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Pipeline System (pipeline + system)
Selected AbstractsPetroleum product scarcity: a review of the supply and distribution of petroleum products in NigeriaOPEC ENERGY REVIEW, Issue 1 2006Osi S. Akpoghomeh Nigeria ranks high among the comity of oil producers both at the world level and among the OPEC eleven. It is, therefore, paradoxical that the supply of all petroleum products is erratic and has declined sharply in the recent past. This paper thus reviews the petroleum product supply and distribution systems in the country to ascertain the extent to which the system may have contributed to the present product scarcity in Nigeria and, by extension, identify the causes of the present regime of petroleum product scarcity. The paper observes that the network density and connectivity of petroleum product distribution pipelines are low and both indicators consequently show the inadequacy/deficiency of the network in ensuring an efficient distribution system. The supply mode, on the other hand, has, over the years, demonstrated its inability to guarantee adequate supply due to factors including sabotage, vandalism, banditry and poorly maintained infrastructure. Further, the federal government and the major and independent marketers could not sustain the importation of petroleum products because of the shortfall between the landed cost of imported products and their selling prices in Nigeria, which made the business unprofitable. Finally, the paper examines the withdrawal by the federal government of subsidies on the price of petroleum products consumed locally. All the above factors together occasioned increases in the cost of products. In conclusion, this paper supports the call for the privatization of refineries and the depot/pipeline system as a viable option to end the supply problems. [source] Passivity-based sliding mode control for nonlinear systemsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADAPTIVE CONTROL AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, Issue 9 2008Ali J. Koshkouei Abstract Passivity with sliding mode control for a class of nonlinear systems with and without unknown parameters is considered in this paper. In fact, a method for deriving a nonlinear system with external disturbances to a passive system is considered. Then a passive sliding mode control is designed corresponding to a given storage function. The passivity property guarantees the system stability while sliding mode control techniques assures the robustness of the proposed controller. When the system includes unknown parameters, an appropriate updated law is obtained so that the new transformed system is passive. The passivation property of linear systems with sliding mode is also analysed. The linear and nonlinear theories are applied to a simple pendulum model and the gravity-flow/pipeline system, respectively. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Feasibility of using impedance-based damage assessment for pipeline structuresEARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, Issue 10 2001Gyuhae Park Abstract This paper presents the feasibility of using an impedance-based health monitoring technique in monitoring a critical civil facility. The objective of this research is to utilize the capability of the impedance method in identifying structural damage in those areas where a very quick condition monitoring is urgently needed, such as in a post-earthquake analysis of a pipeline system. The basic principle behind this technique is to utilize high-frequency structural excitation (typically greater than 30 kHz) through surface-bonded piezoelectric sensors/actuators to detect changes in structural point impedance due to the presence of damage. Real-time damage detection in pipes connected by bolted joints was investigated, and the capability of the impedance method in tracking and monitoring the integrity of the typical civil facility has been demonstrated. Data collected from the tests illustrates the capability of this technology to detect imminent damage under normal operating conditions and immediately after a natural disaster. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A simulation-optimization framework for research and development pipeline managementAICHE JOURNAL, Issue 10 2001Dharmashankar Subramanian The Research and Development Pipeline management problem has far-reaching economic implications for new-product-development-driven industries, such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agrochemical industries. Effective decision-making is required with respect to portfolio selection and project task scheduling in the face of significant uncertainty and an ever-constrained resource pool. The here-and-now stochastic optimization problem inherent to the management of an R&D Pipeline is described in its most general form, as well as a computing architecture, Sim-Opt, that combines mathematical programming and discrete event system simulation to assess the uncertainty and control the risk present in the pipeline. The R&D Pipeline management problem is viewed in Sim-Opt as the control problem of a performance-oriented, resource-constrained, stochastic, discrete-event, dynamic system. The concept of time lines is used to study multiple unique realizations of the controlled evolution of the discrete-event pipeline system. Four approaches using various degrees of rigor were investigated for the optimization module in Sim-Opt, and their relative performance is explored through an industrially motivated case study. Methods are presented to efficiently integrate information across the time lines from this framework. This integration of information demonstrated in a case study was used to infer a creative operational policy for the corresponding here-and-now stochastic optimization problem. [source] Several studies shows secure supply, pipeline system for growthNATURAL GAS & ELECTRICITY (PREVIOUSLY : NATURAL GAS), Issue 2 2000David Biegler [source] The Future of Gaseous Fuels in Hong KongOPEC ENERGY REVIEW, Issue 1 2001Larry Chuen-ho Chow There are three types of gaseous fuel in Hong Kong. Natural gas, exclusively used for power generation and imported under a 20-year contract, accounted for 16 per cent of total primary energy requirements in 1998. Towngas, manufactured from naphtha, and liquefied petroleum gas are the two other kinds, accounting for about 9.5 per cent of the final energy requirement in recent years. The first part of this paper analyses the competition between these two gaseous fuels since 1984, elucidating in detail how towngas came to dominate the gaseous fuel market. The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region would like to boost the use of natural gas in Hong Kong, on account of its environmental benefits and cost competitiveness. It is considering the possibility of using natural gas to replace the other two gaseous fuels and adopting the common carrier system, in order to spur competition in the gaseous fuel market. The second part of the study evaluates the feasibility of converting to natural gas and opening up the pipeline system, putting forth a rough schedule for the whole process. [source] Development of an electrochemical antifouling system for seawater cooling pipelines of power plants using titaniumBIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 3 2006Hitoshi Wake Abstract Biofouling is the undesirable adhesion and development of microorganisms and macroorganisms in a water environment. An electrochemical antifouling system based on management of primary adhesion of microorganisms was developed employing titanium electrode for antifouling of seawater cooling pipes and marine infrastructures. The system consists of an electrochemical reaction-monitoring unit, a power control unit, and a potential/current remote monitoring and a control unit. Titanium plates and iron plates were used as the working and counter electrode, respectively. Field experiment was conducted in the seawater cooling pipeline system of a thermal power station. Four titanium electrodes with 1.0 m length and 3.0 m width were set in the seawater intake pit and current density was controlled at 50,100 mA/m2. The electrode surface maintained clean conditions for 2 years. The average wet weight of fouling organisms on the titanium electrode surface was below 100 g/m2 whereas the corresponding wet weight was above 10 kg/m2 on the control surface. Using titanium as the electrode material, chlorine and hypochlorite are not generated. The developed electrochemical antifouling system provided an effective, environmentally friendly, and feasible techniques for remote operations. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||