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June 2006 

<printable version>

Dear SCIA eNews reader,

We are almost halfway through 2006 and before the summer interlude we would like to propose the following topics:

SCIA is seeing a sharp increase of sales of its software during the first half of 2006 (> 25%). Questioning clients and analysing the market response to the SCIA products, it is apparent that the success is due to key factors:

• the construction market, and the engineering design community in particular, is giving priority to professional technical information. Engineering work is multi-tasking, and therefore is in need of 3D models, detailed analysis and design simulations.
• the construction industry is searching new tools to optimise and speed up the process “from design to construction”; an integrated software suite responds the best to process changes.
• new construction methods, new materials, new structural concepts, safety regulations and building codes, they all require a solid engineering design with state-of-the-art innovative software.
• Worldwide investments in construction projects are upward, especially concerning energy and infrastructure; with fewer engineers there is more work,
  which requires adapted software.

With over 100 conferences, seminars, road shows, free initiation days and other events planned for this year, SCIA is addressing its future clients. You are kindly invited to join these activities!
Watch our regional and international websites!

Project: Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Plant on the island of Melkøya in Norway
Principal: Statoil
Transport study and detail studied: SCIA’s customer SBE

About SBE
For more than 15 years, the Belgian company SBE profiles itself as architectural designer with, notwithstanding the traditional stability tasks, a specific emphasis on water and port constructions, geotechnical problems, steel structures and foundation techniques. SBE works with some 35 employees, mainly project engineers, study engineers and designers.

The challenge
In 1984, researchers of the Norwegian oil and gas producer Statoil discovered a natural gas reserve of about 190 billion cubic meter in the Snøhvit area, right in the middle of the Hammerfest basin. The LNG also appeared to contain small quantities of condensates or light oil; estimated at 17,9 million cubic meters. Really an enormous strike; however nobody was very keen on starting the exploitation. The technical challenges were, to put it mildly, overwhelming. For a long time it even seemed to be a ‘mission impossible’, but in the meantime the last phase of the project, started up in 2002 and estimated at 5,75 billion euros, has been finished off.

The Project
The construction of a new LNG plant is situated on the island op Melkøya, near Hammerfest, Norway. The steel structures were, among others, produced by the company Iemants (B) and assembled on their site in Hoboken. The installations were almost completely finished on site, that is with cladding, piping, electricity supplies, wiring, etc.

Subsequently, the different parts were positioned on a ship and shipped off to Norway. Here they were fitted in the whole exploitation site. A very important feature when using this way of fabrication is the handling of the structures (lifting, shifting, moving …) and the sea transport (with horizontal acceleration forces). SBE did all the workshop drawings and made transport and detail studies using SCIA’s ESA software. In the ESA-environment, models were made of the modules, including the pipeline part. These models were then subjected to a transport calculation, at which they were attached to the ship and at which they were exposed to waves. These loads were translated in horizontal components of the dead load (as in earthquake calculations).