Measurement Technologies News

Asian Oil & Gas (AOG) is hosting a webinar on the groundbreaking patents that are pushing multiphase detection, measurement, and control technology forward.Throughout the oil and gas and petrochemical industries, liquid-to-liquid separation is a fundamental process. Though instrumentation has come a long way, a new high performance, cost-effective time domain reflectometry (TDR) based multi-phase detector is now available and ideal for widespread adoption. It handles changing…

Digitalization is expediting and maximizing the safety and economics of structural stress and fatigue measurement technologies. Terje Sannerud, Chief Commercial Officer at Norwegian fiber optic condition monitoring system developer Light Structures explains.Yet to be mandated by the IMO or included in any SOLAS regulations, structural stress and fatigue monitoring systems have in fact been used for providing real-time safety warnings on large and specialist vessels for more than two decades.

A new 1,000-pound inertial actuator, the AMA1000, is giving engineers at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD) unprecedented capability in full-scale testing. John Miesner, an engineer assigned to Carderock Division's Acoustic Signatures Technology Division, said the Navy has used actuators like the AMA1000 in a wet environment for many years, but the shakers, as they are called, were not capable of producing high forces at a broad range of frequencies until 2014.

The speakers representing various companies at next week's SSI Americas ShipConstructor User Conference, October 7-9, 2014 in Mobile, Alabama, demonstrate SSI's philosophy of creating software solutions for the shipbuilding industry that integrate with best of breed applications, the company said. SSI executives will highlight the competitive advantages avalable with the implementation of recently released products such as EnterpisePlatform, MarineDrafting, Electrical, PipeLink, WeldManagement and PipeSupports. In the workshops SSI technical staff will provide particular focus on hands-on workflows, best practices and maximizing the efficient use and benefits of the tools.

Wärtsilä and MAN Diesel & Turbo enter next phase of HERCULES research project. World-leading low- and medium-speed engine manufacturers, Wärtsilä and MAN Diesel & Turbo, announce the kick off of the next phase of the extensive, long-term HERCULES research programme. The overall vision of the programme is to achieve sustainable and safe energy production from marine power plants. This next phase is made possible by funding from the European Commission. Phase III of the HERCULES programme, HERCULES-C, aims at integrating several successful technologies in order to reduce emissions and optimise the efficiency and long-term reliability of marine engines. HERCULES-C is planned to run for three years, from 2012 to 2014, with a budget of EUR 17 million.

Two world-leading European marine engine manufacturers, MAN Diesel & Turbo and Wärtsilä Corporation, have agreed to pursue a large joint research project, the HERCULES-C project, as a continuation of the very successful HERCULES programs for the research and development of marine engine technology. The overall vision of the HERCULES research program is for sustainable and safe energy production from marine power plants. The technological themes of the HERCULES initiative have, since its inception in 2002, been higher efficiency, reduced emissions, and increased reliability for marine engines. However, for taking marine engine technology a step further towards improved sustainability in energy production and total energy economy…

Industrial technology specialist, Tracerco, part of the Johnson Matthey group, has increased its global presence by establishing a new service centre in Shanghai, China. The opening comes shortly after the company invested in new operations facilities in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Perth, Australia. Despite the global economic downturn, China continues to achieve growth and positive GDP, adding still further capacity to its vast oil and gas, refining and petrochemical industries.

Schlumberger announced today that it has acquired Integrated Exploration Systems (IES), the , Germany-based supplier of advanced petroleum systems modeling software and services for the exploration and production (E&P) industry. IES specializes in the modeling of the generation, migration and entrapment of oil and gas using the industry-leading software PetroMod. This technology is used to estimate undiscovered hydrocarbons in frontier basins and to enable oil and gas companies to mitigate risk in exploration prospects. In order to help meet growing global demand for hydrocarbon resources, oil and gas companies are looking more toward exploration.

Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Commander Rear Adm. Mike Mathis and Technical Director Mary Lacey announced the selection and pending appointment to the senior executive service of Donald Collins as Executive Director of Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station (NAVSSES) in Philadelphia and Deputy Executive Director, NSWC Carderock, Md. The NAVSSES executive director develops overall policy and directs strategic and tactical planning. A native of Philadelphia, Collins earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University in 1967 and did graduate work at Drexel University, beginning his career in Philadelphia as an electronics engineer in the Measurement Technologies Department in 1974.

GE Power Systems announced that it has acquired Panametrics Inc., a global leader in high-technology ultrasonic testing equipment and process control instrumentation. The company will become part of GE's Energy Management Services business and will be known as GE Panametrics. Panametrics develops highly specialized, harsh-environment sensors and instruments for nondestructive testing, solar radiation detection and process measurement instrumentation. The company's products include process control instruments; moisture, chemical and gas sensors; multi-phase flow meters; charged particle detectors; ultrasonic transducers and scanning systems for a wide range of applications.

The majority of bunker fuel is delivered to ships by barge. Trapped air, held in suspension within viscous bunker oil, artificially increases its volume. This effect has been a major and hitherto unsolvable problem for the shipping industry. The measurement of the supplied quantity currently involves dipping barge tanks before and after delivery and undertaking various calculations and corrections to convert the tank volume measurement into a delivered mass. This process is fraught with difficulties, errors and personnel hazards. BP, recognizing all these problems, has embarked upon an ambitious project to utilize best available and economically viable technology to overcome the traditional quantity verification methods.

Oceaneering International, Inc. announced that its Norwegian subsidiary, Oceaneering AS, has entered into a joint venture agreement with Det Norske Veritas (DNV) to provide a new inspection service capability to the offshore oil and gas, shipping, and other vessel-related markets utilizing a unique combination of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and Resonance Thickness Measurement (RTM) technology. The 50/50 joint venture company, Argus RTM AS, will be headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. Argus RTM AS will provide a high precision, time- and cost-effective service, utilizing ROVs and advanced plate thickness measurement technologies to help customers ensure the integrity of vessels and structures operating offshore and in other marine environments.