SPIRALLY CUT IMPACT PROTECTION (SCIP)

In a harsh environment where flexible pipelines and cables may be exposed to the possibilities of damage during installation, or in use from dropped objects, abrasion, sub-sea collisions, Spirally Cut Impact Protection (scip) provides a cost effective method of insuring against such problems.

Manufactured from an EPDM/SBR blend OR PU elastomer material of 75 Shore A hardness, the system involves cylindrical sleeves, cut spirally along their length, which are placed around the pipeline and secured in position with straps - during installation.
A range of strapping is supplied depending on design life requirements - materials include various grades of stainless-steel, specialist alloys or Polyester. Generally, 1m long sections are recommended, making the installation relatively light work and easy to handle.

The design requirement of SCIP is to prevent any damage occurring to the cable, umbilical or pipeline. When considering impact, it is important to avoid dents or gouges which may require costly repair and re-qualification of the product. In this respect SCIP works by softening the impact. It spreads the deceleration of the object over a longer time, hence decreases the peak force generated, therefore reducing the dent depth. A 30mm wall thickness section of SCIP has been shown to withstand an impact of 35 KJ. This piece of information was obtained during a test programme using a simulated seabed and dropped objects from a distance of up to 8 metres. SCIP also forms a barrier against steel-to-steel contact stresses, eliminating gouging of the pipe surface.

SCIP has been designed to be installed easily with installation time tests conducted by operators showing that SCIP is fast to install, typically taking less than 1 minute per section. Once installed its spiral cut allows it to flex so it can be installed over "shoes" with a small radius without breaking the banding material.