• Question: What is the most fascinating thing you have discovered through your work?

    Asked by Cesca :) to Matthew, Neil, Paula, Pete, Philippa on 8 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Philippa Jefferis

      Philippa Jefferis answered on 8 Mar 2015:

      There’s not one thing in particular I have discovered, but more a greater understanding of how our world works behind the scenes. There’s so much we take for granted like clean water out of a tap, or nice smooth roads to drive on. Yet so many engineers have been working hard to ensure this happens.

    • Photo: Neil Taylor

      Neil Taylor answered on 9 Mar 2015:

      Hi Cesca!

      I’ve discovered many fascinating things though my work. This includes understanding how varied the energy industry is (it can take many, many years to become a specialist in some areas!), and understanding how professional engineers think about problems and come to a solution.

      What has fascinated me the most, however, is how something as simple in shape as a pipe can involve such complicated analysis! It may be simple in shape, but there are many things to consider:

      Expansion due to Heat:
      The oil/gas can be VERY hot (often much hotter than boiling water!), which makes the pipe want to expand. The pipe design must be able to cope with this expansion.

      Buckling:
      The soil that is on the seabed doesn’t let the pipe expand as much as it wants, which puts the pipe into “compression” (it squishes it). You can make the same sort of thing happen by pushing at the ends of a plastic ruler. This can cause problems such as “buckling”, where the pipe suddenly moves sideways. You will see this happen to your ruler if you push hard enough.

      Keeping Oil and Gas Warm:
      Pipes are usually insulated (e.g. by having a layer of plastic around them) to keep the oil and gas warm. Without insulation, the cold seawater may the pipe down too much – which can cause waxy substances to form that can block the pipe!

      Working out how to solve all these problems can sometimes be quite tricky. So in summary, my fascinating thing is that a pipe is simple shape… but can be tricky to analyse!

    • Photo: Pete Symons

      Pete Symons answered on 11 Mar 2015:

      People! Working with lots of different types of people from Managing Directors, Army, RAF, Navy personal, graduates, MOD senior managers, Industry senior managers and now you guys. It never stops to fascinate me the different ways in which people approach the same problem and there are some real inspirational people out there.

Comments