Patent Application
20250043634
The present invention relates to providing hydraulic power to components of a snubbing unit, and more particularly to providing hydraulic power below a rotary table within a snubbing unit through a swivel and rotary.
Within the operation of a snubbing unit, it is often necessary to insert additional pipe into a well bore or remove pipe during the drilling process. When adding or removing pipe from the pipe string, it is necessary to temporarily grip the pipe or pipe string so it does not slide into or push out of the well bore during the process. For purposes of this application, unless otherwise indicated the terms “pipe” and “pipe string” refer to drill pipe, drill strings, production pipe, production strings, jointed pipe and collars, jointed and continuous tubing, casing and other types of oilfield tubular members and strings formed of such tubular members. The devices for providing this gripping functionality are called slip bowls. Slip bowls may be located both above and below the rotary table and are powered using hydraulic hoses. However, when connecting hydraulic hoses to lower slip bowls located below the rotary table, there is the need for an individual to manually connect and disconnect the hydraulic hose by placing themselves under the rotary table. Hydraulic hoses must be disconnected when the rotary table is going to be actuated and then reconnected when rotation is stopped and power is again needed to the lower slip bowl. This is obviously a high-risk situation and if the rotary table is lowered accidentally or due to mechanical failure while an individual is connecting or removing the hydraulic hose, death or serious injury can result. If the operator forgets to disconnect the hydraulic connection prior to rotation, the equipment may be damaged and nearby personnel may be injured. Thus, there is a need for a system and method for providing hydraulic power to a lower slip bowl or other device below the rotary table without requiring the connection and disconnection of hydraulic hoses to the lower slip bowl or other hydraulically powered devices.
The present invention, as disclosed and described herein, in one aspect thereof comprises an apparatus for providing hydraulic power below a rotary table of a snubbing unit having a swivel assembly including at least one hydraulic port therein. The swivel assembly defines a first hydraulic channel connected to the at least one hydraulic port. A rotary mounted within a rotary table has a second hydraulic port therein below the rotary table. The rotary defines a second hydraulic channel therein connected to the second hydraulic port. The rotary is connected to the swivel assembly such that the first hydraulic channel aligns with the second hydraulic channel to provide for hydraulic fluid flow therebetween. Hydraulic fluid is provided from the at least one hydraulic port through the first hydraulic channel of the swivel assembly and the second hydraulic channel of the rotary to the second hydraulic port below the rotary table.
For a more complete understanding, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings in which:
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers are used herein to designate like elements throughout, the various views and embodiments of a system and method for providing power below a swivel and rotary table are illustrated and described, and other possible embodiments are described. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in some instances the drawings have been exaggerated and/or simplified in places for illustrative purposes only. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate the many possible applications and variations based on the following examples of possible embodiments.
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to
During operations, hydraulic fluid power must be provided to the upper slip bowl 106 and lower slip bowl 108 in order to have the slip bowls engage and disengage pipes which are inserted within the slip bowls. As discussed, previous methods for providing power to the lower slip bowl 108 involve having a temporary hydraulic hose connected below the rotary table 104 to the lower slip bowl 108, but this requires the removal of the hydraulic hose prior to rotation of the pipe string by the rotary 110 of the rotary table 104. Reconnection of the temporary hydraulic hose below the rotary table 104 is needed to further engage the lower slip bowl 108 in subsequent pipe gripping operations. The removal and connection of the temporary hydraulic lines below the rotary table 104 requires one of the rig workers to physically crawl under the rotary table and engage or disengage the temporary hydraulic connection at the lower slip bowl 108. This raises obvious safety issues if the rotary table 104 should unexpectedly move and could crush a rig worker located under the rotary table.
The system and method described herein enables the provision of hydraulic fluid for hydraulic power to input ports 205 located on the upper flange 114 of the swivel 102. Hydraulic fluids provided at the input port 205 are routed up to an output port 112 located at the top of the swivel 102 but output port 112 would have a plug therein when the lower port was being used. The hydraulic fluid would then be routed down through the swivel 102 and the rotary 110 to the lower slip bowl 108 without requiring the connection of hydraulic hoses below the rotary table to the lower slip bowl 108.
Referring now to
In order to provide hydraulic power from the swivel 102 through the rotary 110 to locations below the rotary table 104, the swivel 102 and swivel housing 206 can be configured in the manner more particularly illustrated in
The cross-sectional view of
Once the hydraulic fluid input at the input port 205 on the side of the housing 206 reaches the output port 410 in the lower flange 208, the hydraulic fluid can be provided through the rotary 110 (
With the hydraulic port 520 located at the bottom of the rotary 110, hydraulic power may be provided by a permanent connection at the port 205 and delivered through the swivel 102 and the rotary 110 to power the lower slip bowl 108 or any other hydraulically powered device affixed to the lower portion of the rotary (e.g., to the bottom flange 518) below the rotary table 104. Since the rotary 110 and the lower slip bowl 108 (or other hydraulically powered device affixed to the rotary below the rotary table 104) rotate together, a permanent hydraulic connection can be provided between the hydraulic port 520 and the lower slip bowl or other device. In this manner, the making and breaking of temporary hydraulic connections needed to power equipment attached to the lower rotary 110 is eliminated, and the potentially dangerous activity of making and breaking temporary hydraulic connections below the rotary table 104 is no longer needed. In other words, the system and method described herein does not require connection and disconnection of hydraulic lines thus limiting the previous safety concerns to rig workers when connecting and removing these hydraulic hoses.
Referring now to
Although the routing of hydraulic fluid from a single port 205 in the housing of the swivel 102 to a single port 520 on the rotary 110 has been describe in detail, some embodiments may include multiple ports 205′, 205″, 205′″, etc. on the swivel 102, with each such swivel port being connected to a respective port 520′, 520″, 520′″, etc. on the rotary 110 in a manner similar to that described in detail. It will also be appreciated that in some cases the direction of hydraulic fluid flow between some ports 205 and their respective ports 520 may be reversed from that described, e.g., for a hydraulic fluid return line from the hydraulically powered device connected to the rotary 110.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that this system and method for providing power below a swivel and rotary table provides an improved manner for providing hydraulic power through a swivel and rotary without requiring external hoses. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description herein are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive manner, and are not intended to be limiting to the particular forms and examples disclosed. On the contrary, included are any further modifications, changes, rearrangements, substitutions, alternatives, design choices, and embodiments apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope hereof, as defined by the following claims. Thus, it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such further modifications, changes, rearrangements, substitutions, alternatives, design choices, and embodiments.
