Sustainable Development Goals

Over long service periods, pipelines are subjected to deterioration and damage, which can reduce their strength and structural integrity. Repair mechanisms have been developed for restoring the loading capacity of damaged pipelines; in this context, composite-repair systems have become popular over the past few years. The material properties of the repair system components (putty and composite wrap) are critical in designing the repair and understanding the behaviour of a composite-repaired pipe. In this study, the mechanical properties of steel pipe, putty, and composite wrap were investigated individually through laboratory tests. The behaviour of all the materials is discussed to understand their response under various loading conditions. The steel pipes showed the highest tensile strength and modulus. The composite wrap shows better performance during tensile testing than during compression testing. Meanwhile, the putty recorded superior compressive properties as compared to its tensile and flexural properties. The steel pipe shows ductile behaviour while the putty and composite wrap exhibit brittle behaviour. The study was then followed by full-scale pipeline burst tests and finite element analyses on a defective pipe and a composite-repaired pipe. The results show that the burst pressure of the composite-repaired pipe increased by 23% and it experienced significantly reduced strain in the defect region. Detailed information on the burst pressure and strain reading over the entire applied pressure range was recorded for all the components of the burst-test specimens and their behaviour is discussed to achieve a better understanding of composite-repaired pipes. These findings can be very useful in the optimising the existing composite repair design procedures.

Behaviour of steel pipelines with composite repairs analysed using experimental and numerical approaches

This study assesses the economic, social and environmental impacts of renewable and nuclear energy targets for global electricity generation by 2030. It examines different regions, as they might experience different impacts depending on the structures of their economies and their local natural resources, to understand the impact of these targets on their economics and well-being of their people. These regions are: Saudi Arabia, the United States (US), China, India, Europe and Rest of World (ROW). A well-known Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model, the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP), is modified and used to predict global economic shifts that would be triggered by two scenarios. The business as usual (BAU) scenario assumes that the current electricity mix remains unchanged until 2030. The Renewable and Nuclear Energy (RNE) scenario is based on the International Energy Outlook (IEO) 2016 prediction. The analysis shows that the GDP value of all regions, except India, is affected negatively. The study shows a loss of 4.45 million jobs worldwide in the RNE compared to the BAU. Finally, the implementation of planned renewable and nuclear energy slightly benefits the environment but not enough to mitigate rise in global temperature.

Ex-Ante Analysis of Economic, Social and Environmental Impacts of Large-Scale Renewable and Nuclear Energy Targets for Global Electricity Generation by 2030

Oil and gas pipelines are subjected to various types of deterioration and damage over long service years. These damaged pipes often experience loss of strength and structural integrity. Repair mechanisms have been developed in restoring the loading capacity of damaged pipelines, and composite repair systems have become popular over the past few years. The mechanical properties of the putty/grout are critical to their potential application as infill materials in structural repair. In this paper, the compression, tensile, and flexural behavior of four epoxy grouts was investigated through laboratory tests. The stiffness of the grouts for compression, tensile, and flexural was found to be 6 GPa to 18 GPa, 4 GPa to 15 GPa, and 4 GPa to 12 GPa, respectively. The ultimate strength for all grouts was found from 62 MPa to 87 MPa, 18 MPa to 38 MPa, and 34 MPa to 62 MPa under compression, tensile, and flexural tests, respectively. The behavior of all the tested grouts is discussed. A finite element (FE) model simulating a composite-repaired pipe was developed and compared with past studies. The FE results show a good correlation with experimental test with margin of error less than 10%. By replacing the infill properties in FE model to mimic the used of different infill material for the repair, it was found that about 4–8% increment in burst pressure can be achieved. This signifies that the role of infill material is not only limited to transferring the load, but it also has the potential to increase overall performance of composite-repaired pipe.

Mechanical Properties Characterization and Finite Element Analysis of Epoxy Grouts in Repairing Damaged Pipeline

A System Dynamics Approach on Oil Market Modeling with Statistical Data Analysis

Global oil prices have fallen sharply over the past seven months, leading to significant revenue shortfalls in many energy exporting nations, while consumers in many importing countries are likely to have to pay less to heat their homes or drive their cars. From 2010 until mid-2015 world oil prices had been fairly stable, at around $110 a barrel. But since June prices have more than halved.  Brent crude oil  has now dipped  below $50 a barrel  for the first time since May 2009 and  US crude  is down to below $48 a barrel.The reasons for this change are twofold - weak demand in many countries due to insipid economic growth, coupled with surging US production. This is the fact that the oil cartel Opec is  determined not to cut production  as a way to prop up prices.

Rishabh Dev

Papers

World’s Oil Scenario –Falling Oil Prices Winners and Losers a Study on top Oil Producing and Consuming Countries