riser management system comprising:

at least one subsea sensing and acoustic platform mechanically coupled to a riser joint of a marine riser, the at least one subsea sensing and acoustic platform comprising;

one or more sensors mechanically coupled to the riser joint, the one or more sensors including plug-and-play sensor interface technology;

a microprocessor configured to receive and analyze sensor data from the one or more sensors and provide pre-processed data representative of a determination of a condition of the riser joint and whether the condition satisfies transmission criterion, the microprocessor comprising a software platform/operating system (OS) configured to provide interfacing with one or more components of the system;

a memory module including one or more software modules executable by the microprocessor and including data storage;

an acoustic modem configured to receive the pre-processed data, communicate the condition in real-time, and at least one of send and receive one or more remote command configurations in response to the condition; and

a power module configured to provide power to the one or more sensors, the microprocessor, the memory module and the acoustic modem,

a topside acoustic transceiver configured to receive the communicated condition from the acoustic modem and transmit the one or more remote command configurations to the at least one subsea sensing and acoustic platform; and

an on-vessel monitor configured to process the communicated condition and generate the remote command configurations.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the memory module is a plug-and-play module.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the power module comprises a battery.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more software modules comprise:

a communication module stored in the memory module and executable by the at least one microprocessor, the communication module configured to receive sensor data from the one or more sensors mechanically coupled to the first riser joint;

an analysis module stored in the memory module and executable by the at least one microprocessor, the analysis module communicatively coupled with the communication module;

a decision module stored in the memory module and executable by the at least one microprocessor, the decision module communicatively coupled with the analysis module and configured to determine whether the condition satisfies a transmission criterion; and

a notification module stored in the memory module and executable by the at least one microprocessor, the notification module communicatively coupled with the decision module and configured to send a notification including the condition via the acoustic modem to the topside acoustic transceiver in real-time.

16. A method comprising:

receiving sensor data from one or more sensors disposed on a subsea sensing and acoustic platform mechanically coupled to a riser joint of a marine riser;

analyzing the sensor data to determine a condition of the riser joint;

determining whether the condition satisfies a transmission criterion;

sending a notification including the condition via an acoustic modem disposed on the subsea sensing and acoustic platform to a topside acoustic transceiver in real-time in response to determining that the condition satisfies the transmission criterion; and

at least one of

sending one or more remote command configurations via the acoustic modem to at least one of a power module, a sensor interface, a memory module and a microprocessor disposed on the subsea sensing and acoustic platform

and receiving one or more remote command configurations via the topside acoustic transceiver in response to the condition.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the sensor data includes at least one of a strain data, displacement data, velocity data, acceleration data, roll angle data and pitch angle data.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the condition further comprises calculating at least one of bending and motion of the riser joint based on the displacement data.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the microprocessor includes a software platform/operating system (OS) configured to provide interfacing with one or more components of the system.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the memory module is a plug-and-play module and allows for storage of sensor data.