Flame sprayed aluminium coatings for corrosion control of the Hutton tension leg components Available to Purchase

The development of the Hutton Field in the UK sector of the North Sea incorporates, for the first time, a buoyant Tension Leg Platform maintained in position by an array of sixteen tubular steel tension leg strings. To satisfy the stringent design criteria associated with this new generation of offshore oil production facilities, all corrosion control systems have to be effective, reliable and contribute little to structure weight. An intensive review of the various available design options was undertaken, from which emerged the use of aluminium metal sprayed coatings as possibly the optimum method of corrosion control for the tension legs. Since there was limited service data available relating to the performance of sprayed metal coatings in sea water immersion service, a development programme was completed to determine the perfomance characteristics of these coatings under tension leg operating conditions. In parallel, the problems of applying the coatings were addressed since it was considered that, as for all coating systems, correct application is critical to the satisfactory in‐service performance of the coating. The potential advantages of sprayed metal coatings for immersion service in the offshore industry was significant.