ARRANGEMENT AT A PIPE LOCATING ASSEMBLY
This invention regards a mechanised pipe locating assembly for use in screwing pipes together, in particular on a drill floor in connection with petroleum production.
A significant share of the time spent on drilling long holes in the ground is spent on aligning pipe lengths, screwing these together, and later unscrewing them when the pipes need to be retrieved for the purpose of e.g. replacing or repairing equipment connected to the lower end of the pipe string.
A large variety of tools are available for mechanising and reducing the time spent on connection and disconnection of lengths of pipe. The use of a mechanised pipe tong that is rigidly mounted to the drill floor, or arranged for travel on wheels on a rail-like track on the drill floor, is well known.
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Manual operations or a mechanised pipe locating assembly are employed in order to position and guide the threaded portion of a new pipe length into the complementary threaded portion of a pipe string. A mechanised pipe locating assembly according to prior art may comprise two arms, one end of each of which is rigidly or movably supported in a rotatable manner, where the free end portions of the respective arms are fitted with a crescent-shaped guide bowl.
When a pipe length is to be joined to a pipe string or a liner, the arms are rotated in towards the pipe length to be joined up, allowing the two guide bowls to jointly grip and steer the pipe to a concentric position relative to the pipe string. Then the threaded portion of the pipe length is lowered into the complementary threaded portion of the pipe string, whereupon they are screwed together by the mechanised pipe tong.
It has proven to be difficult to achieve satisfactory positioning of a pipe length by means of previously known devices . Wrong positioning may cause damage to the pipe threads and/or the sealing surfaces of the pipes.
A mechanised pipe locating assembly according to prior art takes up a significant section of the relatively limited floor space on a drill floor.
The object of the invention is to remedy the disadvantages of prior art.
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The object is achieved in accordance with the invention by the characteristics stated in the description below and in the appended claims.
According to the invention, a hydraulically driven mechanised pipe locating assembly is connected to the upper portion of a mechanised pipe tong. Two arms are rotatably connected to the mechanised pipe tong at a respective end portion and equipped with one or more tilting pipe guides at the other end portion. The pipe guides are designed to grip and position the pipe length to be joined to the drill string in a concentric position relative to the drill string.
In their inactive position, when the arms are in the swung- out position, the pipe guides assume an approximately horizontal position, whereby the overall height of the pipe guides is negligible.
When a pipe length is to be joined to a pipe string, the arms are rotated in towards the upper end portion or the pipe socket of the pipe string. By so doing, the pipe guides are brought to a stop against the periphery of the pipe string. Upon further rotation of the arms in towards the pipe sting, the pipe guides are caused to rotate about their rotational axes to an essentially vertical position, through the point of abutment against the pipe string being positioned below the rotational axes of the pipe guides. The pipe guides are prevented from rotating further from their vertical position by virtue of their construction.
At their upper free end portion, the pipe guides are provided with an outwardly sloping entry lip. Thus the pipe guides in
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this active position form an accurately positioned guiding funnel for the pipe length that is to be joined up. Advantageously, the entry lip is provided with a relatively soft wear material so as to avoid damage to the threads and sealing surfaces upon careless treatment of the pipe lengths. The pipe length is then lowered into the guiding funnel until the pipe length stops against the pipe string. The arms with the pipe guides are then rotated out from the pipe string to the inactive position, whereby the pipe guides return to their essentially horizontal position again due to the influence of gravity.
The pipe length is then screwed to the pipe string in a known manner by using the mechanised pipe tong.
The pipe locating assembly may readily be adapted to different diameter pipes.
The arrangement according to the invention is suitable for remote control, as it follows a predetermined pattern of movements that does not require adjustments in the case of variations in parameters during the operations.
The following describes a non-limiting example of a preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a side view of a pipe locating assembly according to the invention in the inactive position, mounted on a mechanised pipe tong;
Figure 2 is a view I-I in figure 1;
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Figure 3 shows the same view as figure 2, but here the pipe locating assembly is in the active, turned-in position;
Figure 4 schematically shows a section II-II in figure 2 where the arms have been swung in towards the pipe string to make the pipe guides abut the pipe string;
Figure 5 shows the same as figure 4, but here the arms have been swung further in towards the pipe string, whereby the pipe locating assembly is rotated towards the vertical position;
Figure 6 shows the same as figure 5, but here the pipe locating assembly is in the active position;
Figure 7 shows the same as figure 6, but here a pipe length has been placed immediately above the pipe locating assembly;
Figure 8 shows the pipe locating assembly as the pipe length enters the pipe locating assembly; and
Figure 9 shows the same as figure 8, but here the pipe length has stopped against the pipe string.
In the drawings, reference number 1 denotes a pipe locating assembly placed on the pipe tong 4 of a mechanised pipe tong 2. The mechanised pipe tong is joined to a drill floor 8 via a slips holder 6.
In this preferred embodiment, the pipe locating assembly comprises four pipe guides 14 hinged to two compensating
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joints 12 via hinge pins 10, see figure 4. The hinge pin 10 is located considerably closer to the lower/inner end portion 14' of the pipe guide 14 than to the outer/upper end portion 14" of the pipe guide 14. The compensating joints 12 are hinged to separate arms 16 via bearings 17 at the free end portions of the respective arms, see figure 2. At the. opposite end portion, each arm 16 is hinged to the pipe tong 4 via a bearing 18.
A hydraulic cylinder 20 is designed to rotate the arms 16 about their respective bearings 18 via cylindrical arms 22 connected to the arms 16.
One spring bank 28 of a construction that is known per se is hinged to each of the compensating joints 12, straining against their respective arms 16. While in their inactive state, the compensating joints 12 with pipe guides 14 are rotated, by the spring tension from the spring banks 28, about their respective bearings 17 in the direction of the central axis of the pipe tong 4, to an appropriate starting position for the operating cycle of the pipe locating assembly 1.
The centre of gravity of the pipe guide 14 is located at the opposite side of the hinge pin 10 relative to the vertical central axis of the pipe tong 4. In their inactive position, the pipe guides 14 are rotated by gravity about their respective hinge pins 10 to an essentially horizontal position.
When a pipe length 30 is to be connected to a drill string 32, the arms 16 are rotated about their respective bearings
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18 and in towards the pipe string 32 by the hydraulic cylinder 20. Thus the lower/inner end portions 14' of the pipe guides 14, which in their inactive position are in an essentially horizontal position, are brought to a stop against the pipe socket 34 of the pipe string 32, see figure 4.
As the arms 16 are rotated further in towards the pipe string 32, the pipe guides 14 are rotated about their respective hinge pins 10 to a vertical position, see figures 3, 5 and 6. The pipe guides 14 are prevented from further rotation about their hinge pins 10 by the lower end portion 14' of each pipe guide 14 stopping against a stopper 36.
When the pipe guides 14 come into contact with the pipe string 32, the compensating joints 12 rotate about their bearings 17 in a manner such that each of the two pipe guides 14 connected to each compensating joint 12 abuts the socket 34 in a steady manner.
At the outward or upward facing end portion 14", each pipe guide 14 is provided with an outwardly sloping entry lip/deflection 38. Preferably, the deflection 38 is fitted with a wear plate 40 made in a relatively soft material.
A pipe length 30 is positioned over the pipe string 32, see figure 7, and then lowered between the pipe guides 14, see figure 8. When the threads 42 of the pipe length 30 come into contact with the pipe guides 14 during the lowering, thread damage is prevented by the deflection 38 being covered by the relatively soft wear plates 40.
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The pipe length 30 is lowered further until the threads 42 come to rest against the socket 34, see figure 9. The pipe guides 14 are then swung out and away from the pipe string 32, whereupon the pipes 30, 32 are tightened by the pipe tong 4 .
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