Case Study: Parker Hannifin achieves safer subsea seal design with Hexagon Marc

MSC’s Marc Helps Ensure Safe Operation of Subsea Oil Drilling

Parker Hannifin, a leader in motion and control technologies, faced a critical challenge with an underperforming seal on a deepwater oil rig's blowout preventer. The leaking seal, operating at 10,000 feet below sea level, risked a significant safety delay. After weeks of failed physical testing, the company turned to Hexagon's MSC Marc software to perform a non-linear FEA analysis to understand the failure in the extreme cold and high-pressure environment.

Using Hexagon's Marc, the team identified the D-ring seal's inadequacies and designed a new custom seal. The software's advanced simulation capabilities, including modeling viscoelastic material properties, allowed them to rapidly test different profiles and materials virtually. This solution drastically reduced physical testing time, leading to the successful development of a reliable seal that ensured the safe operation of the subsea safety equipment.

Parker Hannifin

Stephen Armstrong

FEA Analyst/New Product Development Engineer