Page 40: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2001)

CAD/CAM

Onstream Project To Optimize

FPSO Design

Noble Denton Europe Ltd. (NDE) was last month set to launch a new joint industry project aiming to improve

FPSO design in order to optimize sys- tem safety and reliability, which will in turn lower operating costs and capital requirement. The study will focus upon reliability analysis and system modeling of critical limit states and follows on from a preliminary study, previously performed by NDE for the U.K. Health and Safety Executive (HSE). It acts as a catalyst to draw together current FPSO experience and will enable further development of the design process, through enhancing current understand- ing of the operational system behavior ofFPSO's.

It will address the shortcomings with- in the current design process and issues that have not yet been studied in any detail. The outcome is expected to iden- tify cost-effective design improvements, based upon risk reduction benefits and life of field reliability. There is potential for producing optimized FPSO design guidelines and achieve a reduction in unnecessary construction and opera- tional costs.

Brian Campbell, project coordinator for the proposed study, said, "We are all very excited by the new project. We truly believe that the results will revolu- tionize the way FPSO's are designed from the front end of the process, which will have tremendous effects on struc- tural safety issues as well as costs."

The project is set to commence in Jan- uary 2001 and is scheduled for comple- tion within a period of 18 months.

Industry interest was witnessed fol- lowing distribution of the proposal and first launch meeting held in London on

October 23, as a wide range of compa- nies have expressed a strong interest in the project. Interested organizations include BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, TotalFi- naElf, Statoil, Mineral Management

Service, ABB, ABS, Maersk, DNV,

Lloyd's Register, Bouygues Offshore,

Bluewater, Bureau Veritas, Norsk

Hydro, Fred Olsen Energy, and the U.S.

Coast Guard.

Napa Oy Introduces NAPA

Steel System For Ship Design

Napa Oy (Ltd.) has introduced the

NAPA Steel system, a new tool for ship structural design during the early design stages.

NAPA Steel is designed as a quick and flexible tool for use in designing ship structures and in managing the design process from the first sketches up to the classification documents. NAPA Steel's modeling techniques is designed so that the model can be created early enough to meet both project and basic design needs.

By using NAPA Steel, a 3-D product model of the ship's structures can be available within 50-500 man-hours, depending on the ship type and the details being modeled. NAPA Steel's main advantage is the flexibility of the 3-D product modeling process, which makes it possible to maintain a consis- tent model despite the frequent changes made during the early design stages.

The program is touted as providing a reduced risk of design errors; increased accuracy in estimating the ship's weight, center of gravity and strength; improved distribution of information concerning the design; reduced material costs; and fewer production man-hours as a result of better planning.

The 3-D NAPA Steel model provides

Ballast and Tank Level

Indicating Systems for the Marine and Offshore

Oil/Gas Industries

LevelPRO" Multiple Tank Level Processors

LevelPRO provides continuous measurement of ballast levels and shipboard service tanks. Up to 8 tank levels with local display and operator terminal.

Digital multidrop network compatible with auto- mated control systems. Durable corrosion-proof housing and sealed keypad.

LiquiSear Purge Control

LiquiSeal Purge Control is a fully integrated level sensor for liquid cargo/service tanks or for draft measurement. External mounting on the tank or at remote location. Rugged brass construction with pneumatic or two wire (4-20 mA) output.

Compressed air required for operation.

LevelBAR"

Replaces Fluid-Filled Gauges

LevelBAR offers direct replacement for fluid-filled manometer tank gauges. Built for greater reliability, analog LED column graphically displays tank level. Rugged stainless enclosure and shatterproof window. Models for electronic or air driven systems.

Call 800-242-8871 Fax 734-662-6652

LewelBJUt

KING-GAGE

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