Offshore
Offshore oil facilities count on the light weight and all-conditions strength of DuPont™ Kevlar® to carry out vital operations every day. In umbilicals—bundles of high-pressure hydraulic hoses that run from the top of a drilling platform or production facility down to control the equipment on the ocean floor—Kevlar® is the primary strength reinforcement that enables the use of flexible thermoplastic hoses instead of steel tubes. Kevlar® is also used to reinforce the risers, the pipes that carry the oil from the ocean floor back up to the production platform. Combined with its chemical and corrosion resistance properties, the resistance Kevlar® has to elongation under load and "creep"—incremental elongation distortion over time—make it particularly well suited for the rigors of offshore oil extraction and production.
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On Shore Piping
Kevlar® is also suitable for reinforcement of small diameter thermoplastic pipe (RTP) for onshore applications, enabling higher pressure ratings than unreinforced pipe. The Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipe can be produced in long continuous lengths and coiled for transport to the installation site. The corrosion resistance of a thermoplastic pipe makes it an excellent alternative to steel pipe. An RTP solution will have a lower installation cost and longer lifetime in corrosive environments than steel pipe.
Putting New Life into Old Pipes
The developed world is criss-crossed with pipeline networks and many are close to the limit of their working life. Energy suppliers, industry and public utilities face spiralling costs of replacing corroding steel. Conventional methods of repair or replacement are expensive, disrupt supply and surrounding infrastructure, especially in urban areas. Innovative use of DuPont™ Kevlar® brand fiber, however, enables the trenchless renovation of many different kinds of pipeline in a fraction of the time necessary for conventional repair or replacement. Downtime and disruption are minimized. Cost savings can be enormous. Kevlar® offers tomorrow’s solution to the limitations of yesterday’s technology: flexible, high-pressure plastic pipes that restore the efficiency of aging pipe networks. In effect, a new pipeline is inserted within the structure of the old. Its tough, flexible construction enables it to be fed around bends and through long lengths up to 2000 meters. Pipeline diameter is virtually unchanged so there is no loss of volumetric flow. The inner liner is entirely self-contained--the old pipe is only used as a route, so continuing deterioration is irrelevant.
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