Not applicable.
This disclosure relates to connections between downhole tubulars, such as drill pipe tool joints or connections. More particularly, this disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses for strengthening the connections between wired drill pipe (WDP) joints.
In drilling by the rotary method, a drill bit is attached to the lower end of a drill stem composed of lengths of tubular drill pipe and other components that are joined together by connections with rotary shouldered threaded connections. In this disclosure, “drill stem” is intended to include other forms of downhole tubular strings such as drill strings and work strings. A rotary shouldered threaded connection may also be referred to as RSTC.
The drill stem may include threads that are engaged by right hand and/or left hand rotation. The threaded connections must sustain the weight of the drill stem, withstand the strain of repeated make-up and break-out, resist fatigue, resist additional make-up during drilling, provide a leak proof seal, and not loosen during normal operations.
The rotary drilling process subjects the drill stem to tremendous dynamic tensile stresses, dynamic bending stresses and dynamic rotational stresses that can result in premature drill stem failure due to fatigue. The accepted design of drill stem connections is to incorporate coarse tapered threads and metal to metal sealing shoulders. Proper design is a balance of strength between the internal and external thread connection. Some of the variables include outside diameter, inside diameters, thread pitch, thread form, sealing shoulder area, metal selection, grease friction factor and assembly torque. Those skilled in the art are aware of the interrelationships of these variables and the severity of the stresses placed on a drill stem.
The tool joints or pipe connections in the drill stem must have appropriate shoulder area, thread pitch, shear area and friction to transmit the required drilling torque. In use, all threads in the drill string must be assembled with a torque that exceeds the required drilling torque in order to handle tensile and bending loads without shoulder separation. Shoulder separation causes leaks and fretting wear. Relatively deeper wells require a greater amount of drilling torque to be applied to the drill string during drilling. In order to avoid uncontrolled downhole makeup of the drill string, the torque applied during makeup must be increased, thereby increasing the amount of stress on the RSTC connection. In response to this issue, double shouldered connections have been developed to better distribute stress generated from the makeup torque and apply it to the connection across a primary and a secondary shoulder of the RSTC. However, in the case of WDP, in order to transmit a signal along the length of the drill string, a groove is provided within the body of each tubular member of the drill string. This groove may extend through one of the shoulders of a double shouldered connection, forming a stress riser within the connection by reducing the surface area of the affected shoulder in the connection.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an apparatus and methods for strengthening the connections between segments of drill pipe, particularly WDP. Such apparatuses and methods would be particularly well received if they could provide stronger connections in an efficient and relatively cost effective manner.
An embodiment of an adapter for a wired drill pipe joint comprises an annular adapter body having a first end and a second end, an annular recess extending partially into the first end of the adapter body, a communication element disposed at least partially within the annular recess, wherein the second end of the adapter body is configured to releasably couple to an end portion of a first wired drill pipe joint, wherein the annular adapter body comprises an arcuate key that is configured to restrict relative rotation of the adapter body with respect to the first wired drill pipe joint, wherein the annular adapter body and the communication element form a shoulder configured for engagement with a corresponding shoulder of a second wired drill pipe joint to form a rotary shouldered threaded connection between the first wired drill pipe joint and the second wired drill pipe joint. In some embodiments, the first wired drill pipe joint further comprises a slot, and wherein the arcuate key of the adapter body is configured to be inserted at least partially into the slot. In some embodiments, the adapter body comprises an outer surface extending from the first end of the adapter body, a mating surface extending from the second end of the adapter body, and a shoulder extending radially between the mating surface and the outer surface. In certain embodiments, the arcuate key of the adapter body extends over a portion of the annular shoulder. In certain embodiments, the annular adapter body comprises a plurality of the arcuate keys and wherein the arcuate keys are circumferentially spaced across the annular shoulder. In some embodiments, the arcuate key of the adapter body is configured to be inserted into an arcuate slot of the first wired drill pipe joint. In some embodiments, the adapter further comprises an annular latch coupled to the adapter body and configured to contact the first wired drill pipe joint when the adapter body is coupled to the first wired drill pipe joint and to resist decoupling of the adapter body from the first wired drill pipe joint. In certain embodiments, the latch comprises a canted coil spring. In certain embodiments, the latch is biased to expand radially outward with respect to a central axis of the latch. In some embodiments, the latch is disposed radially between the annular adapter body and the first wired drill pipe joint when the adapter body is coupled to the first wired drill pipe joint.
An embodiment of a method for forming a wired drill pipe joint comprises releasably coupling an annular adapter body to an end portion of a first wired drill pipe joint, disposing a communication element within an annular recess of the adapter body, and inserting an arcuate key of the adapter body into an arcuate slot of the first wired drill pipe joint to prevent relative rotation between the adapter body and the first wired drill pipe joint, wherein coupling the adapter body to an end portion of the first wired drill pipe joint forms an annular shoulder on an end portion of the first wired drill pipe joint that is configured to engage a corresponding annular shoulder of a second wired drill pipe joint for forming a rotary shouldered threaded connection between the first wired drill pipe joint and the second wired drill pipe joint. In some embodiments, the method further comprises inserting a plurality of the arcuate keys of the adapter body into a plurality of the arcuate slots of the first wired drill pipe joint. In some embodiments, the method further comprises decoupling the adapter body from the end portion of the first wired drill pipe joint. In certain embodiments, the method further comprises forming a joint between the first wired drill pipe joint and a second wired drill pipe joint, and providing a compressive stress against a side of the adapter body. In certain embodiments, the method further comprises communicating a signal between the first wired drill pipe joint and the second wired drill pipe joint. In some embodiments, the method further comprises disposing a latch in a recess positioned between the adapter body and the first wired drill pipe joint. In some embodiments, the method further comprises biasing the latch radially outwards into a recess of the first wired drill pipe joint to secure the adapter body to the first wired drill pipe joint.
For a detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention that are disclosed herein, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:
The following discussion is directed to various exemplary embodiments. However, one skilled in the art will understand that the examples disclosed herein have broad application, and that the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and not intended to suggest that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment. The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features and components herein may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form and some details of conventional elements may not be shown in interest of clarity and conciseness.
In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . .” Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection, or through an indirect connection via other devices, components, and connections. Further, “couple” or “couples” may refer to coupling via welding or via other means, such as releasable connections using a connector, pin, key or latch. In addition, as used herein, the terms “axial” and “axially” generally mean along or parallel to a given axis (e.g., given axis of a body or a port), while the terms “radial” and “radially” generally mean perpendicular to the given axis. For instance, an axial distance refers to a distance measured along or parallel to the given axis, and a radial distance means a distance measured perpendicular to the given axis. Still further, as used herein, the phrase “communication coupler” refers to a device or structure that communicates a signal across the respective ends of two adjacent tubular members, such as the threaded box/pin ends of adjacent pipe joints; and the phrase “wired drill pipe” or “WDP” refers to one or more tubular members, including drill pipe, drill collars, casing, tubing, subs, and other conduits, that are configured for use in a drill string and include a wired link. As used herein, the phrase “wired link” refers to a pathway that is at least partially wired along or through a WDP joint for conducting signals, and “communication link” refers to a plurality of communicatively-connected tubular members, such as interconnected WDP joints for conducting signals over a distance.
Referring now to
In general, BHA 33 can include drill collars, drilling stabilizers, a mud motor, directional drilling equipment, a power generation turbine, as well as capabilities for measuring, processing, and storing information, and communicating with the surface (e.g., MWD/LWD tools, telemetry hardware, etc.). Examples of communication systems that may be included in BHA 33 are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,037, incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.
In this embodiment, drill bit 32 is rotated by rotation of drillstring 30 at the surface. In particular, drillstring 30 is rotated by a rotary table 22, which engages a kelly 23 coupled to upper end 30a. Kelly 23, and hence drillstring 30, is suspended from a hook 24 attached to a traveling block (not shown) with a rotary swivel 25 which permits rotation of drillstring 30 relative to hook 24. Although drill bit 32 is rotated from the surface with drillstring 30 in this embodiment, in general, the drill bit (e.g., drill bit 32) can be rotated via a rotary table and/or a top drive, rotated by downhole mud motor disposed in the BHA (e.g., BHA 33), or by combinations thereof (e.g., rotated by both rotary table via the drillstring and the mud motor, rotated by a top drive and the mud motor, etc.). Thus, it should be appreciated that the various aspects disclosed herein are adapted for employment in each of these drilling configurations and are not limited to conventional rotary drilling operations.
In this embodiment, a transmitter in BHA 33 transmits communication signals through WDP joints 34 and drillstring 30 to a data analysis and communication system at the surface. As will be described in more detail below, each tubular in drillstring 30 (e.g., WDP joints 34, etc.) includes a wired communication link that allows transmission of electronic communication signals along the tubular, and each connection 70 includes an inductive communication coupler that allows transmission of communication signals across the connection 70, thereby enabling transmission of communication signals (e.g., electronic telemetry signals) between BHA 33 or other components in drillstring 30 and the communication system at the surface. Further, an adapter 100 is disposed at each connection 70 where it is coupled to an end of each WDP joint 34.
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Secondary shoulder 102 may be formed on pin end portion 260 of WDP joint 34 by coupling adapter 200 to WDP joint 34. In this embodiment, adapter 200 is configured to physically engage mating shoulders 262, 266 and cylindrical surface 264 of WDP joint 34. Adapter 200 has a central axis coaxial with axis 31 and comprises a first end 200a, a second end 200b, an outer cylindrical surface 208, an inner cylindrical surface 209 and a mating cylindrical surface 204. In this embodiment, the radius of surface 204 is larger than the radius of inner surface 209 but smaller than the radius of surface 208. A lower annular shoulder 206 is disposed at end 200a and extends radially outward from inner surface 209 to surface 204. Surface 204 extends axially from first end 200a toward second end 200b. An upper annular shoulder 202 extends radially outward from surface 264 to outer surface 208. As shown, shoulders 206, 202 of adapter 200 are configured to physically engage corresponding shoulders 266, 262 of WDP joint 34. Also, cylindrical surface 204 of adapter 200 is configured to engage corresponding surface 264 of WDP joint 34.
Adapter 200 may comprise the same materials as discussed with respect to annular adapter 100 (e.g., high nickel content and/or high copper content alloy steel) to provide for greater strength compared to the materials comprising WPD joint 34. Adapter 200 comprises a material having a harder Rockwell hardness rating than the material comprising WDP joint 34. In an embodiment, adapter 200 and WDP joint 34 may be coupled at their respective mating surface using a tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding procedure using a filler rod comprising a material configured to allow the high nickel and/or high copper content of the adapter 200 to couple with the WDP joint 34, which may comprise carbon steel or other materials. In an embodiment, radial surface 204 of adapter 200 may be press fit against WDP joint 34 at radial surface 264 prior to welding adapter 200 to the WDP joint 34. In this embodiment, press fitting adapter 200 against WDP joint 34 may ensure proper alignment between the two members prior to welding.
Referring to
As shown in
In this embodiment, a pin end portion 360 of WDP joint 34 comprises outer surfaces 67a, 67b, 67c, inner surface 69, threaded portion 64 and a mating cylindrical surface 464. The radius of surface 364 is larger than the radius of inner surface 69 but smaller than the radius of outer surface 67c. An upper mating shoulder 362 is formed at a terminal end 361 of WDP joint 34 and radially extends inward from cylindrical surface 67c to surface 364. Cylindrical surface 364 extends axially into WDP joint 34 from terminal end 361. A lower mating shoulder 366 radially extends inward from cylindrical surfaces 364 to inner cylindrical surface 69.
Secondary annular shoulder 102 may be formed on pin end portion 360 of WDP joint 34 by coupling adapter 300 to WDP joint 34. In this embodiment, adapter 300 is configured to physically engage mating shoulders 362, 366 and cylindrical surface 364 of WDP joint 34. Adapter 300 has a central axis that is coaxial with axis 31 and comprises a first end 300a, a second end 300b, an outer cylindrical surface 308, an inner cylindrical surface 309 and a mating cylindrical surface 304 (
Referring to
Keys 310 are configured to be inserted into one or more corresponding arcuate slots 312 that are disposed on upper mating surface 362 of pin end portion 360. Each arcuate shaped slot 312 is defined by outer surface 67c, cylindrical surface 364 and edges 314a, 314b, that radially extend between cylindrical surfaces 67c, 364. Each slot 312 extends axially into WDP joint 34 from upper mating shoulder 362, defining an inner vertical surface 314. Arcuate slots 312 each extend over a portion of the circumference of mating shoulder 362, and thus a plurality of slots 312 may be disposed at different circumferential positions along the circumference of shoulder 362. As each arcuate key 310 is inserted into a corresponding arcuate slot 312, edges 311a, 311b, of each key 310 slidably engages edges 314a, 314b, of each arcuate slot 312. In this embodiment, keys 310 are configured to prevent the relative rotation of adapter 300 with respect to WDP joint 34 as pin end portion 60 of WDP joint 34 is threadedly coupled with a box end portion of an adjacent WDP joint. Thus, by restricting the relative rotation of adapter 300 with respect to WDP joint 34, the electrical connection between cable 83 and coupler element 82 may be protected from severing due to relative rotation by adapter 300. In this embodiment, adapter 300 is secured to WDP joint 34 with keys 310 and connector 85, and thus is not required to be permanently coupled (e.g., welded) to WDP joint 34 in order to form pin end portion 60.
In an embodiment, axial movement of annular adapter 300 is prevented by the physical engagement between connector 85 and the protrusions 87 of pin 86. Further, adapter 300 is restricted from relative rotational movement with respect to WDP joint 34 by one or more anti-rotation keys 310 disposed within one or more slots 312 of WDP joint 34. However, with enough axial force applied to either coupler element 82 or adapter 300, pin 86 may be displaced from connector 85 without damaging or altering any of the components (adapter 300, connector 85, WDP joint 34, etc.). Thus, adapter 300 and coupler element 82 may be releasably coupled to WDP joint 34 via connector 85.
Referring to
Secondary annular shoulder 102 may be formed on pin end portion 260 of WDP joint 34 by coupling adapter 400 to WDP joint 34. In this embodiment, adapter 400 is configured to physically engage mating shoulders 462, 466 and cylindrical surface 464 of WDP joint 34. Adapter 400 has a central axis coaxial with axis 31 and comprises a first end 400a, a second end 400b, an outer cylindrical surface 408, an inner cylindrical surface 409 and a mating cylindrical surface 404. In this embodiment, the radius of surface 404 is larger than the radius of inner surface 409 but smaller than the radius of surface 408. A lower annular shoulder 406 is disposed at end 400a and extends radially outward from inner surface 409 to surface 404. Surface 404 extends axially from first end 400a toward second end 400b. An upper annular shoulder 402 extends radially outward from surface 404 to outer surface 408. In this embodiment, shoulder 406 of adapter 400 is configured to physically engage corresponding shoulder 466 of WDP joint 34. A slight gap exists between surfaces 464, 404, and 462, 402, respectively. Alternatively, in another embodiment shoulders 402 and 462 physically engage while a slight gap exists between surfaces 406, 466, and 404, 464, respectively. In another embodiment, shoulders 404 and 464 physically engage while a slight gap exists between shoulders 402, 462 and 406, 466, respectively. Adapter 400 may comprise the same materials as discussed with respect to annular adapters 100, 200, 300 (e.g., high nickel content and/or high copper content alloy steel) to provide for greater strength compared to the materials comprising WPD joint 34. In this embodiment, adapter 400 comprises a material having a harder Rockwell hardness rating than the material comprising WDP joint 34.
In this embodiment, pin end portion 460 and adapter 400 further comprise an annular latch 470 that is configured to releasably secure annular adapter 400 to WDP joint 34. Latch 470 has a central axis coaxial with axis 31 and is disposed within an annular cavity 472 that is defined by an upper recess 473 that extends radially into cylindrical surface 464 and a lower recess 474 that extends radially into cylindrical surface 404. Latch 470 is an annular member that extends entirely about axis 31. In an embodiment, latch 470 comprises rubber or other elastomeric, pliable or deformable material. In another embodiment, latch 470 comprises a spring. In this embodiment, latch 470 comprises a canted coiled spring connector, such as the Bal Latch connectors provided by Bal Seal Engineering, Inc., of 19650 Pauling, Foothill Ranch, Calif. 92610.
Latch 470 is biased to expand radially outward away from axis 31 and toward upper recess 473 of WDP joint 34. Because latch 470 is disposed within both upper recess 473 and lower recess 474, an axial force applied to annular adapter 400 in the direction away from WDP joint 34 will be resisted by physical engagement between latch 470 and recesses 473 and 474. However, a large enough axial force on adapter 400 may deform latch 470 such that latch 470 is displaced into either upper recess 473 or lower recess 474, which allows adapter 400 to be removed or disengaged from WDP joint 34 via an axial force applied to adapter 400. In this embodiment, latch 470 is useful for retaining adapter 400 on WDP joint 34 during transportation to a drilling system (e.g., drilling system 10) or storage thereat prior to being introduced into a borehole (e.g., borehole 11). Once pin end portion 460 of WDP joint 34 comprising latch 470 has been threadedly coupled to a corresponding box end portion of another WDP joint, the compressive stress placed on shoulder 102 due to the applied makeup torque will retain adapter 400 into place. Further, in this embodiment, anti-rotation keys, such as anti-rotation keys 310 discussed with reference to
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Annular secondary shoulder 502 defines an annular face 504 having a surface area. During makeup procedures, as box end portion 560 and pin end portion 550 of two adjacent WDP joints 34 are made up to form joint 570, a compressive force is applied to the face 504 of adapter 500 by a corresponding shoulder (e.g., shoulder 562 shown in
Referring still to
The embodiments described herein may be used to strengthen a RSTC connection with respect to the stresses placed on the RSTC connection during makeup. Such embodiments offer the potential for improved durability of the RSTC connections with respect to conventional wired drilling pipes that are employed without strengthened adapters. Further, the embodiments described herein offer the potential of increasing the amount of makeup torque that can be applied during the coupling of WDP joints or tubulars. For example, a WDP comprising an adapter formed from relatively higher strength material may withstand higher compressive loads resulting from makeup, than a WDP featuring an adapter formed from standard drill pipe material. Moreover, because only the adapter (e.g., adapter 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500) comprises the relatively stronger materials (e.g., high nickel and/or copper steel alloys), the benefits of ductility and fatigue resistance offered by traditional drilling pipe materials (e.g., carbon steel) may still be relied upon as a substantial amount of material comprising the WDP would remain as traditional drilling pipe materials.
While embodiments have been shown and described, modifications thereof can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or teachings herein. The embodiments described herein are exemplary only and are not limiting. Many variations and modifications of the systems, apparatus, and processes described herein are possible and are within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of protection is not limited to the embodiments described herein, but is only limited by the claims that follow, the scope of which shall include all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the steps in a method claim may be performed in any order. The recitation of identifiers such as (a), (b), (c) or (1), (2), (3) before steps in a method claim are not intended to and do not specify a particular order to the steps, but rather are used to simplify subsequent reference to such steps.
This application is a continuation of U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No. 15/160,931 filed May 20, 2016, and entitled “Pipe Joint Having Coupled Adapter,” which is a continuation of U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No. 13/690,885 filed Nov. 30, 2012, and entitled “Pipe Joint Having Coupled Adapter,” now U.S. Pat. No. 9,366,094 issued on Jun. 14, 2016, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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9366094 | Partouche | Jun 2016 | B2 |
10240401 | Partouche | Mar 2019 | B2 |
20070056723 | Hall | Mar 2007 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20190186209 A1 | Jun 2019 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15160931 | May 2016 | US |
Child | 16283285 | US | |
Parent | 13690885 | Nov 2012 | US |
Child | 15160931 | US |