Balmoral Subsea Test Centre

Substantial investment has been made in improving and expanding the Balmoral Subsea Test Centre which is now the most comprehensive commercially available hydrostatic test facility in Europe.

23 vessels, ranging from 1010mm (3’3”) to 10,400mm (35’6”) in length, with internal diameters of 360mm (14”) to 2500mm (98”) and pressures to 700bar, allow us to perform testing to ensure subsea components are qualified for use in deepwater environments reaching depths of 7000msw.

5, 20 and 40 tonne lifting cranes, remote monitoring software and procedures are in place offering independent testing for all types of subsea equipment.

Standard tests include:

• Uplift determination
• Water ingress
• Instrumented buoyancy loss
• Hydrostatic compression and creep
• Hydrostatic collapse
• Bulk modulus
• Buckle arrestment performance
• Subsea controls testing
• Valve testing

The hydrostatic vessels use air driven liquid pumps and can accommodate electric, hydraulic and instrumentation connections. Each vessel can be fitted with chart recorders, pressure and temperature data loggers that provide highly detailed results for analysis, while a computer controlled hydrostatic test system that automatically performs customisable tests using high capacity intensifier pumps via touch screen is available on vessels TC1, 2 and 3. This allows pressure and temperature data to be fed back to a networked server providing remote real-time test monitoring.

A pan and tilt subsea camera can be placed in the vessels to visually monitor tests when required.

Balmoral’s multi-purpose load rig performs the following test-types and is available for third party use:

• Axial and lateral slip loads to 60t
• Static loading and 3-point bend to 100t
• Bend restrictor/stiffener load to 10t
• Bend restrictor locking radius measurement under load
• Compression and shear testing on companion cylinders to 200t and tensile testing to 150t
• Dropped weight and swing arm impact testing
• Lifting point/insert load testing

A fully comprehensive test rig for offshore wind‐related products comprises winches, tower, monopile and J‐tube entry options designed to simulate subsea interfaces and varying installation parameters.

Routine testing includes bending and axial stiffness, load, curvature, axial, operational and safety performance.

Balmoral Comtec's Wave and Current Simulation facility offers third parties the opportunity to test and validate offshore wind, solar, and subsea systems under dynamic water conditions. The facility supports applications across renewable energy, oil and gas, and marine industries.

• £1 million state-of-the-art facility, partially funded with Energy Transition Zone (ETZ) Ltd, at Balmoral Park in Aberdeen
• The facility can simulate surface, subsea and seabed conditions, making it ideal for evaluating offshore wind, solar and other subsea systems under dynamic water conditions
• The facility is available to third parties, offering a unique opportunity for operators and developers to test and validate their technologies in a controlled environment
• The facility is also suitable for broader applications in renewables, oil and gas and other marine industries

Due to the complexities of bespoke project testing, stringent customer specifications and compliance to standards such as API 17L1, Balmoral continually invests in state-of-the-art laboratory test equipment to ensure these requirements are satisfied. This programme of investment ensures the company retains total control over time schedules, test conditions and methodologies used to fulfil customer requirements.

Balmoral’s technical team works from the company’s new custom designed and purpose built laboratories at company HQ in Aberdeen – a state-of-the-art temperature and humidity controlled environment that is fully furnished with a wealth of chemical, thermal, hydrostatic and mechanical test equipment.

• A range of universal testing machines (10 tonnes maximum load) capable of performing fatigue, tensile, compression, flexure and hydrostatic pressure testing using a complementary pressure vessel at temperatures of -70ºC-+350ºC
• Dynamic fatigue test equipment for testing polyurethane materials fully submerged at elevated temperature
• Differential scanning calorimeters for determining specific heat capacity, glass transition temperatures and oxidation induction time of polymer products
• Lasercomp Fox 50 thermal analyser for the determination of thermal conductivity
• Gas pyknometers for determining the true density of materials such as powders and gels
• Temperature controlled water ageing baths
• Hydrothermal ageing cells for long term analysis of materials up to 260ºC
• Laboratory scale pressure vessels capable of operating at sub-ambient temperature to
• 200ºC and up to 10,150psi, 700bar
• Temperature and humidity environmental cabinets
• UV weathering cabinet
• Karl Fischer titrator for determination of water content
• Automated titrators for quantitative analysis
• Lab scale CNC machine for test piece preparation

Submersion test tanks are available for the following procedures:

• Product weight in water and air
• ROV submersion and functionality
• Submersion and gas leakage
• Underwater NDT inspection
• Flotation
• Riser testing
• Abandonment and cutting tool trials
• Stack up trials