Claims
- 1. An apparatus for cementing a string of tubulars in a borehole, the apparatus comprising:
an enclosure having a bore therethrough; a sphere canister having a sphere aperture therethrough; a sphere valve member having a hold position closing said sphere aperture and a drop position opening said sphere aperture; a sphere disposed in said sphere aperture; and said sphere valve member closing said sphere canister to flow in said hold position and opening said sphere canister to flow to release said sphere in said drop position.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
a dart canister having a dart aperture therethrough; a dart valve member having a hold position closing said dart aperture and a drop position opening said dart aperture; a dart disposed in said dart aperture; and said dart valve member closing said dart canister to flow in said hold position and opening said dart canister to flow to release said dart in said drop position.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said dart canister includes a retention member.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said valve members are moveable from said hold to said drop positions when fluid is flowing through said bore.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said valve members are identical.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said canisters include equalizing ports.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said dart canister includes flow slots.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 2 further including flow by-passes around said sphere and dart valve members through said bore.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein a first flow path is formed when said sphere and dart valve members are in the hold position, said first flow path extending through said bore and said flow by-passes.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein a second flow path is formed when said dart valve member is in said hold position and said sphere valve member is in said drop position, said second flow path extending through said bore, through said by-pass around said dart valve member, and through said sphere valve member.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein a third flow path is formed when said dart and sphere valve members are in the drop position, said third flow path extending through said bore and through said dart and sphere valve members.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said enclosure includes:
a first member having said bore passing therethrough for fluid flow; a second member having said bore passing therethrough for fluid flow; a modular body connecting said first and second members, said modular body having said bore passing therethrough; said dart canister and dart valve member being mounted within said modular body; and said sphere canister and sphere valve member being mounted within said second member.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 12 further including a spacer member.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said first member forms a connection with said modular body and said modular body forms a connection with said second member.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said connections comprise dogs disposed within aligned slots.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said dogs are retained by a ring.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sphere valve member further comprises:
a valve body disposable within said bore; and a plug having a hold position and a drop position.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said plug includes a pass-through passage and a transverse passage, said pass-through passage extending through said plug and said transverse passage extending transversely from said pass-through passage through a side of said plug.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said pass-through passage and said transverse passage form a T-shaped aperture in said plug.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 18 further including a fouling member extending into said transverse passage.
- 21. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said valve body includes an alignment surface for aligning said valve body within said enclosure.
- 22. The apparatus of claim 17 further including retaining plates for retaining said valve body within said enclosure.
- 23. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said plug includes rotation bosses on opposing sides thereof, said bosses being received in opposing bores in said valve body for the rotation of said plug within said valve body.
- 24. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising a pin disposed between said valve body and said plug.
- 25. The apparatus of claim 17 further including filler material disposed in recesses around said sphere valve member to prevent the accumulation of debris therein.
- 26. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said valve body includes a by-pass port therethrough allowing fluid flow around said sphere valve member whether said sphere valve member is in said hold or drop positions.
- 27. The apparatus of claim 17 further including an actuation stem extending through a wall of said enclosure and engaging said plug to actuate said plug between said hold and drop positions.
- 28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein said actuation stem further comprises a flange that engages a shoulder within said wall.
- 29. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said sphere canister comprises two separable portions.
- 30. An apparatus for cementing a string of downhole tubular members in a borehole, comprising:
an upper member; a first launching unit including a first dart canister and a first dart valve member disposed within a first modular member; a second launching unit including a second dart canister and a second dart valve member disposed with a second modular member; and a third launching unit including a sphere canister and a sphere valve member disposed within a lower member.
- 31. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein said second launching unit is interchangeable with said first launching unit.
- 32. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein said valve members are interchangeable.
- 33. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein any number of launching units may be added between said upper member and said third launching unit.
- 34. A method for dropping devices from an apparatus into a borehole comprising:
preloading a dart device and a sphere device within a bore of the apparatus; flowing fluid through the bore; isolating the dart device and the sphere device from the flowing fluid when the apparatus is in a holding position; dropping the sphere device into the borehole while the fluid is flowing through the bore; and dropping the dart device into the borehole while the fluid is flowing through the bore.
- 35. An assembly for cementing a string of tubulars in a borehole, the assembly comprising:
a swivel; and a cementing manifold with internal bypass means.
- 36. The assembly of claim 35 further comprising a flag sub.
- 37. The assembly of claim 35 further comprising a top drive unit for rotating a drill string through said swivel.
- 38. The assembly of claim 35 wherein said swivel further comprises:
an outer stationary member with cement connections; and an inner rotating member with a bore therethrough; wherein said outer stationary member is formed from one piece.
- 39. The assembly of claim 38 wherein said swivel further comprises angled ports extending between said cement connections and said bore.
- 40. The assembly of claim 38 further including seals disposed between said outer stationary member and said inner rotating member.
- 41. The assembly of claim 40 wherein seals are disposed within a shoulder of the outer stationary member.
- 42. The assembly of claim 40 wherein said inner rotating member includes a common diameter in the area where the seals are disposed.
- 43. A swivel for cementing a string of tubulars in a borehole, the swivel comprising:
an outer stationary member with cement connections; and an inner rotating member with a bore therethrough; wherein said outer stationary member is formed from one piece.
- 44. The swivel of claim 43 wherein said swivel further comprises angled ports extending between said cement connections and said bore.
- 45. The swivel of claim 43 further including seals disposed between said outer stationary member and said inner rotating member.
- 46. The swivel of claim 45 wherein seals are disposed within a shoulder of the outer stationary member.
- 47. The swivel of claim 45 wherein said inner rotating member includes a common diameter in the area where the seals are disposed.
- 48. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a flow by-pass around said sphere valve member through said bore.
- 49. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said plug is cylindrical.
- 50. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said plug is spherical.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. Section 111(b) of provisional application Serial No. 60/310,293 filed Aug. 3, 2001, and entitled “Cementing Manifold”.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60310293 |
Aug 2001 |
US |