Duramech Systems was contracted by De Beers Marine, an Anglo American subsidiary, for the full-scale development and engineering of a complete manufacturing data pack for the new Alternative Drill String System (ADS) for eventual deployment onto the drill vessels of Debmarine Namibia. This followed from successful concept development and scale model testing by De Beers Marine R&D.

This advanced new system would replace the current drill bit on the entire Debmarine Namibia fleet once full operational requirements were attained. The ADS was to endure extremely rigorous qualifying test programs for acceptance. The first new full-scale ADS (designated as a Technology Demonstrator) was to be deployed on the vessel Grand Banks where it had to integrate and perform in a fully operational system from the word go.

As an operation of this nature relies heavily on established technologies in order to reduce risk, downtime and high operational costs, any failure of the ADS during the test programme would adversely affect this cutting-edge technology, risk further development and the reputation of De Beers Marine. Even more importantly, any failure would negatively impact on production performance of the vessel and therefore Debmarine Namibia as a whole. It was, therefore, imperative for DuraMech to get things right first time.

No input data had yet been collected which could be used for design purposes. DuraMech Systems developed numerous working load cases and compiled real world load simulations for the new ADS. In addition, full sets of analytical calculations, FEA’s and dynamic simulations ensured that both system and components resulted in a rugged, reliable and quality product.

Seamless integration with the Debmarine Namibia test vessel required strict dimensional and specific weight range limits.

DuraMech Systems continued advising De Beers Marine during the fabrication phase, and managed the BOM, revision control and implementation of any modifications required.

The ADS was integrated into the existing drill string system and the 3 week test programme under full operational conditions was successfully concluded. The prototype demonstrator unit operated continuously for more than 8 months before the vessel returned to port for routine major maintenance - a resounding success. Since then, all the drill vessels in the Debmarine Namibia fleet have been converted to the Alternative Drill String System.

DuraMech was proud to be a part of this unique and successful project.