3M Glass Bubblesfor Insulation & Buoyancy

3M Glass Bubbles for Buoyancy and Insulation

Keep your profits flowing

3M™ Glass Bubbles for coatings and foams used in offshore pipeline insulation and syntactic foam buoyancy applications.

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3M Glass Bubbles for subsea insulation and buoyancy
As the search for oil and gas moves farther offshore, it has become increasingly challenging to ensure reliable production flow. The high pressures and low temperatures of deepwater environments combine to increase fluid viscosity and potential unwanted deposition, restricting flow and placing enormous challenges on flowlines, risers, and critical equipment.

3M Glass Bubbles are high-strength, low-density hollow glass microspheres used in many kinds of syntactic foam compositions for thermal insulation and buoyancy. Thanks to their syntactic foam density, these foams can help you improve your equipment reliability in deep-water applications to help you keep your production and profits flowing.

3M Glass Bubbles are an excellent solution to offshore pipeline insulation and buoyancy applications:
- Low thermal conductivity
- Insoluble in water
- Wide pressure range and densities
- Compatibility with most resins
- Lowered foam’s water absorption at high pressure
- Special grade to enhance bonding with resins

Thermal insulation
The need to operate at greater depths and with longer subsea tiebacks in turn requires strong, lightweight flowline and riser insulation with lower heat transfer. Compared to bulky, heavy pipe-in-pipe constructions, wet pipe subsea insulation incorporating 3M Glass Bubbles is both easier and more economical to lay. Less than half the weight of pipe-in-pipe, these flexible flowlines offer a practical alternative that is easier to support in deep waters. Plus, the more compact construction means more pipe can be wound per spool, potentially requiring fewer and smaller ships for installation.

Subsea flowlines

Lighter weight, cost-effective alternative to pipe-in-pipe constructions

Smaller pipeline diameter; more pipe wound per spool

Production risers

Achieve OHTC (U values) of 2 W/m^2 K and below

Steel catenary risers (SCRs), top-tensioned risers (TTRs) and riser towers
Buoyancy
With an optimal balance of high strength and low density, 3M Glass Bubbles have become an industry-standard additive for syntactic foams used in buoyancy module materials, buoys or buoyancy blocks for undersea vehicles. When 3M Glass Bubbles are formulated with resin, the resultant syntactic foam has a high strength-to-density ratio to provide maximum net buoyancy for a given depth rating.

Buoyancy modules for drill risers

Helps prevent the steel casing from collapsing under its own weight at depth

Helps protect the drill string against ocean currents

Distributed Buoyancy Modules (DBMs)

Potential for maximum lift at the required ocean depth

Buoyancy blocks for Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs)

High net buoyancy foams rated to any ocean depth