The chemical compatibility of thermoplastic hose used in umbilicals

Brodesser, Monika and Banks, W.M. and Pethrick, R.A. and Casey, N. and Brown, J.; Chung, J.S. and Matsui, T., eds. (2003) The chemical compatibility of thermoplastic hose used in umbilicals. In: Proceedings of the 13th (2003) international offshore and polar engineering conference. International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference Proceedings . International Society of Offshore & Polar Engineers, USA, pp. 1-7. ISBN 1880653605

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Abstract

The effects of solvents and temperature on thermoplastic hose for umbilical service are reported in this paper. Accelerated ageing tests were undertaken and analysed by gravimetric, mechanical and calorimetric measurements. Water and methanol were found to cause physical degradation of the polymer, mainly at high temperatures, whereas xylene caused chemical degradation, which increased with increasing temperature. The activation energy for the alpha-process within polyethylene (PE) was found to be 96.3 kJ mol(-1) for un-aged PE and increased to 106.2 kJ moll after 64 days of ageing in water at 100degreesC. The changes in activation energy will be used to make a life-time prediction of umbilical lines