Feature published in 3D ADEPT MAG in July–August 2020, then online in March 2021. Interviewees’ roles, projects and outlook reflect that period. Editorial clarifications distinguish demonstrators, forecasts and qualification.
The oil, gas and maritime industries must balance equipment availability, safety and cost. Manufacturing components for demanding environments requires monitoring and qualification appropriate to each application.
An analysis published by DNV GL in 2020 identifies tubes and piping as the most frequently represented components in the failure cases examined. Fatigue and corrosion are the most common mechanisms in that sample.
The study covers more than 1,000 cases examined in the US, Europe and Asia. These proportions describe the cases analysed; they are not failure probabilities for all equipment in service.
“The cost of prevention, monitoring, repair or replacement as a result of these forms of component degradation can run into billions of dollars. Potentially, financial penalties can occur if major incidents and loss of life result from such a failure”, explained Koheila Molazemi, Technology and Innovation Director, DNV GL – Oil & Gas.
Additive manufacturing offers ways to design, repair or produce selected components. It does not eliminate fatigue or corrosion: material selection, processing, treatments and inspection remain decisive. This feature examines opportunities and limitations discussed in 2020.
This article aims at highlighting the main outlines & commercial opportunities to take into account while considering AM in this sector of activity.
To discuss this topic, we have called for the expertise of two main companies:
- DNV GL, a classification and assurance organisation working across maritime, energy and other industries.
- Guaranteed, a spin-off from Finindus, ArcelorMittal Belgium and OCAS, discussed here for its WAAM production and repair activities.
Ramesh Babu Govindaraj, DNV GL – Maritime Principal Specialist for Material, Welding and Additive Manufacturing and Eva Junghans, DNV GL – Maritime Senior Principal Engineer for Materials and Welding have answered our questions in the DNV GL team. The two colleagues give further information about the use of AM in the maritime industry.
Joachim Antonissen and Sander Plasschaert have answered our questions in regard to the use of AM in the oil & gas industries.
Anticipating the risks in the oil, gas and maritime sectors
In its 2017 study, SmarTech Publishing forecast a $2 billion oil-and-gas additive manufacturing market by 2027. This is a historical projection, not recorded revenue.
Based on experiences in rapid prototyping and tooling within other industries, several oil and gas operators and suppliers, ambition now to use additive manufacturing to gain a key competitive edge in the production of advanced and complex final parts.
In December 2017, DNV GL announced its additive manufacturing class guideline, providing a framework for evaluating processes, materials and components.
The framework structures quality assurance and supplier assessment. Its existence does not automatically approve a part: the applicable requirements must be defined and demonstrated for the intended use.
In 2018, two joint industry projects (JIPs) were launched to develop guidelines and a business model for AM in these sectors. According to the information gathered for this feature, nine companies joined the original 11 participants by the end of 2019.
“The approach by the DNVGL JIP programme was based on the FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) workshop which was attended by all participants. There the failure mitigation process was established and the testing to capture the weakest zone in applications was considered. Operators
: They are the end-users, and provide their expectations for quality, functionality and service durability for their assets. Contractors
: They do the design, specify the detailed requirements for the components and optimize the design to achieve the full benefit from Additive Manufacturing. Fabricators
: They provide information related to the printing process and establish the essential variables which are important in order to obtain material properties meeting the requirements” commented Ramesh Babu Govindaraj & Eva Junghans.
The completion of these projects led to tangible applications of AM in this segment and a deeper understanding of challenges a manufacturer can encounter to produce a 3D printed part for this segment. We’ve asked Guaranteed, one of the companies involved in these projects what these challenges can be and how is the manufacturing process different from what operators use to see with conventional manufacturing processes.
A question of price
Joachim Antonissen and Sander Plasschaert explained that, “the oil & gas industry often uses cast or forged components made out of rather expensive specialty alloys such as e.g. Inconel. On the one hand, the forging process itself results in significant material waste, while also being characterized by extended lead times and non-negligible failure rates which potentially impact the future operations. Although this clearly emphasizes the opportunity for AM in the sector, the severe operating conditions call for a clear quality assurance framework, while also often imposing components to be large and heavy.
At the same time as the technology shifts from lab to fab, the business case really needs to be there in order for industry to adopt AM. The combination of component size and functional complexity makes a compelling case for wire based DED-processes such as the WAAM-process offered by Guaranteed B.V. as it allows parts of several meters to be produced within hours at a competitive cost. The wide choice of available wire materials which come at a considerably lower cost as their powder counterparts, combined with the fact that quasi 100% dense parts are produced, omitting the need for hipping, further contributes to the economic attractivity of the technology for the segment. As the WAAM-technology furthermore allows to deposit on top of an existing component (e.g. plate or cylinder) or even repair an existing part, the business case can be further enhanced even without taking into account logistic savings such as reduced lead times or stock keeping costs. Besides the resulting economic benefits localized repair or on-demand near net shape production furthermore also contributes to sustainability as it significantly reduces the need for raw materials and transport logistics.
Simultaneously the strict certification requirements imposed by the severe operating conditions in oil & gas industry also need to be considered when assessing the business case. Depending on the criticality level of the component, certification might impose a substantial amount of destructive test samples to be produced alongside the actual part.”
Editorial clarification: the density, HIP requirements and economic benefits described by Guaranteed concern the cases discussed. They must be verified for each alloy, process and criticality level; they are not universal WAAM guarantees.
DNV GL’s experts laid emphasis on the important costs production required to utilize AM in the maritime industry, as compared to well established manufacturing processes such as rolling, casting and forging.
Requirements differ between parts and sectors. As the interviewees note, “customized parts made of thick steel with big dimensions are more typical in the maritime industry”.
This question of price had already been raised in a previous conversation with voestalpine Additive Manufacturing’s Managing Director.
For Armin Wiedenegger, then Managing Director of voestalpine Additive Manufacturing Center GmbH, oil-and-gas quality, cost and lead-time requirements should guide application selection. Lightweighting is not always the priority, unlike in some aerospace or automotive components.
Parts manufacturing in the oil & gas industry
Hundreds of intricate parts are regularly used by professionals of this area of activity. They include for instance, turbine plates, turbo-expanders as well as compressor parts such as pistons, rings, valve seats, seals or cylinder side plates.
Potential uses include repair, on-demand spare parts, testing new designs and digital inventory management. Their value depends on dimensions, tolerances, material and qualification requirements. On-site manufacturing is therefore not an automatic solution for every component.
“With oil and gas assets being deployed in increasingly isolated regions for longer durations, there is a correspondingly larger likelihood of essential parts breaking down, becoming obsolete due to technological changes or changes to standards or going out of production before the asset is decommissioned. The small numbers and short life-cycles of these parts relative to the component present a unique challenge in inventory management and further strengthen the case for the deployment of AM. Obsolete parts can be reverse-engineered digitally and additively manufactured on demand, leading to greater asset longevity in cases where the faulty part of a critical component can simply be 3D printed and replaced like-for-like”, Guaranteed’s spokesperson stated.
Editorial clarification: reproducing an obsolete part’s geometry does not establish equivalence. Properties, traceability, usage rights and compliance must also be checked before replacement.
Furthermore, there might be a need for more automation in parts production, but it should be noted that companies cannot decide on their own of the parts they can produce via AM, given the screening of components in facilities and the stringent testing and certification requirements, they need to meet. For Guaranteed, companies that are exploring the opportunity of AM in the Oil & Gas industry should also take into account other advantages.
“We therefore believe that on short term, the opportunity in the oil and gas industry is not just in parts production, but also in the products that support oil and gas operations, which have lower critical importance, and hence lower quality requirements.
Product groups that hold promises for large scale application of AM for components are for instance valves, piping systems, hydraulic systems, nozzles and tooling. Various downhole and topside components have also indicated to show possibilities and benefits for using AM”, our experts point out.
Criticality depends on actual service: a valve or pipe can be safety-critical. The examples do not remove the need for a risk assessment.
Technology & materials
A wide range of manufacturing methods within the AM landscape can be deployed, depending on the technical requirements of the components and the environment in which they operate.
Polymer and metal processes serve different uses, from tooling to functional components. The projects discussed here focus particularly on qualifying metal parts.
As a reminder, the scope of the project was to provide a framework to ensure that metal parts produced via SLM technology and wire arc additive manufacturing meet the oil, gas, and maritime industry specifications.
As far as materials are concerned, experts at Guaranteed told 3D ADEPT Media that candidate materials for AM applications in the oil & gas industry should meet four main criteria:
- “high strength and ductility within a broad range of operating temperatures (from cryogenic up to 400°C) to withstand the working conditions
- corrosion resistance induced by the presence of water, CO₂ and/or H₂S
- chloride induced pitting resistance
- economic sourcing possibility (availability within short time and limited cost)”
Duplex stainless steels and nickel-based alloys such as Inconel 718 are among the materials considered. Suitability depends on the corrosive environment, temperature and properties achieved after manufacturing and treatment.
What’s next in the pipeline for oil, gas and maritime companies?
At the manufacturing level, AM is proving its essential role as an enabler of several new applications and opportunities in the Oil, Gas & Maritime industries. However, given the stringent requirements to meet, it takes time to make the use of 3D Printed parts effective.
“In the maritime industry, material manufacturers for significant components must first be approved by a Classification society like DNV GL. DNV GL has developed an approval programme – DNVGL-CP-0267 – specifically for Additive Manufacturing as well as DNVGL-CP-0291 for Feedstock Approval. The first manufacturer for Additive Manufacturing was approved in 2019. For critical components, the maritime industry requires a sacrificial test coupon for each batch. DNV GL rules and offshore standards have been revised, too, to accept Additive Manufacturing as a manufacturing method similar to rolling, casting and forging”, DNV GL’s experts said.
Editorial clarification: these comments describe the framework known to the interviewees in 2020. A new project requires the applicable editions of DNV certification programmes and the requirements of the customer and classification society.
In 2020, the pandemic disrupted demand and increased oil-market volatility, making industrial investment decisions less certain.
AM prospects therefore needed assessment through specific use cases: part availability, lead times, costs and required performance. An environmental or economic constraint does not, by itself, justify adoption.
Notable applications of Additive Manufacturing in the Oil, Gas & Maritime industries
The following examples concern shipbuilding, onboard equipment and the production or repair of industrial components. These applications sometimes overlap with oil and gas, but they do not all belong to the same sector.
The announcements and interviews below are placed in their chronology, up to the preparation of this feature in 2020.
The maritime industry
As far as participating companies to this dossier are concerned, it should be noted that DNV GL has joined other development projects in Korea with KOSWIRE; projects that involve feedstock approval and that are carried out in collaboration with SY Metal Co and HHI, the ultimate goal being to develop a ship propeller.
“Conventional production requires high effort and cost for preparation, manufacturing and shipping of the replacement propeller. Furthermore, the ship is subject to an enforced lay time. Producing the propeller by Additive Manufacturing reduces the lead time significantly. Another appealing asset is to unlock new design opportunities, e.g. combine a convenient steel with good structural properties and geometry in any order, with an expensive corrosion-resistant steel”, said DNV GL.
“Furthermore, we are working with SHI, INSSTEK, KOSWIRE, PK VALVE, KIMS and KAERI to manufacture a cryogenic valve. In the Netherlands, a project is ongoing to develop an offshore crane hook with Huisman and Ramlab. In Germany, DNV GL is participating in the Maritime Network for 3D printing (MN3D network consortium). More projects with reputable stakeholders in the maritime industry are under negotiation”, Ramesh Babu Govindaraj and Eva Junghans added, speaking of DNV GL’s current projects in the maritime industry.
In February 2019, Naval Group and Centrale Nantes presented a one-third-scale hollow blade demonstrator representative of a container-ship propeller.
This work formed part of the European H2020 RAMSSES project on more sustainable ships.
As DNV GL’s experts explain, “additive manufacturing helps to scale down carbon emissions by reducing the amount of raw material – and material which is discarded in the manufacturing process – and by shortening transportation journeys.”
The approximately 300 kg stainless-steel blade was printed by WAAM in under 100 hours. Six-metre propellers were a development objective, not the completed demonstrator.
The announcement projected weight savings above 40%; it did not report measured in-service fuel savings.
A demonstrator for the US Navy
In October 2018, NAVSEA announced approval of its first metal AM part for installation aboard a US Navy ship. This is a naval application.
The prototype drain strainer orifice (DSO) system removes water from a steam line. The announcement planned installation aboard USS Harry S. Truman in fiscal year 2019 and a one-year evaluation. It is not, by itself, a report of the completed trial.
Production and repair at Guaranteed
In the 2020 interview, Guaranteed reported commissioning the first of two production lines in Belgium.
“On these lines, metal parts from heavy industry, oil & gas, offshore, shipping, … are repaired or produced with WAAM technology. The Guaranteed production cell can process workpieces up to ten by six by five meters, with a maximum weight of 20 tons. Currently the material database is already well populated (steel, stainless, Inconel, Titanium, aluminum, bronze, …), but can easily be expanded at the request of customers. With its dual value proposition, Guaranteed offers potential customers the opportunity to either directly save costs by repairing parts or to realize logistical cost savings by producing complete replacement parts on demand and quickly. To enable and support this, Guaranteed is actively involved in several Joint Industry Projects managed by DNV to facilitate the uptake of AM in sectors such as oil & gas where certification is important”, Joachim Antonissen and Sander Plasschaert said, speaking of their current projects.
Concluding thoughts
These cases show AM’s value for selected hard-to-source parts, repairs and complex geometries. The decision must compare the full chain with conventional options: qualification, machining, treatments, inspection, lead time and cost. Environmental benefits require an application-specific assessment and are not automatic.
This feature was first published in the July–August 2020 issue of 3D ADEPT MAG.
Featured image: Siemens.
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