Stephen J. Banfield

Phone: 01323-504167
FAX: 01323-509770

Email: banfield@tensiontech.com

Steve Banfield is currently Managing Director of Tension Technology International where he has completed 40 years service in design and engineering of fibre rope systems. He is a chemist and mechanical engineer who trained in rope making and design of ropes for tanker, gas carrier, towing, SPM’s, deepwater moorings, fishing and military markets over fifteen years service for one of Europe's leading manufacturers of synthetic fibre rope. He has pioneered and broken technology barriers such as nylon moorings, polymer lined fairleads and bag anchors through several grant funded research studies over the last 15 years for the renewables markets.

Major accomplishments

Design and mooring analysis of STS moorings FSRU/FSU/LNGC Bahia Blanca, Dubai DUSUP, OLT Toscana, Bahia De Salvadore.

Design mooring for world’s first LNG STS transfer in Scapa Flow.

Expert called to solving world’s first mooring line failures for LNG trading in monsoon conditions at new jetty, developed criteria for 22m long nylon tails which has now been adopted in MEG3

Designed STS LNGC mooring system for hurricane conditions in Caribbean.

QA/QC surveillance for 1932 tonnes MBL polyester rope terminations for BP Mad Dog GOM platform.

Design/mooring analysis of pierside mooring systems for over 300 vessels including Handymax, Suezmax, Panamax, VLCC, ULCC tankers and 70,000, 135,000, 140,000, 215,000 and 267,000cm LNG carriers.

Analysis of over forty failed SPM hawsers from SALM, CALM, ARTICULATED TOWERS and FSO mooring from North Sea, Far east, Middle East, USA locations. Detailed analysis and determination of failure cause and residual strength was conducted. Developed special spliced termination to test used nylon rope.

Developed software for prediction of residual strength of nylon SPM hawser and shuttle tanker hawser, successfully validated and used in Sakhalin field.

Design pierside mooring for 96,000dwt OBO at Royal Portbury Dock.

Designed upgrade to BP Isle of Grain jetty for larger product carriers using drag embedment anchor and Dyneema mooring line to ship (removed need for expensive piling).

Designed spread mooring system using combination of Dyneema fibre mooring lines, chain and wire for

Yeoman Bridge 100,000dwt bulk carrier at Bremanger for Acomarit.

Analysis of Petrobras deepwater spread mooring FPSO II for Single Buoy Moorings.

Numerical modelling axial compression, axial stiffness and splice inspection of 2000tonne break load polyester deepwater moorings on Mad Dog for BPAmoco.

Designed jetty/bow mooring for lifeboat for RNLI.

Designed spread moorings of concrete breakwater and spread moorings for 1000 yachts/motor vessels for Holyhead Marina.

Designed spread mooring for Inland & Coastal barge spread mooring.

Designed spread mooring for semi-submersible in Loch Goil for DERA.

Analysis of polyester ropes for deepwater mooring of Girassol WCA export buoy for TotalFinaElf. Review mooring design methodology and develop axial stiffness properties for motion and fatigue analysis.

Co-promotor and co-manager of two Joint Industry Studies with NEL testing properties of synthetic fibre ropes for deepwater mooring.

Design engineer on ACG DQ platform, Åsgard semi, Auger TLP and Heidrun TLP riser protection nets. Tasks included writing design brief, detailed engineering of rope components, writing bid documents, bid evaluation, manufacturing and installation QA/QC surveillance activities. Designed terminations for Heidrun Riser Protection Net 400 tonne break load ropes.

Technical consultant to a JIP evaluating fibre ropes for deepwater mooring applications, funded by 6 oil companies to test mechanical properties of 1000 and 1500 tonne break load ropes. Developed high tensile and fatigue efficiency splices that gave a successful outcome for the study.

Contracted by JDR Cable Systems to develop a novel short spliced termination for 1500 tonne break load wire rope construction polyester rope. The splice was less than 2 metres long compared to the industry standard of around 7 metres.

Contracted by Dupont for design and development of a spliced termination in a 1000 tonne break load wire rope construction Kevlar rope using the short splice technology method.

Contracted by Linear Composites to develop the worlds first spliced termination in a parallel fibre rope. The successful design and development led to an engineering contract award for TTI for the design to be used in a North Sea riser arch buoy mooring.

Conducted examination and pathological study of Hutton riser protection net and redesign of replacement net.

Designed many novel terminations for high modulus and high tensile strength fibre ropes. The HMPE splice terminations for multi-rope and six-strand type ropes are especially noteworthy because of the difficulties of splicing this very low-friction fibre material.

Researched and developed braided jacket covers and polyurethane coatings which are used to protect ropes and splice terminations against abrasion and resist flexing fatigue. Various specialty protective coatings employ emulsion and thermoplastic polyurethanes, hot melt resins, and thermoplastic polyesters.

Developed special HMPE (high molecular weight polyethylene) ROV lifting rope now used on Cable and Wireless and British Telecom cable laying vessels. These highly efficient ropes are among the world's strongest, both on a strength-to-weight and strength-to size comparison basis.

Over 20 years experience on tension member failure analyses, examined many damaged and failed specimens to determine the failure morphology. He also conducted fatigue analysis, and established retirement criteria.

Expert witness on failure of fibre ropes in leisure, civil, marine, shipping and oilfield cases.

Developed techniques for applying polyurethane encapsulation within tubular thimbles which greatly enhanced rope life. These techniques are now widely used on SPM mooring hawsers.

Developed a novel yarn axial-compression buckling-fatigue test machine for quantifying this property and comparing alternative new fibre products. Also developed transverse pressure and slip measurement methods for use in evaluating fibre rope splice designs and techniques.

Designed the terminations used on the British Meteorological Office's BOSCO buoy moorings. These buoys serve in 200 ft of water in especially harsh environments. The terminations consisted of polyurethane moulded rope bend-stress relievers and encapsulated thimbles.

Education

Brighton Polytechnic H.N.C.; Chemistry, 1978, 2 merits & 1 distinction

Brighton Polytechnic H.N.C.; Mechanical and Production Engineering, 1981, 6 merits and 2 distinctions

Experience

Marlow Ropes Ltd. Hailsham, England: Research Officer, 1974-1986 ; Project Leader, 1986-89

Tension Technology International Ltd:1989-1993, Project Manager ; 1993 - 1998, Technical Director : 1998 - present Managing Director

Publications

SJ Banfield, JF Flory, 'Effects of Fibre Rope Complex Stiffness Behaviour on Mooring Line Tensions With Large Vessels Moored In Waves', OCEANS 2010.

Joint Industry Project, 'Operation of Wire and Fibre Ropes Over Ship’s Fairleads', final report TTI-IMLR-2009-626, Tension Technology International, dated 23/11/2010.

Flory, Banfield, 'Assessing Strength Loss of Abraded and Damaged Fibre Rope', MTS/IEEE Oceans 2008 Kobe Conference Proceedings, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ and MTS, Columbia, MD, 2008

Banfield and Berryman, 'Polyester Mooring Lines Gaining Acceptance for Mooring of Deep-Water Rigs', Professional Mariner Magazine, #107, September, 2007.

Flory, Berryman, Banfield, 'Durability of Polyester Deepwater Mooring Line', Sea Technology Magazine, July, 2007

Flory, Ahjem, Banfield, 'A New Method of Testing for Change-in-Length Properties of Large Fibre Rope Deepwater Mooring Lines', OTC 18770, 2007 Offshore Technology Conference Proceedings, OTC, Richardson, TX, 2007.

Flory, Banfield, Berryman, 'Polyester Mooring Lines on Platforms and MODUs in Deep Water', OTC 18768, 2007 Offshore Technology Conference Proceedings, OTC, Richardson, TX, 2007.

Flory, Banfield, 'Durability of Polyester Ropes Used as Deepwater Mooring Lines', MTS/IEEE Oceans 2006 Conference Proceedings, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ and MTS, Columbia, MD, 2006.

Joint Industry Project, 'Develop Effective Moorings for Tanker and Gas Carrier Terminals Exposed to Waves', final report Mooring Analyses & Safe Mooring Practices for Exposed Terminals, rev 1 dated 17/11/2006.

E. G. Ward, R. R. Ayers, S. Banfield, N. O’Hear, C. E. Smith, 'Experimental Investigation of the Damage Tolerance of Polyester Ropes', OTC paper 18150 May 2006

Flory, Leech, Banfield, Petruska, 'Computer Model To Predict Long-Term Performance of Fibre Rope Mooring Lines', OTC 17525, 2005 Offshore Technology Conference Proceedings, OTC, Richardson, TX, 2005.

S.J. Banfield, N.F. Casey, R. Nataraja, 'Durability of Polyester Deepwater Mooring Rope', OTC 17510, Houston, May 2005.

Neil F Casey TUVNEL and Stephen J Banfield TTI, 'Factors Affecting the Measurement of Axial Stiffness of Polyester Deepwater Mooring Rope Under Sinusoidal Loading', OTC 17608, Houston May 2005.

C.M.Leech, S.J.Banfield, M.S.Overington, Tension Technology International Ltd and M. Lemoel SBM Inc, 'The Prediction of Cyclic Load Behaviour and Modulus Modulation for Polyester and other Large Synthetic Fibre Ropes', OCEANS 2003.

Banfield, S.J., TTI and Casey, N., NEL, 'Fatigue Mechanisms and Residual Properties of Polyester Ropes', IBC Mooring and Anchoring Conference, 2001.

Banfield, S.J., TTI and Smeets, P.J.H.M, DSM High Performance Fibres, 'Comparison of Dyneema Sub-Rope Modulus against Full Scale Rope for Deepwater Mooring', IBC Mooring and Anchoring Conference, 2000.

Banfield, S.J. and Casey, N., 'Evaluation of Fibre Rope Properties for Offshore Mooring', FPS 97, 4th Annual International Conference, April 1997, London.

Banfield, S.J., TTI, T. Versavel, NDE, Snell R.O., BP Amoco, Ahilan R.V., NDE, 'Fatigue Curves for polyester Moorings – A state-of-the-Art Review', paper OTC 12175, May 2000.

'Full Scale Rope for Deepwater Mooring', IBC Mooring and Anchoring Conference, 2000.

Banfield, S.J. and Casey, N., 'Evaluation of Fibre Rope Properties for Offshore Mooring', FPS 97, 4th Annual International Conference, April 1997, London.

'Factors Affecting Life of Synthetic Fibre Ropes in Marine Service', with J. Flory and M. Parsey, MTS '90 Conference, Washington, DC, 1990.

'Life of Polymeric Ropes in The Marine Environment', with M. Parsey and J. Hearle, Polymers in a Marine Environment, London, 1987.

'Dynamic Behaviour of Marine Hawsers', with M. Parsey and S. Street, Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 1984

Banfield, S.J. and Liu, F., 'Development of an Umbilical Butt Splice' ISOPE 1993, Singapore, June 1993. Paper 75.2.

Hearle, J.W.S., Parsey, M.R., Overington, M.S. and Banfield, S.J. 'Modelling the Long-Term Fatigue Performance of Ropes' ISOPE 1993, Singapore, June 1993. Paper 65.7.

Banfield, S.J., TTI and Casey, N., NEL, 'Fatigue Mechanisms and Residual Properties of Polyester Ropes', IBC Mooring and Anchoring Conference, 2001.

Banfield, S.J., TTI and Smeets, P.J.H.M, DSM High Performance Fibres, 'Comparison of Dyneema Sub-Rope Modulus against Full Scale Rope for Deepwater Mooring', IBC Mooring and Anchoring Conference, 2000.

Banfield, S.J. and Casey, N., 'Evaluation of Fibre Rope Properties for Offshore Mooring', FPS >97, 4th Annual International Conference, April 1997, London.

'Factors Affecting Life of Synthetic Fibre Ropes in Marine Service', with J. Flory and M. Parsey, MTS '90 Conference, Washington, DC, 1990

'Life of Polymeric Ropes in The Marine Environment', with M. Parsey and J. Hearle, Polymers in a Marine Environment, London, 1987

'Dynamic Behaviour of Marine Hawsers', with M. Parsey and S. Street,Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 1984

Banfield, S.J. and Liu, F., 'Development of an Umbilical Butt Splice' ISOPE 1993, Singapore, June 1993. Paper 75.2.

Hearle, J.W.S.,Parsey, M.R., Overington, M.S. and Banfield, S.J. 'Modelling the Long-Term Fatigue Performance of Ropes' ISOPE 1993, Singapore, June 1993. Paper 65.7.

(August 2014)