UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND
FACULTY OF
HEALTH, ENGINEERING, AND SCIENCES
Course No:
MEC3203
Course Name: MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
Assessment No:
2
Internal
External
This assignment carries 30
% of the total
assessment f
or this course
Examiner:
DR
STEVEN GOH
Moderator:
PROF
HAO WANG
Due
Date:
02
June
201
6
A coversheet with the relevant personal and course details is sufficient for electronic submissions.
There is no requirement to submit the official USQ coversheet. To
pNZ students to use your own
relevant coversheet. Please refer to the Marking Rubric when attempting the assignment.
Part A: Failure Analysis
-
Assessment Criteria
[150
marks]
1.
Demonstrate a sound knowledge base in the relevant topic;
2.
Demonstrate t
he ability to delineate the problem in the case study;
3.
Demonstrate the ability to analyse
(and critique)
the potential failure modes, and propose the likely cause
of failure and a strong justification/argument to back the assertion;
4.
Demonstrate the a
bility to propose rectification or prevention strategies;
5.
Demonstrate the ability to professionally present your report (including in
-
text citation and referencing).
Part B: Materials Selection
-
Assessment Criteria
[150
marks]
1.
Demonstrate a sound k
nowledge base in material selection methodology;
2.
Demonstrate the ability to delineate the engineering requirements of the materials;
3.
Demonstrate the ability to systematically apply material selection methods;
4.
Demonstrate the ability to propose the
best material(s), and a strong justification/argument to back the
recommendation(s);
5.
Demonstrate the ability to professionally present your report (including in
-
text citation and referencing).
NOTE: It is inadequate to provide an answer like ‘very har
d steel’. Be specific in your material selection, and
always support it with evidence (such as figures or material selection charts from materials handbook). You
can find most of the information resources from the
textbook,
USQ Library Online or relevant l
ibrary
databases
such as ASM Online
. Use Harvard referencing style; refer to USQ Library website for details. Limit
the number of pages of your report submission to
approx 30 pages
excluding appendix.
Part C: Oral Interview
–
Assessment Criteria [% of the
Part A and Part B]
1.
Demonstrate a sound knowledge in relevant
materials
topics
and
the
case study
;
2.
Explai
n the approaches
and relevant findings
in failure anal
ysis and materials selection.
NOTE
:
Scheduled
15mins
“face
-
to
-
face
”
interviews will be scheduled with
individual
students
after submission
of report
to validate and
confirm the learning outcomes
.
Zoom
video
-
conferencing
will be
used for external
students
to facilitate the inter
view
.
Failure to participate in the inte
rview could result in 0% being applied.
X
X
MEC3203
MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
ASSIGNMENT 2 S1, 2017
2
___________________________________________________________________
CASE STUDY
–
DEEPWATER HORIZON
(Extracted from
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2011/s3160312.htm
)
BP: $30 Billion Blowout
Reporter: BBC Money Progra
mme
Broadcast: 14/03/2011
And a warning for Australia as the Federal Government issues licences to
explore for oil deep in our most pristine oceans. Presenter Kerry O'Brien will
explore the lessons from the spill with the Co
-
Chair of the BP Oil Spill
Com
mission.
The US President called it "
the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced
."
And there was one man who became the focus of America's angry response: Tony
Hayward.
In
BP: $30 Billion Blowout
, Tony Hayward, BP's former Chief Executive speak
s out in
a wide
-
ranging interview, reliving every aspect of the crisis: from being under the US
media spotlight and running a multinational in financial meltdown, to dealing with a US
President who was making the crisis personal.
It may have been an enviro
nmental disaster of epic proportions, but the political and
financial fallout from the Deepwater Horizon Spill ultimately proved just as toxic as the
oil that leaked into the Gulf of Mexico.
In an extended interview the former BP boss recalls his time as A
merica's Public Enemy
Number One: "
You know it's very difficult to hate a company, it's much easier to hate an
individual
..."
He regrets some of his comments to the US media
-
or at least his candour: "
If I had a
degree at RADA rather than a degree in geol
ogy I may have done better. I'm not certain
it would have changed the outcome, but certainly the perception of myself may have
been different
..."
MEC3203
MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
ASSIGNMENT 2 S1, 2017
3
___________________________________________________________________
And he lashes out at aspects of the coverage, such as the criticism he received in June
when he took time out
to go sailing with his son:
"
I have to confess, at the time I was pretty angry actually. I hadn't seen my son for
three months. I was on the boat for six hours, between the hours of midnight and six
o'clock in the morning US time and I'm not certain I'd d
o anything different. I wanted to
see my son. The only way I could see my son was to be with him on a boat race he was
on
..."
First broadcast on the
BBC Money Programme
,
BP: $30 Billion Blowout
features a host
of interviews with key industry insiders, incl
uding Bob Dudley, the new Head of BP.
Dudley talks in detail about just how close to the edge the world's fourth largest
company came at the height of the crisis:
"
When a company reaches this point where its debt becomes almost illiquid, it is very
difficu
lt to come back from that. These were frightening days
..."
Following the report, Four Corners presenter Kerry O'Brien will interview one of the men
entrusted by President Obama to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disaster.
Senator Bob Graham w
as the Co
-
Chair of the
National Commission on the BP Deepwater
Horizon Oil Spill
. Its final report is a damning indictment of the safety culture of the
entire industry.
Interview
-
Bob Graham
Read the transcript of Kerry O'Brien's interview with retired US Senator Bob Graham
-
who is also the Co
-
Chairman of the National Commission
on the BP Deepwater Horizon
MEC3203
MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
ASSIGNMENT 2 S1, 2017
4
___________________________________________________________________
Oil Spill. First broadcast on 14 March 2011 after the BBC report "BP: $30 Billion
Blowout".
Reporter:
Kerry O'Brien
Date:
14/03/2011 via
http://www.abc.net
.au/4corners/content/2011/s3164554.htm
BBC
Documentary
Deepwater disaster
:
the untold story
http://library.usq.edu.au/Record/vtls000808891
RELATED NEWS AND MEDIA
(Extracted from
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2011/s3163595.htm
)
First
US permit puts BP back in the gulf
| UPI.com | 2 March 2011
European oil giant BP returns to the Gulf of Mexico as the largest shareholder in the first
offshore drilling project given the green light after last year's spill.
Ferguson releases Independent Review of Montara PTTEP AA report
|
Resources and Energy | 4 February 2011
On 4 February 2011, the Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson AM
MP,
released the report of the Independent Review of the PTTEP Australasia (Ashmore
-
Cartier) Pty Ltd (PTTEP Australasia) Montara Action Plan and announced that, at this
time, he would not be issuing a ‘show cause’ notice to the company that might lead to
t
he cancellation of its petroleum titles.
Read the report
.
Offshore Petroleum Exploration Permits Awarded
| Resources and Energy | 17
January 2011
Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, announces seven offshore
exploration permits. Four are awarded to BP Exploration in Ceduna
Sub
-
basin (Sth
Australian Bight Basin). The other three permits are in Carnarvon Basin, awarded to
Finder No.4 Pty Ltd, Woodside Energy Pty Ltd and Riverina Energy Pty Ltd.
Tony Hayward says BP wa
s 'not prepared' for the Gulf oil spill
| BBC News | 9
November 2010
The former boss of BP Tony Hayward has admitted that the company was "not prepared"
to deal with fallout over the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico
and the me
dia "feeding frenzy" surrounding it.
White House Lifts Ban on Deepwater Drilling
| New York Times | 12 October
2010
The Obama administration lifted the moratorium on deepwater oil and gas dr
illing on
Tuesday, but it will be weeks or months before drilling resumes while industry and
government regulators scramble to meet strict new rules intended to prevent another
disaster like the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill.
After three months, oil gusher plugged, says BP
| SMH | 16 July 2010
Engineers have stopped oil flowing freely into the Gulf of Mexico for the first
time in
almost three months
-
but stress tests over the next 48 hours will determine whether
the new cap on the deep
-
sea well will hold.
Video: BP and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, Opening Statemen
ts
| 17 June 2010
Watch Tony Hayward's opening statements about the role of BP in the Gulf of Mexico
offshore oil rig explosion and oil spill.
MEC3203
MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
ASSIGNMENT 2 S1, 2017
5
___________________________________________________________________
S
tatement by the President After Meeting with BP Executives
| 16 June 2010
President Obama discusses his meeting with BP's chairman, Carl
-
Henric Svanberg, and
outlines the plan for addressing the spill.
Barack Obama orders six
-
month freeze on offshore drilling and expansion
| The
Guardian | 28 May 2010
President Obama told a White House press conference he was ordering a six
-
month
freeze on the opening up
of the remote waters of the Arctic to oil exploration and on the
drilling of 33 deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico. He also admitted he was wrong to
believe oil companies were prepared to deal with catastrophic spills.
Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development on the Outer Contintental
Shelf
| US Dept of Interior | 27 May 2010
Secretary Salazar,
US Department of the Interior, recommends imposing a moratorium
on all oil and gas drilling activity from floating rigs for six months. His 30
-
day report can
be read
Remarks by the President on the Gulf Oil Spill
| 27 May 2010
President Obama: "...
after reading the report's recommendations with Secretary Salazar
and other members of my administration, we're going to be ordering the following
actions: First, we will
suspend the planned exploration of two locations off the coast of
Alaska. Second, we will cancel the pending lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico and the
proposed lease sale off the coast of Virginia. Third, we will continue the existing
moratorium and suspend
the issuance of new permits to drill new deepwater wells for six
months. And four, we will suspend action on 33 deepwater exploratory wells currently
being drilled in the Gulf of Mexico
."
Timor oil permit given despite Thai company's role in disaster
| The Australian |
10 May 2010
The Australian's Paul Cleary reports that: "
The parallels between t
he Montara disaster
and the massive Gulf of Mexico spill are striking. Faulty cementing by Halliburton on the
Montara is believed to have caused the leak, and the same company did the cementing
on BP's sub
-
contracted Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf
."
11 missing after oil rig explosion in Gulf of Mexico
| The Telegraph UK | 21 April
2010
Eleven people were missing and
seven critically injured after an explosion on an oil rig in
the Gulf of Mexico.
Remarks by The President on Energy Security at Andr
ews Air Force Base
| 31
March 2010
President Obama eases offshore oil drilling ban. Excerpt: "
So today we’re announcing ...
we’ll employ new technologies that reduce the impact of oil exploration. We’ll protect
areas that are vital to tourism, the environme
nt, and our national security. And we’ll be
guided not by political ideology, but by scientific evidence
." Read
full transcript
.
Montara leak plugged, fire splutters out
| PetroleumNews.net | 4 November
2009
PTTEP Australasia has killed the leaking H1 well in the Timor Sea and has stopped the
main fire at the Mo
ntara wellhead platform and surrounding the West Atlas jack
-
up
drilling rig.
Gas, crude oil continuing to leak from rig: mining com
pany
| WA Today | 22
August 2009
The oil spill forced an evacuation to Darwin of all 69 workers from the West Atlas rig,
PTTEP Australasia said.