Abstract
AbstractSuccess below the seas comes from careful preparation topside. Pressure testing remains one of the most useful tools designers have available to assure their systems function as intended, whether a company chooses to have in-house pressure test capability or to work
with a commercial test facility.Capt. Don Walsh, pilot of the bathyscaph Trieste on its historic two-man dive to the floor of the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, said with a grin, “Successful operations depend upon a Skill-to-Luck ratio. While luck is important, you
always want skill to be more than 50%.”Given the limited availability of ship time, the danger to personnel in close quarters onboard ship or in a submersible, the high cost of ship operations and equipment, and the long lead time of grant and project funding, pressure testing makes
sense to validate system integrity before deployment. Simply put, equipment should not see pressure for the first time on its first operational deployment. Pressure testing is a vital environmental check of mechanical integrity, analogous to electronics and software burn-in. Ideally, pressure
testing will simulate the actual conditions of deployment and operation. A solid test provides the operator and deck crew confidence in the system being deployed.While pressure testing will appear to add time and cost, in practice it saves both by eliminating failure modes, some potentially
catastrophic, while offshore.This technical note is intended to summarize current best practices in pressure testing for engineers and programs managers new to the field, including tips for coordinating work with pressure test facilities. The lessons are based on the authors’ combined
experience as users and operators of pressure test facilities.
Publisher
Marine Technology Society
Subject
Ocean Engineering,Oceanography
Cited by
7 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献