GT Courtesy Listing

Title:

Prediction of Pipeline Strain Demand due to Frost Heave in Permafrost Regions

Speaker:

Ms. Di Yang

Affiliation:

GT-Mechanical Engineering/ExxonMobil

When:

Friday, September 10, 2010 at 11:30:00 AM   

Where:

Mason Building, Room 142-A

Host:

Di Yang
di.yang@gatech.edu

Abstract

In the oil and gas industry, long distance pipelines have been employed to transport natural gas from resources in the arctic region to markets. In order to reduce the impact of this transportation process to the environment, pipelines are operated at relatively lower temperatures. However, in the discontinuous permafrost regions, the chilled pipelines could cause frost heave to occur in the originally unfrozen soil. As a result of the frost heave, the pipelines will be bent upward and large deformation or strain could be induced to pipelines. Therefore, predicting the strain demand of pipelines buried in the discontinuous permafrost regions is crucial to the pipeline design for the arctic region. Parameters influencing the pipeline strain demand due to frost heave include pipe geometry, pipe burial depth, span length (length of unfrozen soil region), and soil heave characteristics, but the effects of these parameters are still unknown. The objective of this study is to enhance URC’s pipeline strain demand prediction methodology in the discontinuous permafrost regions. Then using the improved technique, parametric studies could be performed to understand the effects of the key parameters influencing the strain demand of pipelines in the discontinuous permafrost regions.


Biography

Di Yang is currently a Ph.D. student in School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology. She received her B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering (2003) and her M.S. degree in Solid Mechanics (2005) in Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China. Her Ph.D. research in Georgia Tech is focusing on corrosion fatigue of duplex stainless steel 2205 in acidic and caustic environments. Di worked in the Offshore Division, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company as a summer intern in 2010. She worked with the Mechanics Group, Pipeline Technology Section, and helped in the pipeline strain demand project during her internship.

Notes

Lunch & drinks will be served. Employment opportunities will be discussed and resumes are welcomed.