1,720,955 research outputs found

    On the behaviour of pipe-clamping mattresses to arrest pipeline walking

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    A novel solution to mitigate pipeline walking, namely the use of pipe-clamping mattresses (PCMs), was first developed for the Malampaya project (Frankenmolen et al. 2017). Comprising a hinged concrete structure designed to clamp onto a section of pipeline, and supporting (post-installed) ballast weight that is transferred directly to the pipeline, PCMs are considered a highly efficient alternative to more traditional solutions such as rock dump or concrete mattress. The original PCM geotechnical design was based primarily on analyses extrapolated from pipeline-seabed interaction, supported by a standard suite of classification and interface tests. Physical model testing was not performed. While observations (taken since installation) show that the PCMs have effectively mitigated pipeline walking in the seabed conditions at Malampaya, their performance in other soil types has not been investigated. To provide further evidence on the effectiveness of PCMs, and investigate their performance over time, a series of centrifuge tests were performed in a soil sample representative of deep-water Gulf of Mexico conditions. In each test, a model representing the PCM was installed on the pipeline section, which was then subjected to cyclic axial displacement. Settlement of the pipeline-PCM system, as well as changes in axial resistance, were directly measured and are reported in this paper.<br/

    Pipe-clamping mattress to stop flowline walking

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    Thermal gradients from a heating front travelling down a flowline at start-up can cause a flowline to walk much like a worm creeps by repeated contractions and expansions of its body. To stop this for the Malampaya flowline, pipe-clamping mattresses (PCMs) were invented, developed, and deployed within a period of 12 months. The objective of this paper is to share the knowledge and experience from this novel but effective solution to mitigate pipeline walking. PCMs provide a cost-effective alternative to rockdump or conventional mattresses to axially restrain a pipeline at a location chosen so that the required restraint capacity is minimized. They are inspired by conventional mattresses and bear some similarity to them, but they are designed so that the weight of the mattress acts to clamp the pipeline with a high leverage. Thus 100% of the weight of the mattress is effective in generating axial friction with the seabed. This solution can be applied at any point along the line (chosen to minimize the required resistance) without requiring flanges or collars on the pipeline. From the most recent survey results 15 PCMs with a dry weight of around 9 tons per PCM, plus 7 tons for the logmat installed over every PCM appear to be effective to stop the walking of the Malampaya flowline. This performance is as expected from extensive analysis (FE and otherwise) to reproduce the observed walking behavior prior to restraining, to estimate the required restraint capacity, and to estimate the resistance provided by the PCMs. This paper describes the PCM, the clamping forces they generate by leveraging the weight of the PCM and logmats installed over them, and how the friction generated with the soil is estimated from interface shear tests on samples collected from the site, considering cyclic pore pressure generation and dissipation effects. It also briefly covers FE analyses to reproduce the observed walking behavior, and determine the required restraint capacity, the PCM fabrication, installation, and monitoring of the post-installation performance.</p

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more sophisticated methods

    Author Index

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    Pipe Clamping Mattresses to Mitigate Flowline Walking; Physical Modelling Trials on Three Offshore Soils

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    Pipe clamping mattresses (PCMs) are a relatively new system for providing anchoring force to pipelines, to mitigate offshore flowline ‘walking’. They represent a cost-effective and highly efficient alternative to anchor piles, rock dump and conventional concrete mattresses. The system comprises a hinged concrete structure that clamps onto a section of laid pipeline, with concrete ballast logs securing the clamping action – with the benefit that 100% of the submerged weight of the PCM contributes to axial friction. PCMs have been applied successfully to one deepwater project, but performance data showing the influence of soil type, and allowing a general design framework to be established, has not yet been available. This paper addresses this gap by investigating the performance of PCMs through three series of centrifuge tests, supported by three Operators. Each series comprises tests on a different reconstituted deepwater soil as follows: (a) West African clay; (b) Gulf of Mexico clay; and (c) carbonate silty sand. In each test, a scaled pipeline is installed in-flight and cycled axially to represent its prior operating life. Scaled PCM models and ballast units are then installed onto the pipe in-flight, mimicking the use of PCMs to mitigate pipeline walking during operation. After installation of the PCMs, further axial cycles are applied, with the system settlement and changes in axial resistance and excess pore pressure measured. The paper shows the performance and applicability of PCMs for a range of soil types, highlighting variations in axial resistance and settlement. The suite of results will help to calibrate design tools for industry, removing unnecessary conservatism and enabling an optimised pipeline anchoring solution to be designed. Key results are equivalent friction factors for the combined pipe-PCM system and PCM settlement, which both show behaviour dependent on soil type. In the clay soils, friction increases significantly over time due to ‘consolidation hardening’. This provides validation of an important effect that has only recently been recognised in pipeline design. In contrast, hardening behavior is not evident in silty sand – although the study suggests there is potential for increasing resistance associated with settlement, which appears to mobilize additional (wedging) stress around the pipeline. Upon PCM installation, the pipelines embed further due to the added weight. Additional settlement occurs during cycling of the system, due to immediate soil deformation and consolidation-related compression. The magnitude of embedment is greater for the clay soils, but in all cases does not cause the clamping action to release. Overall, the efficiency of the PCM system in providing a high level of anchoring force per unit weight placed on the seabed is confirmed. Long term anchoring forces in the range 50-100% of the submerged weight of the PCM are demonstrated. This is several times more efficient than the commonly used alternative of a rock berm.</p

    koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist

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    We have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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