TPT July 2015

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Technology News
66 July 2015
New SmartFit™ software
optimises multiple sections of pipe
PIPE measurement specialist Optical
Metrology Services (OMS) has released
a new version of its award-winning
SmartFit™ pipe fit-up optimisation
software.
In addition to the sequencing of
single pipe ends, the new software is
now capable of sequencing multiple
pre-welded sections of pipe (doubles,
triples and quads), while also providing
improved visualisation of pipe fit-up and
new, automated reporting features.
Winner of a Queen’s Award for
Innovation in 2014, OMS’s SmartFit
service is a system for managing pipe
preparation and fit-up in readiness for
welding prior to pipelaying. For the oil
and gas industry, SmartFit ensures
accurate fit-up of pipes prior to welding
and laying in trenches, thus preventing
environmentally damaging leaks.
The latest version of the SmartFit
software was developed by OMS in
response to the changing needs of the
oil and gas industry. Rather than weld
single pipe ends, some of the latest
pipelaying vessels are now designed
and equipped to carry and/or weld
multiple sections of pipe – in doubles,
triples or quads. Typically, these vessels
carry pipe ends that have either been
pre-welded onshore into multiple
sections, or the vessels have facilities to
weld the pipe ends onboard into multiple
sections prior to the pipeline reeling and
laying processes.
David Briscoe, senior software
engineer at OMS, commented: “The
SmartFit software is now
able to simulate, sequence
and optimise batches of
double, triple or quad pipe
ends to suit individual
customer requirements.
For the pipe contractor, this
enables pipe ends to be
part-welded into multiple
sections onshore, which
in turn means less time is
spent welding individual
pipe ends onboard the
pipelaying vessel. This
can significantly reduce
vessel hiring costs and
project risk.”
The OMS software is now more
intuitive and easier to use, providing
2D/3D visualisation of pipe ends, which
not only reduces operator error, but
also aids the end customer or pipe
contractor’s own understanding of the
benefits of using pipe fit-up optimisation
software in order to reduce weld cut-
outs and delays to the pipe welding and
laying processes.
SmartFit also provides improved
reporting features in various formats
to suit the operator, analyst or pipe
contractor. Results and automated
statistical reports can be generated and
exported directly into different formats,
including MS Word, MS Excel, .CSV file,
image/graphical reports, as well as more
detailed technical reports that include
every pipe joint/HiLo value in a pipeline.
The SmartFit system is accurate,
traceable to National Standards, light,
fast to operate and highly portable. The
system has been applied aboard a wide
variety of pipelaying vessels and spool
bases around the world.
Prior to OMS introducing SmartFit
to the oil and gas industry, pipe fit-up
problems occurred at a mean rate of one
in every 15 pipe ends. Using SmartFit,
such problems are rare or non-existent.
OMS estimates that its customers are
saving approximately £9mn per year.
Optical Metrology Services – UK
Website:
The new software is now capable of sequencing multiple
pre-welded sections of pipe
Cut-to-length and coping in one
operation
A TUBE producer and fabricator in the
automotive industry asked Haven to
develop a process that combines length
trimming and radius coping into a single
operation.
When welding two round tubes
together to make a T-connection, coping
is the preferred way to condition one tube
end for a tight fit. For this application, the
customer is required to trim both ends of
a tube after bending to obtain matching
finished lengths. Coping is usually a
separate operation, so the challenge for
Haven was to combine the trim-to-length
and the coping into one operation.
The basic action of this process is
no different to that of a standard dual-
blade shear cut-off – clamp, nick and
shear. The width of the blade removes
an equivalent amount of material (kerf)
from the tube, but is greatly increased
when coping. The design of the clamp
die and shear blade had to be changed.
Standard design has a flat, two-plane
interface between the shear blade and
the clamp die, making a square cut.
For this application the blade’s outgoing
side, or scrap side, remains flat, while
the incoming side is profiled to match
the cope radius and depth. Likewise, the
clamp die is designed with a concave
profile to match that of the shear blade.
As with a square cut, the profiled die
and blade interface creates the shearing
surface that parts the tube.
Haven Manufacturing – USA
Fax: +1 912 264 9001
Website: