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DSM Dyneema, the maker of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), branded as Dyneema®, the world's strongest fibre, now has a platform that looks set to replace heavy steel wire rope in even more offshore applications than before.
DSM Dyneema is the inventor and manufacturer of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibre branded as Dyneema®, the world’s strongest fibre™.
Dyneema® offers maximum strength combined with minimum weight. Ropes made with Dyneema® are far lighter and much safer than steel wire rope traditionally used in offshore applications. They also out-perform ropes made from any other type of synthetic fibre. Ropes with Dyneema® are now used in a wide range of applications in the offshore industry. They are easy to handle, exhibit excellent stiffness and high-resistance to cyclic fatigue, abrasion and attack from the elements.
Permanent mooring lines made with Dyneema® Max Technology ensure safe station-keeping even in ultra-deep water. Dyneema® Max Technology enables stiffer mooring lines, providing more freedom in mooring and riser design. Lines are 70% lighter than polyester lines, they are weightless in water, and 30% thinner, so installation can be carried out quickly and safely, and transport vessels can be downsized. All this can accelerate time to first oil.
Ropes made with Dyneema® also provide the most reliable temporary solution when wire and chain mooring systems are damaged and need backup.
Operators of mobile offshore drilling units (MODU) and barges carrying out dredging or pipe installation need improved ropes. Waters are deeper and barges are repositioned more often, so ropes have to be strong but light.
Ropes made with Dyneema® SK78 are thinner than polyester and significantly lighter than steel wire rope. Time taken to install lines in pre-set MODU mooring systems is 40% less than with equivalent polyester ropes, and up to three times more rope can be rolled onto reels.
From suction piles to massive subsea templates, lines made with Dyneema® are the ideal choice to push boundaries in deploying and retrieving subsea installation. In ultra-deep subsea fields, costs and complications of working with steel wire rope become virtually unbearable.
Ropes with Dyneema® float in water, adding no weight to a payload at any depth. This is why they can be found in the deepest offshore projects in the world.
Seismic lines made with Dyneema® outperform traditional alternatives in every way. Dyneema® SK78 fibre has outstanding breaking strength, reliability and endurance. Compared with alternatives, these ropes allow more precise seismic sensor positioning thanks to their lower and predictable elongation. Their exceptional abrasion resistance provides long lifetime, they create lower drag through the water, and the risk of ‘snapback’ in the event of a breakage is extremely low, increasing crew safety.
Dyneema® fibre is seven times stronger than steel according to each unit weight, so slings made with Dyneema® can have exactly the same strength as a steel wire sling at the same diameter, at a fraction of the weight. Crews can handle them more quickly and safely, and this can be crucial when working in offshore conditions or when completing an operation before a weather window starts to close.
DSM Dyneema continues to make significant progress in the technologies behind Dyneema® fibre. Dyneema® Max Technology rewrites the rules regarding the capabilities of synthetic ropes in deep water permanent moorings. It enables the production of ropes that are not only light and strong, but almost completely resistant to creep.
Dyneema® XBO Technology has been specially developed to deliver bending performance superior to that of any other synthetic fibre. DSM Dyneema’s most recent innovation, Dyneema® SK99, is the strongest Dyneema® fibre ever developed, delivering the highest strength/weight and lowest rope diameter for a given strength.
For a number of years, the creep performance of standard high modulus polyethylene (HMPE) fiber types has limited their use in synthetic offshore mooring systems. In 2003, a low creep HMPE fiber was introduced and qualified for semi-permanent MODU moorings.
Two maritime leaders both choose high-strength, lightweight ropes made with Dyneema® for their respective roles in a dramatic salvage operation.
When PT Indo Straits was looking for new mooring lines for its coal transshipment crane barges, it knew what it wanted: something strong, safe, highly reliable and easy to handle that would perform well for at least a year in service in harsh working conditions.
To prevent any issues arising with anchor lines, Dockwise concluded that it needed ropes made with Dyneema® fibre to meet the tough challenges to come.
Long considered an expensive alternative to traditional steel wire and conventional polyester-based synthetic ropes, offshore ropes and mooring systems made with super-strong Dyneema® have been making impressive inroads into the industry over the past number of years.
The world's most creep-resistant, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibre is even better than previously thought.
2 September 2014DSM, producer of Dyneema, has introduced DM20, a new fiber designed for the production of incredibly strong ropes that provide unrivalled strength, stiffness and durability. DM 20 is an innovative fiber that completely redefines the capability of HMPE ropes and forms the basis of Dyneema Max Technology.
3 January 2013A salvage operation on a ship wreck 3,200m below the surface of the South Atlantic has been successfully carried out thanks to the use of lightweight ropes made with Dyneema® ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber. Dyneema fiber, the world’s strongest fiber™, is manu
3 January 2013Brazilian oil giant Petrobras has specified ultra-strong, lightweight Dyneema® fibers for a complete set of mooring ropes for a semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU). Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras has substantial interests in deepwater exploration. Petr
26 April 2011Ropes made with Dyneema®, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), are being successfully used to secure rigs, mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs), buoyant turret mooring (BTM) systems and similar constructions in the offshore oil and gas industry. Users are finding them invaluab
9 March 2011Ropes made with Dyneema®, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), are proving a safe and secure alternative to steel wire rope for connecting barges and vessels in 'push combinations' working on inland waterways. In push combinations, the barge and the unpowered vessel i
22 February 2011DSM Venturing, the corporate venturing unit of Royal DSM NV, has announced that it has made an investment in Germany-based SkySails GmbH & Co. KG (SkySails), the market and technology leader for automated towing kite systems for ships. The investment is fully in line with DSM’s strat
14 February 2011DSM Dyneema has launched a new online platform that is modelled on a virtual symposium or event experience, together with key industry partners. Building on the company's innovative and growing online presence and underlying its focus on strong strategic partnerships, the new DSM Dyneema Virtual
7 November 2010The seismic research vessels 'Ramform Sovereign' and 'Ramform Sterling' are equipped with towing and spreader ropes made from Dyneema® ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibre. These are among the latest in a large fleet operated by Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS), one of the world's lead
7 November 2010DSM Dyneema's newest fibre, XBO, features characteristics that are changing the game for applications that used to require steel wire rope, offering benefits such as: Seven times lighter than steel wire Extreme bendability Extended life performance in tough e
18 August 2010DSM Dyneema, the producer of Dyneema®, the world’s strongest fibre™ for extremely demanding industrial applications, unveiled its latest development, Dyneema® XBO, at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, on May 3-6. OTC is the world’s foremost event for the de
4 August 2010DSM Dyneema, the producer of Dyneema®, the world’s strongest fiber™ for extremely demanding industrial applications, is unveiling its latest development, Dyneema XBO, at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, TX, on May 3-6. OTC is the world’s foremost event for the develo
2 May 2010The world’s largest offshore wind farm is under construction in the North Sea, 23km off the coast of England. Scheduled for completion in 2012, the Greater Gabbard wind farm’s 140 turbines will generate 500MW of electricity for the people of London. Use of Dyneema® ultra-high molecular weight
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