The use of Expandable Tubing Systems in the oil and Gas Industry entails the in-situ expansion of tubing by forcing a 'pig' through the tubing. Expanded Tubulars present a new and unique challenge to the industry. Once deformed in the well, by definition, the expanded tubular has significantly different properties. The great difficulty comes when these new properties have to be estimated and applied to the overall plan. Standard casing and tubing design techniques are no longer applicable.
New techniques have to be robust enough to ensure safety and guarantee peace of mind.
To safeguard success, a detailed understanding of the behaviour of the expanded tubular is essential. The expansion process causes plastic deformation of the tube as the pig is driven through. This results in the build-up of residual stresses in the expanded pipe. The nature of these stresses and how they affect the chosen tubulars depends on the specific application. Using this model, we are able to predict the entire expansion process.