15 Feb 2010 - by PreSalt.com - Source: USIMINAS
Usiminas (Bovespa SAO: USIM5, USIM3 and USIM6 - OTC: USNZY) and Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Research (Coppe) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), signed an agreement on cooperation in science and technology at the Technology Center in Ilha do Fundão. The agreement was signed by Vice President of Business of Usiminas, Sergio Leite, and the Director of Technology and Innovation of Coppe, Segen Estefen.
Lab
Opened in April 2009, theLaboratory of Non-Destructive Testing, Corrosion and Welding (LNDC) has 8 thousand square meters of constructed area and has the latest equipment. Designed for testing equipment and materials to be used for exploration of the pre-salt (subsalt), this venture, worth about $ 40 million, was funded by Petrobras (Bovespa: PETR3/PETR4, NYSE: PBR / PBRA, Latibex: XPBR / XPBRA, BCBA: APBR / APBRA) and the CT-Petro Fund, through the National Petroleum Agency.
The lab has two large tanks of tests: one with water and one dry. At first, 12 meters long, 6 wide and 7 deep, hydrostatic, inspection and fatigue underwater pipeline testing will be performed, crucial to test the integrity of equipment to come into operation in the oil fields.
In the second tank, where tests will be performed to detect internal damage in materials by means of gamma rays and X-rays, will install a particle accelerator, one of its kind in the country, allowing the inspection of major equipment. With it you can shoot-raisers flexible, for example, used for oil production at sea.
The lab will feature eight special chambers for testing with H2S and CO2 at high pressures and temperatures, working with cells in an autoclave (high pressure) and loops (loop), specially designed for this purpose. The tests provide greater reliability to the materials, preventing financial and environmental risks.
Agreement
The first project agreement will be a study to enable better application of the heated steel product and growing market for technologies for oil exploration on the high seas. This study will broaden the understanding of characteristics and phenomena that determine the metallurgical properties of steel pipe.
Coordinated by professor of Coppe Oscar Rosa Mattos tests will be performed at the Laboratory of Non-Destructive Testing, Corrosion and Welding (LNDC) of Coppe, one of the most modern in the world and whose activity is focused on combating corrosion and damage to structures used by petroleum industry.
The signing marks the beginning of an approximation of Usiminas with Coppe and UFRJ, which will be consolidated with the establishment of a research center of the steel in the Technological Park of University City, Ilha do Fundão.
Throughout 2010, Usiminas will invest R $ 28.9 million in research and innovation, increase of approximately 50% over the 2009 budget. Much of this investment will be directed to studies aimed at the development and manufacture of steel with higher added value, for use in sectors that require steel with more restrictive performance requirements.
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