Mark W. Mucek
UOP Senior Metallurgist and an Engineering Fellow in the Process Technology & Equipment department.

Mark is the UOP Senior Metallurgist and an Engineering Fellow in the Process Technology & Equipment department, joining UOP in 1996.  Prior to joining UOP, Mark worked for Amoco Corporation for over 16 years.  His experience includes materials and corrosion consultant for a 420M bpd refinery, material specifications for new refinery and chemical plant construction, failure analysis, metals research, and manager of technical services.

Dr Iain Le May
Fellow of ASM and ASME

Dr Le May attended the Royal College of Science & Technology, Glasgow, and the University of Glasgow, Scotland. He was on the faculty of the University of Saskatchewan, from 1963 to 1985, holding the position of Professor of Mechanical Engineering from 1970 to 1985. He established Metallurgical Consulting Services Ltd., Saskatoon, in 1978; MCS Associates, Inc., Pittsburgh, in 1991; and Le May & Becht Engineering Inc., Calgary, in 2001. He has more than 250 publications, including several books. He is an Adjunct Professor in the post-graduate program of Dept. of Materials and Metallurgical Eng., Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (COPPE/UFRJ), Brazil.
He has consulted extensively in Canada, USA, Brazil, Colombia, Japan, South Africa and other countries and has appeared as an expert witness in product liability and related cases on many occasions.
Dr Le May is a Fellow of ASM and ASME, and serves on many society and international committees. In 2002 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, London (FRSA).

Abstract Title: High temperature Damage Mechanism and Failures in Refineries

Abstract:

Refineries have many components and systems that operate at elevated temperature together with potentially damaging fluids that are corrosive in nature.  In this paper the principal failure mechanisms of concern that involve high temperatures are reviewed and some case studies of failures that have occurred under these conditions are presented.

The paper includes discussion on methods of investigating such failures and of avoiding their occurrence through inspection and the choice of the correct materials to resist attack.

---

Jerry G. Williams, Ph.D, P.E.
Petroleum Composites

Jerry G. Williams started his engineering career at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration where his research focus was on assessing the benefits and limitations of composite materials for aircraft and space applications.  He jointed Conoco in 1985 to investigate the benefits of using composite materials for oil industry applications.  He helped establish the Composites Engineering and Applications Center for Petroleum Exploration and Production at the University of Houston where he later served as Director of Industry programs.  He currently serves as an advisor and consultant to the oil industry.  He holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Civil Engineering from Oklahoma State University and Doctor of Science degree in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.  He has authored over 100 technical papers and organized numerous workshops and technical sessions on composite materials at international conferences and served on numerous advisory committees for government and industry composite research programs including close  interaction with the U.S. Minerals Management Service and Coast Guard.  His activities in Europe include establishing the initial interaction with HSE (UK) to allow composites to be used on offshore platforms under performance based guidelines and working with startup companies to develop products including spoolable composite pipe.  He is the inventor of over thirty U.S. and foreign patents on composite applications including spoolable composite pipe, composite coiled tubing, composite mud motor torque shaft, zero coefficient of thermal expansion composite tubing, composite rod rope logging line, composite rod tether termination, vapor deposited thin film optical strain measurement system, energy and fiber optics communication conductors integrated into composite pipe, method to measure large strains in mooring ropes using plastic optical fibers and structural integrity monitoring of long slender structures such as risers subjected to vortex induced vibrations (VIV).

Abstract Title: Applications, Opportunities & Challenges of Composite         Materials in the Oil Industry

Abstract:

As part of the oil industry's effort to reduce the life cycle cost and to improve reliability and environmental stewardship, serious effort is being devoted to the evaluation and application of innovative and cost effective alternative composite materials.  Composites technology was initially developed for aerospace application; however, in recent years considerable research and development activity has been directed toward applications in the petroleum industry.  Onshore, FRP pipe systems have been used for over forty-five years with overall good experiences.  The use of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) composites on offshore platforms is growing rapidly, particularly for low pressure piping and secondary structure such as grating and selected high performance applications have been introduced or are under consideration.  Non-metallic materials such as composites and polymers offer many potential advantages based on their low density and corrosion resistance.  In addition, composites allow greater design flexibility for tailoring the properties to meet specific design requirements; thus promoting better system oriented solutions.  Advanced structural integrity monitoring methods are being developed for composites with new innovations including optical fibers and electrical conductors integrated into the composite component.  These advanced NDE  technologies can be used to assure component quality during manufacturing as well as to monitor structural integrity and loads during service and even obtain operational conditions from remote locations. While on a one-on-one replacement basis non-metallic components can be more expensive than their steel counterpart; (though recent increase in steel prices has greatly reduced the cost differential) on a performance equated basis, the economic incentive can often be demonstrated based on their capability to reduce installation, system and life cycle costs.  

The last decade has witnessed reasonable growth in the application of composite materials for flowlines, seawater systems and fire water systems, and also witnessed phenomenal increase in the development activities for some advanced applications such as high pressure pipes and vessels, umbilicals and mooring lines.  But, large scale applications continue to be hindered by perceived technical, emotional and business barriers.  This paper summarizes the status of application and the development of several composite systems, discusses the financial incentives for using these alternative materials for both offshore and on-shore developments, and identifies solutions to address the current barriers.