SINTEF researchers, working with Equinor, have created a new method to better understand wear on risers, the pipes that carry resources from wells on the seabed to processing facilities at the surface. The test, one of the largest of its kind, uses a model with a transparent pipe and combines wave motion on the outside with the irregular flow of liquids and gases inside.
The data make it possible to predict more accurately where fatigue builds up. This information could help engineers design safer, more cost-effective systems, better estimate the remaining life of structures already in service and extend their lifetime.
