Trauma accounts for about 90% of spinal cord injuries worldwide. Traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) is recognized as a neurotrauma of global health priority due to the preventability of the injuries and the specialized and expensive medical and surgical care they necessitate. This study protocol guides the comprehensive and exhaustive review of the literature concerning the epidemiology, management and outcomes of TSCIs in Africa. This protocol follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols guidelines. The search strategy was performed primarily on PubMed and OVID Embase. A secondary literature search was carried out on African Journal Online and Google Scholar. All observational studies on the prevalence/incidence, presentation, management and outcomes of TSCIs in African countries were included. The following study types were excluded: literature reviews, meta-analyses, case reports, abstract-only articles, conference proceedings, randomized control trials and letters to the editor. Our outcomes include incidence of TSCIs in Africa, mechanisms of injury, different imaging and treatment modalities offered (e.g. conservative vs. operative intervention), clinical outcomes following TSCIs in Africa and challenges regarding the management of TSCIs in African surgical centres. This study aims to provide region-specific data that will guide and inform local practices regarding TSCIs. It will also map out areas that need more research and areas amenable to intervention by global health stakeholders.
This paper addresses mooring design methods, reveals records of site tests, and also compares the conventional theoretical numerical modeling approach with a real full-scale disconnection of this challenging scenario. The FPSO BW Pioneer set a new world record for deepest mooring system on a production unit at 2,500m (8,200ft) of water depth in the US Gulf of Mexico. The unit also pioneered this type of facility (FPSO) in the US Gulf of Mexico. This area of the globe is prone to hurricanes. The decision was made to proceed with a concept that would allow the vessel to detach from its mooring and risers system and sail away to sheltered waters when necessary. The mooring as well as all risers and umbilicals sink to a depth that is safely below the waves in case of a major storm. This system installed is the first production module for two deepwater fields, Cascade and Chinook, both operated by Petrobras America Inc. with the FPSO BW Pioneer. Various connect - disconnect scenarios were identified during the design phase. Since the system is detachable, the disconnection and reconnection dynamics were analyzed in detail. Due to the complexity of the interaction between the STP™ turret buoy and the mating cone, a model was introduced to better evaluate the local effect of dragging and hydraulic suction combined with the vessel motion. This effect is paramount to the integrity of the riser and umbilical structure, as well as to prevent collision between the vessel and the buoy. The model is described and simulations emphasize vertical velocities and accelerations, as compared to traditional methods of computation. At the time, it was unknown whether any previous projects had ever compared the theoretical numerical model with a real full-scale disconnection. The decision was made to proceed with an instrumented site free-drop test, using customized equipment similar to what Petrobsas uses to monitor the trajectory of the Petrobras' torpedo piles during installation. This paper presents to the Industry these site test results and draws conclusions about how accurate or robust design premises are when performed by state of the art design tools used on this project. Introduction The Cascade and Chinook fields are located in the Walker Ridge area of the Gulf of Meixco and are being produced from the FPSO BW Pioneer that is located in WR/Block 249. The Cascade field was discovered in 2002 and Chinook field was discovered in 2003. The mooring with turret buoy was installed in late 2009 and the FPSO BW Pioneer was first connected to the mooring late 2010. Installation of the mooring and connection of the FPSO set a new world record for deepest mooring system on a production unit at 2,500m (8,200ft) of water depth.
This paper presents the history of and lessons learned from the challenge of designing, implementing and operating the acoustically controlled monitoring system used to verify performance, validate design and track motions and tensions of five Free Standing Hybrid Risers (FSHR), their Buoyancy Can connecting chain tension and disconnectable FPSO's Turret Buoy, which are components of the Cascade & Chinook Production Facilities. For impending threats such as named storms, the FPSO disconnects from the geostationary turret buoy, which sinks to a neutral depth below wave and winds affected zone, while the FPSO sails to safe waters. The system continues to monitor all parameters when the buoy is submerged. While connected, buoy originated real time data and risers originated quasi real time data received via acoustic communications is collected by the monitoring system computers on the FPSO. While disconnected data is recorded at the buoy and FSHRs and is downloaded to the monitoring system computers upon reconnection and prior to resuming production. All data is transmitted to shore via satellite where behavior of the components is analyzed to validate designs for normal and severe weather conditions. The data collected provides a significant database of riser and Turret Buoy behavior in the range of experienced environmental conditions. In this paper the performance of the monitoring system since its installation will be addressed, including how the alarm from this unique monitoring system initiated the discovery of the accidental release of the Chinook 1 FSHR Buoyancy Can. This innovative monitoring system contributes a significant step forward for future designs of FSHRs, by facilitating comparison of actual FSHR behavior in real environmental conditions to engineering model predictions. This monitoring system is being used and can be used for a variety of submerged production equipment without the use of umbilicals and is especially appropriate for use in severe weather locations and when verification of behavior and operability of the risers must be confirmed prior to restarting production. Introduction The Cascade and Chinook Fields are located in the Walter Ridge Block, 300 km south of Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico with Lower Tertiary reservoirs. The development of these fields presented a considerable challenge, due to the water depth, reservoir depth, distance from shore, furrowed seabed and exposed to threats from hurricanes, eddies and loop currents. Both fields are producing to a floating production, storage and offloading facility (FPSO) that is single point (turret) moored 5 km from the Cascade Field and about 20 km from the Chinook field, in 2500 m water depth. Produced oil is shuttled by dedicated tankers to ports in the United States.
This paper presents near-bottom current profile measurements in furrows located east of the Sigsbee Escarpment in the Cascade-Chinook field development flowline route from the facilites to the Chinook manifold in the Walker Ridge region of the Gulf of Mexico in water depths greater than 2500 meters. These furrows are deep channels aligned with the southwestward direction and in a variety of configurations with typical dimensions of 5 to 10 meters depth and 15 to 50 meters width. The measurement systems were custom designed bottom frames with acoustic current profilers and turbidity sensors deployed by Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to accurately position the frames in predetermined positions inside the furrows. An innovative approach was developed to address cost effectively the technical challenge of the scheduled regular 4-month data recovery. To reduce costs, it was elected to deploy an acoustic modem from a vessel to download data from the subsea frames in lieu of recovering and redeploying the frames with the use of an ROV. In general the Sigsbee Escarpment region experiences a complex deep water flow regime not completely evaluated or understood as yet. The steep gradients of the continental slope act as a wave guide for many flows associated with conservation of potential vorticity such as the Topographic Rossby Waves (TRW). The propogation of these waves and their flow affects the bottom currents in the furrows and on the sea floor. Spectral analysis of the bottom current measurements indicated a 12-day coherence peak that may be associated with TRWs. Speed values above 0.30 m/s were measured at the first bottom bin and the direction of the flow was most frequently aligned with the furrow's main axis. Introduction The production facilites of Petrobras America Inc. (PAI) Cascade and Chinook fields in Walker Ridge Block 249 and adjacent blocks are close to the base of the Sigsbee Escarpment. There is limited knowledge of the currents at the site in this complex bed form. PAI launched a rigourous current measurement program at the site which included measurement of current in the furrows, to develop an appropriate current profile design criteria for the project. This paper provides the preliminary data analysis of measurements taken over a 12 month period by PAI Contracor, the Woods Hole Group (WHG). Figure 1 provides a general view of the eastern Sigsbee Escarpment and furrows fields on the vicinity of Cascade and Chinook fields, located on Walker Ridge area.
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