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wiredInUSA - August 2013
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NASA technology
improves platform safety
New fiber optic
technology, jointly
developed
by
NASA with Astro
Technology (ATI),
has successfully
decreased
the
risk of spills on two oil platforms
off the coast of West Africa. The
new tendon tension monitoring
system (TTMS) can detect slight
changes in tension as a result of
tides, wave activity, storms and
routine boat docking operations,
and streams the data in real time,
allowing operators to make the
alterations required to maintain
platform stability.
Installed in March on two
platforms in the Atlantic Ocean,
the TTMS uses a fiber optic
strain gauge system and sensor
clamps to determine the tension
on subsea risers and pipelines.
ATI and NASA engineers worked
jointly at the Johnson Space
Center in Houston to design an
underwater adhesive clamp
prototype for the research.
NASA chief technologist Mason
Peck said: “What we learn from
testing this technology on the
oil platforms will benefit a broad
range of terrestrial and space
applications, and shows NASA’s
technology investments support
America’s future in space and
improve our lives here on Earth."
The technology was developed
through a Space Act agreement,
which NASA uses as a method for
partnering with external groups
and companies to allow them
open access to a wider range of
technologies and capabilities.
wir
t 2013