The present invention is directed to a fluid end comprising a housing having a longitudinal axis and opposed front and rear surfaces joined by an outer intermediate surface, and a bore formed within the housing and interconnecting the front and rear surfaces. The bore extends along the longitudinal axis of the housing. The housing further comprises a retainer attached to the rear surface of the housing by a plurality of fasteners, a reciprocating plunger disposed within the bore and the retainer, and one and only one packing seal installed within the housing and engaged an outer surface of the plunger.
The present invention is also directed to an apparatus comprising a packing seal assembly. The packing seal assembly is configured to be installed within a housing having a horizontal bore formed therein. The packing seal assembly comprises one and only one packing seal configured to surround and engage an outer surface of a reciprocating plunger. The one and only one packing seal has opposed front and rear surfaces joined by inner and outer surfaces and comprising an energizing component. The energizing component is installed within the seal and is configured to expand the inner and outer intermediate surfaces during operation. The packing seal assembly further comprises a wear ring surrounding the one and only one packing seal, and an annular component installed within the housing and comprising a projecting portion, the projecting portion engaging the energizing component.
High pressure reciprocating pumps typically comprise a power end assembly attached to a fluid end assembly. Fluid end assemblies are typically used in oil and gas operations to deliver highly pressurized corrosive and/or abrasive fluids to piping leading to the wellbore. Fluid end assemblies are attached to power ends typically run by engines. The power end comprises a crankshaft configured to reciprocate a plurality of plungers within the fluid end assembly to pump fluid throughout the fluid end.
Fluid may be pumped throughout the fluid end assembly at pressures that range from 5,000-15,000 pounds per square inch (psi). However, the pressure may reach up to 22,500 psi. Power ends typically have a power output of at least 2,250 horsepower during hydraulic fracturing operations. A single fluid end typically delivers a fluid volume of about 185-690 gallons per minute or 4-16 barrels per minute during a fracking operation. When a plurality of fluid ends are used together, the fluid ends collectively deliver about 4,200 gallons per minute or 100 barrels per minute to the wellbore. The present invention improves the performance and life of the various components included in the fluid end assembly.
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In traditional fluid ends, fluid is prevented from leaking from the rear surface of the housing by a plunger packing installed within the housing and surrounding the plunger. The plunger packing comprises a plurality of packing seals stacked on top of one another. A tight seal is created by compressing the plurality of stacked seals together longitudinally. During operation, the packing seals require continuous maintenance to make sure they are adequately compressed and sealing against the plunger. Over time, the components of the plunger packing wear against the walls of the housing, causing erosion and eventual failure of the housing.
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Similarly, a groove 180 is formed in the rear surface 144 of the metal ring 110 for housing a seal 182, as shown in
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The packing seal assembly 60 disclosed herein may be used with other embodiments of fluid end sections not specifically disclosed herein. For example, the packing seal assembly 60 may be used with the fluid end sections disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/884,712, previously incorporated herein by reference, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/550,552, authored by Thomas et al., the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, the packing seal assembly 60 may be used with traditional block fluid ends known in the art, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,941,765, issued to Nowell et al., the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In further embodiments, the packing seal assembly 60 may be used with other embodiments of retaining systems, such as those disclosed in U.S. patent Ser. No. 17/685,936, authored by Foster et al., the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The various features and alternative details of construction of the apparatuses described herein for the practice of the present technology will readily occur to the skilled artisan in view of the foregoing discussion, and it is to be understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of various embodiments of the present technology have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of various embodiments of the technology, this detailed description is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of structure and arrangements of parts within the principles of the present technology to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
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