OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE SECTION TITLE
provides an excellent time between overhauls (TBO) alongside additional landing and take-off assurance in environments where conventional fuels are prohibited, all of which are vital to maritime operations. Developed with a low lifecycle cost in mind, the modular design of the Skeldar V-200 enables system customisation and functional development, with air maintenance carried out at unit level. Compartments can be easily accessed for service, maintenance and payload reconfiguration. In addition, it has a small logistic footprint in comparison to both its fixed-wing counterparts and other VTOL platforms in the same category.
ELECTRO-OPTICAL/INFRARED (EO/IR)
EO/IR gimbals provide advanced wide- area situational awareness and intelligence gathering through collection, identification, categorisation and geo-location of static and moving objects of interest. It delivers real-time, HD video to decision makers for uninterrupted surveillance of pipelines and oilfields.
VISUAL DETECTION AND RANGING (VIDAR) ViDAR is an airborne persistent wide area maritime search system that autonomously detects objects on the ocean surface and provides the operator with a detailed image of the items that other search methods may often miss. ViDAR provides more than 80 times the area coverage compared with existing EO/IR systems. It transforms the utility of a tactical UAV by giving it a ‘find’ function. Oil and gas industry operatives have in the past relied on larger, more expensive aircraft to detect people and
The V-200 UAV solution on an oil platform
objects in the ocean and on land; ViDAR provides the find capability in a smaller, more cost-effective payload.
APPLICATIONS UAVs, such as the V-200, enable oil and gas operatives to monitor any suspicious activities as well as check the status of the condition of hard-to-reach oilfields or cross-border pipelines. Inspecting and maintaining oil pipelines and platforms is a perilous task: many are remote and in extremely harsh environments. Rig inspections carried out by rope-access technicians can take up to eight weeks and involve shutting down production. By capitalising on their endurance, using
UAVs in these environments means it is possible to access these areas with relative
The V-200 on deck
ease but without exposing crew to the associated hazards. Tis removes risk to employee safety and consequently reduces medical expenses and lost work hours due to injury. As well as the associated dangers, the
remote location of oil and gas work also presents a challenge in gathering and sharing data. Having manned crews run inspections and repairs means a delay between data recording and analysis. In contrast, using UAVs means data can be shared via the cloud in real-time to crews in another location, totally separate from the inspection itself. Not only do UAVs gather information
more efficiently than humans, the digital data enables operators to make better decisions based on more accurate data. Once a potential hazard has been identified, it can be addressed in a far shorter time than the manned alternative. Tis helps to identify issues earlier and reduce downtime – which is vital for organisations in charge of safeguarding critical infrastructure. Today, oil and gas organisations are beginning to deploy UAVs as they move towards non-conventional sources and more challenging environments. Tis is due to the requirement to ensure round the clock vigilance, a priority in any strategic asset protection plan.
David Willems is with UMS Skeldar.
www.umsskeldar.aero
28
www.engineerlive.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
