Reel and Umbilical Training

1. Reel and
Umbilical
Training
Presenter Name

2. Agenda
• Intention, principle design and functionality
• Main components and build-up
• Typical problems
• The most significant cost drivers for operation and
maintenance
• Reduce operational cost and maintenance cost?
2/11/20XX PRESENTATION TITLE 2

3. Introduction
A Hose Reel Unit can accommodates Umbilicals in excess of
5,000 metres:
• integrate multiple cores including;
• multiple hydraulic lines,
• chemical,
• electrical power,
• fibre optic
• signal cores.
2/11/20XX PRESENTATION TITLE 3

4. Intention,
principal
design and
functionality

5. System over view
January 30, 2024 PRESENTATION TITLE Slide 5

6. REELS AND HSE
• Reels can be very large and very heavy. This represents a risk
during handling.
• Large components in motion: Gears, Drum, Hose Guide.
During maintenance, personnell has to be inside drum, or
otherwise near moving parts.
Chemical exposure: Hydraulic fluid, possibly methanol or other
special fluid, gear oil.
•
For big reels: Working at height,or standing in ladders. Fall
potential and dropped objects. Pressure testing and nitrogen
flushing.
• Photo opposite Reel Weight approx. 32.5 Ton
January 30, 2024 PRESENTATION TITLE 6

7. Reel & Umbilical
General overview
• The umbilical is the connection between topside and subsea systems.
Can transmit hydraulic power, electric power, electric communication, and
fibre optic communication.
• The most basic function of the reel is to safely handle and store the
umbilical, and to run or retract it.
• Reels can have other systems as well, such as:
• Constant tension – runs the drum automatically to keep set tension
on umbilical.
• Functions as a heave compensator
• Pressure gauges showing line pressures
• Interface for load cell – shows tension on umbilical
• Remote control panel
• Lifting frame assembly
• Transported with sling.
• May also have forklift pockets.
January 30, 2024 PRESENTATION TITLE 7

8. Reel control interface
Load Cell
2/11/20XX PRESENTATION TITLE 8

9. Reel control interface
Air supply
• Usually operate on standard
workshop
air (6-10 bar). Reels can also be
electric, or for really small ones,
simply manual.
2/11/20XX PRESENTATION TITLE 9

10. Reel control
interface –
Reel controls
text
2/11/20XX PRESENTATION TITLE 10

11. Transportation and Handling
PRESENTATION TITLE

12. Reel control
interface –
Reel controls
text
2/11/20XX PRESENTATION TITLE 12

13. REELS MAIN COMPONENTS
DRUM
Main Drum Slew Ring
Motor drive
Emergency brake
Level wind drive ring
Drum slew ring

14. REELS MAIN COMPONENTS - DRUM
Umbilical can weigh up to 11 tons
or more. So Starting up requires
significant torque. Motor
connected to gear, and drive
cogwheel.
Motor is located inside drum on
some reels. Very difficult to get
access to for maintenance.
2/11/20XX PRESENTATION TITLE 14
Clutch/torque limited Gear Clutch cover Air motor

15. REELS MAIN COMPONENTS
DRIVETRAIN: MOTOR, CLUTCH, GEAR
2/11/20XX PRESENTATION TITLE
15
Tradeoff between speed of drum, and SWL of umbilical.
7 layers of umbilical:
• Outer layer moves fast, lower pullforce
• Inner layer moves slower, higher pullforce
• Reels that use a clutch typically ensure SWL not exceeded on innermost layer.
Lubrication of gears and motors every 150-200 hours
Clutch can cause problems on startup:
• High torque to get umbilical moving – clutch slips. Wears out clutch quickly.
Air motor replacement (Sture)

16. Reels main components
Emergency brake
• Will lock upon loss of hydraulic
pressure. Can be overridden by
engaging two screws.
• Ortlinghaus series 022.
January 30, 2024 Slide 16

17. Reels main components
– Level wind, guides
and rails
• Guides the umbilical
• Moves automatically, but can be manually
overridden
• Rails must often be replaced due to
excessive rusting. If these are lubricated
well during operation, and quickly taken
care of after operation, they should last
indefinitely.
‘
January 30, 2024 Slide 17

18. Reel umbilical
Drum diameter must be twice the minimum bend radius of
the umbilical intended for it.
Secures the umbilical topside through friction. Must leave 3
windings of umbilical on reel at all times.
PRESENTATION TITLE 2/11/20XX 18
Umbilical is terminated inside the
drum, Deck interface shown below.

19. Umbilical
Black + grey centerline: Hydraulic lines
Red/orange: Electric lines
Blue: Fibre rope
Grey: Liquid/gas evacuation tubes
Taped bundle: 3 fibre optic lines
Yellow: Inner and outer sheath, and aramid
strength element.
January 30, 2024 Slide 19
Umbilical about to be cut because of
damaged subsea-end.

20. Umbilical – Cross sectional view
January 30, 2024 Slide 20

21. Umbilical
Hydraulic lines
• Many different types, manufacturers, pressure classes, sizes, etc
• Not all hoses are suitable for all kinds of fluids. A common example is
methanol, which is incompatible with many standard hoses.
• Temperature rating might be a consideration
in especially cold environments.
• «Pigtails» or otherwise exposed hydraulic
hoses may be protected with spiralguard.
• Keep out of the sun if/when possible.
• When hydraulic lines break, it is often in the
exposed part, outside of the umbilical sheath.
January 30, 2024 Slide 21

22. Umbilical – Hydraulic
hose termination
• Outer shell pressed on, until inner
diameter reaches a certain point
• Tested with a special gauge «go/no-go»,
see picture.
• Parker requires seperate course for their
equipment
January 30, 2024 Slide 22

23. Umbilical
Fibre optic lines - basics
• Advantages of fibre optics:
• Immune to electromagnetic and other interference
• Faster data rates than over regular cable
• Single mode vs. Multi mode
• In multi mode fibres, light has more than one mode to
travel in, with different propagation speed in each mode.
The result is dispersion.
• Single mode fibres are much thinner and allows only one
mode. These are generally used for long (>1000 meters)
fibres, such as in our JDC umbilical.
January 30, 2024 Slide 23

24. Umbilical
Fibre optic lines
• JDC umbilical has 3 cables, each containing 8
fibres.
• The three cables are bundled together.
• Fibres lay in oil-filled steel cable, surrounded by a plastic
layer, then steel wires, and then plastic.
• A communication line over fibre optics will
usually use 2 fibres, leaving 4 communication
lines in each cable, or 12 total.
January 30, 2024 Slide 24

25. Umbilical
Fibre Optic Testing
Optical Time Domain Reflectometry
Send a single pulse of light into a
fibre. Light will reflect from faults.
Based on speed of light in the
medium, and time before signal is
reflected, location is determined.
Can locate faults with very high accuracy
(to a centimeter, on the right).
Determined that fibre was 109.17m
longer than umbilical. Can be seen by CR
test too (at lower accuracy)
Reason is that cables are laid out in a
coil, doing a full turn in around 2.5
meters.
0.073*(4/7)*pi*(2150/2.5) = 113 m
January 30, 2024 Slide 25
Passed test
Failed test (bad connector
probably)
Test results from JDC umbilical

26. Umbilical
Electric lines
Many types here as well.
A typical example is a 4 lead cable, with a
screen and drain wire, as shown on previous
slides.
We do not terminate subsea electrical
connectors ourselves.
Screen and drain wire protects against
electromagnetic interference
Cable shown has no earth
January 30, 2024 Slide 26
Shown here is a piece of water damaged
cable. Screen and drain wire very brittle
and corroded.

27. Umbilical
Electrical Subsea
Terminations
January 30, 2024
Slide 27
Connectors can be mated and
de-mated while submerged,
typically by ROV, or by divers.
A common connector in use is
the DigiTRON / Tronic connector.
Pressure balanced, oil filled
25 year service life,
maintenance free. However,
DigiTRON states that
«Receptacle connector pins must not be
left exposed to seawater for more than
28 days over the system lifetime. A
dummy plug connector should be used
whenever practical.»
Shuttle pin
Oil filled chambers

28. Umbilical
Testing Electric lines:
Conduction Resistance
January 30, 2024 Slide 28
Conduction Resistance (CR) is the end to end resistance of a cable.
Measured by a standard multimeter, by accessing both ends of the cable.
Ideal resistance is calculated based on the resistivity of the conductor, its length and
cross sectional area, as follows:
Resistivity of copper: 1.68x10^-8 ohm meters at 20 C
Multiply by length, and divide by cross sectional area:
Resistance measured in this case was 14.5 ohm. The difference is due to:
Because of the coiled nature of cables inside the umbilical. Taking this into
account, ideal result can be shown to be almost exactly 14 ohms, or very close
to theoretical.
Idealized example vs. Actual
A CR test will reveal open circuit (infinite resistance), or other physical damage to the conductor itself.

29. Umbilical
Testing electric lines: Insulation Resistance
• Insulation resistance (IR) testing shows the resistance between conductors.
• Ideally infinite, but in practice always some finite value
• Typically measured in gigaohms or megaohms (billion and million ohm).
• Acceptance criteria:
• Household equipment: Normally 1 MOhm.
• Offshore equipment: Normally 1 GOhm
• Can be measured from one end alone (assuming the other end is open)
• Tested with an insulation resistance tester. Often (wrongly) called Megger.
(Megger is a brandname)
• Results vary with:
• Temperature: 10 C up, halves the resistance
• Moisture: More moisture, less resistance.
• Test procedure: To compare two samples, must be tested the same way.
January 30, 2024 Slide 29

30. Umbilical
Electric Time Domain Reflectometry testing
January 30, 2024 Slide 30
• Analog to the OTDR instrument used with optical fibres, a TDR can locate faults, and determine the
characteristics of the fault (inductive, capacitive, ..)
• Like OTDR, a signal is transmitted, and the apparatus then
listens for reflections.
• Requires some training and experience to interpret result
• This is not part of normal testing, but can be used
to find the location and type of a fault when other
test methods reveal such faults.
• Could save us significant time, and
therefore cost, in the future – if we
have access to and training to use
it.
Reflected signal from a discontinuity

31. Umbilical
Subsea termination
• The subsea anchor point for the umbilical.
• Contrary to popular belief – not waterproof. The
umbilical floods with water when submerged.
Termination is only an anchor point, and serves as a
connection point for MQC-plate assembly.
January 30, 2024 Slide 31

32. Umbilical
– Subsea
interface
January 30, 2024 Slide 32
Often referred to as subsea termination as well. Interface might be a better word.
Bend restrictor
MQC plate
Protective
cover
Pigtails (electric)

33. Problems during overhaul:
Documentation
• Lacking BOM on reels (and sheaves)
• Often no info on individual parts – replacement difficult.
• As a consequence, maintenance procedures are sometimes
of poor quality.
• JDR umbilicals – currently figuring out what they are actually
rated to. MRB says 430. Has been used at 690 for some time.
• Pictures on the right taken from OMM reel 1987.
January 30, 2024 Slide 33

34. Problems during overhaul: Pressure gauges
• Pressure gauges usually class 1 (within 1% error margin)
• Usually only used to determine if there is pressure or not. Must still be replaced if
outside of 1% interval
• Yearly calibration interval – could we extend this?
• Disassembling and assembling is also time consuming – calibration in place might also
save us some time, if we standardize this. Usually removed and handed over to Aker PCS
technicians (or 3rd party).
January 30, 2024 Slide 34

35. Painting reels
January 30, 2024 Slide 35
Two Pictures are the same reel. Before overhaul onthe Right after.

36. Painting reels
• To paint reels completely, need to be disassembled.
• Can get much done without disassembly too.
• Then requires manual spotwise rust removal instead of sand blasting
• Can end up with a quite spotty look
• No procedures for disassembly/assembly – need to just «figure it out»
• Might be worth doing this, and creating a procedure for it.
• Currently difficult to get approval for full painting at Ågotnes – actions on this in progress.
• Workshop routine is usually to get the reel through a test of basic functions, and ship.
• Not so much focus on looks – partly due to local rules.
• Painting prevents rust, and gives a much better first impression.
January 30, 2024 Slide 36

37. Before and after – Reel 4051
January 30, 2024 Slide 37

38. Improvements?
• Currently buy most/all spares via single vender. Could
buy directly from manufacturer and improve both
delivery time and price.
• Risk of wrong part/interface if we specify wrong
• Spares stock – Carry Typical Running Spares
• As per manufacture recommendations
• Review Maintenace History
• Basic hydraulic components should be easily
purchasable.
• More focus on preventive maintenance, rather than
corrective maintenance.
• More focus on Visual Appearance – Equipment looking
good will increase customer satisfaction
• Consider making disassembly/assembly procedures,
and to do this on overhauls.
January 30, 2024 Slide 38

39. Offshore Incidents
• Burst lines during operation
• Typical causes:
• Exceeded bend radius
• Umbilical squeezed by overtorqued clamps
• Cause poor communication between reel operator and
Rig Crew (tool pulled out faster than operator could
retract umbilical)
January 30, 2024 Slide 39

40. Offshore Incidents
Electrical Issues
• Suspected cause of electrical problems,
but the damage does not appear deep
enough for that.
• Running through the Rotary
• Damages shown can be repaired
January 30, 2024 Slide 40

41. Offshore Incidents
• Drivetrain failure during running of the BOP
• Reel placed in neutral – umbilical pulled out by lowering BOP.
• Problem located at clutch, where a
screw had come loose.
• Reason for Procedure – Pre Running Inspections
January 30, 2024 Slide 41

42. Other Equipment – Umbilical Running Frame (URF)
January 30, 2024 Slide 42
HFL
Hydraulic Flying Lead
EFL
Electric Flying Lead

43. Other equipment
Umbilical Running Frame (URF)
• Facilitates hydraulic and electric
control of XT when running Tubing
Hanger (TH) in marine riser.
• Enables communication between
WOCS and XT, across BOP.
• Umbilical terminates on top on URF,
both electrically and hydraulically.
• Electric and hydraulic «flying leads»
are then moved from parking position
to their final positions by ROV.
January 30, 2024 Slide 43

44. Other
equipment -
Sheaves
January 30, 2024 Slide 44
• For umbilical handling
• Load cell sometimes attached to sheave
• Typical line pull SWL 3 ton, while connection point is 6 ton
• Confusion with lifting approval…
• Top rollers sometimes lost
• Removed offshore, «As in the way not good practice»
• Diameter desided by minimum bend
radius of the umbilical.

45. Reels – Lifting
certification
• On reels and other equipment, we sometimes have problems with invalid/non-existing lifting
certificates.
• How to recognize a valid lifting certificate:
• A valid lifting certificate in Norway needs to specifically state «certificate of test and thorough
examination of loose gear», and «Form No. 3».
• The certificate is linked to the structure itself, including lifting eyes.
• A Load test report is not a valid lifting certificate.
• Form No. 4 is used for wire slings and shackles.
• If a lifting certificate does not exist, a new one has to be issued. This requires background
documentation such as a load test, calculation report, and more.
• An annual lifting approval is issued with one year validity, based on a valid lifting certificate.
• The last few years companies have become more strict, and will ask for more background
documentation, meaning that previously approved objects might not pass approval anymore.
• DnV 2.7-1 requires NDT of lifting ears every 4 years.
January 30, 2024 Slide 45

46. Reels – Lifting certification, continued
January 30, 2024 Slide 46
The «Lifting certificate» found on reel SN 11392-100.
NOT sufficient for an annual lifting approval Valid lifting certificate..

47. Reels – Lifting
certification, continued
• The (now expired) annual lifting
approval for 11392-100.
• Refers to original certificate number.
January 30, 2024 Slide 47

48. Reels – Lifting certification, continued
Offshore, reels are sometimes welded to the deck, as a means of sea fastening. This runs the
risk of invalidating the lifting certificate, because it is considered a modification on the lifting
structure.
Reels always have some other form of sea fastening method.
The example to the right is not good practice and is a worst case solution approved by
Engineer. In this case our lifting approval company will agree to certify the reel, when these are
removed. There’s no guarantee that others will do the same.
Correct way to sea fasten:
January 30, 2024
Slide 48
Reel sea fastening points» welded on.