ProAssure™ Clamp

Composite clamp repairs have been the subject of research in the past few years (Sum and Leong, 2014 Shamsuddoha et al., 2013a,b). The most recent advancement in repair clamps is the composite repair clamp, ProAssure Clamp. This is a fibre-reinforced polymer matrix composite repair solution equivalent to a metal mechanical clamp. This repair method presents the aforementioned advantages associated with composites over metallic clamps, with the repair taking a form known to operators. 

This chapter details current industry codes for composite repair and case studies of both of the composite repair methods mentioned above through the use of two recently developed and field-tested repair systems, ProAssure Clamp and ProAssure Wrap Extreme. 

Figure 12.2 A representative picture of a ProAssure Clamp. Inset shows an unassembled half-sheU.

The clamp is manufactured via Vacuum Bag Resin Infusion, a process that is similar to Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Moulding, at room temperature. Machining and drilling are required to form the necessary grooves that house the seals and the holes for the fasteners, respectively. Alternative manufacturing approaches may be used, such as wet lay-up and resin transfer moulding. A typical ProAssure Clamp is shown in Figure 12.2. 

Table 12.1 ProAssure Clamp pressure containment properties...

Figures 12.14—12.17 show applications of the ProAssure products. It can be seen that overwrap repairs can be successfully applied on the platform, in the splash zone as well as in the sea. Obviously the complexity increases as repairs move from dry to wet and subsea environments. This is not only restricted to application of the composite laminate but also to related activities such as removal of existing coatings and surface preparation, as well as additional requirements such as the need for scaffolding, absailers and/or a service barge. A similar scenario applies to the clamp repair solution, which is generally advantageous over the overwrap repair method in cases of deeper...

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