Work on new Materials Technology Center enters final stage

Work on the USA’s first-of-its-kind ‘Oil and Gas Materials Technology Center’ has entered its final stage ahead of its official open date in July. Sitting on a 5.3 acre site in Houston, TX, the laboratory is being built by the country’s largest independent materials testing organisation, Element Materials Technology, at a cost of US$ 5 million.

Final stages of the work

With structural work on the site nearing completion, Element is now entering the final stages of custom interior build out, preparing to install highly specialised gas lines for the corrosion department, DI water lines throughout, compressed airlines, network cabling and electrical wiring. This will allow engineers to ‘go live’ with the facility’s power, which will feed the cutting-edge equipment installed at the site, along with networks, safety systems and office infrastructure.

Significantly, Element has now completed round-robin testing with sister sites at oil and gas hubs in Breda and Aberdeen for its cutting-edge MTS 110 kip dynamic frame. With methodologies and standard operating procedures developed and data validated ahead of the center’s launch, the laboratory is already able to conduct ISO-accredited single edge notch tensile (SENT) testing.

Element Houston: what will the facility hold?

Over the coming months, Element Houston, as the centre will be known, will install and calibrate additional equipment for its dedicated non-destructive evaluation division, including AUT evaluations using immersed ultrasonic test equipment. The completed facility will also house high-pressure autoclaves and SSR frames for evaluation to TMO 198 test methods, along with other testing specifications. The new corrosion division will also have six x three litre autoclaves for polymer testing, incorporating state-of-the-art controllers and monitoring equipment.

Officially announced in May 2013, construction work began on the center in October, when the foundation was laid. An announcement followed that the laboratory is to benefit from a US$ 1 million investment from the state of Texas, in order to contribute to cutting-edge research on the application of high-performance polymers for energy applications.

Element will be hosting a grand opening at the technology centre in July, which will include a tour of the world-class facility with addresses delivered by senior figures and its internationally-recognised scientists.

Edited from source by Elizabeth Corner

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