This application is not the subject of any federally sponsored research or development.
There has been no joint research agreements entered into with any third-parties.
1. Field of the Invention
The embodiments of the present invention relate generally to coiled tubing units utilizing a direct drive tubing reel assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Oftentimes in the development and production of an oil or gas well, elongated tubing is inserted into the well from the surface for such purposes as the injection of certain types of fluids for stimulation of the production, displacing fluids in the well, for performing cleaning operations on the production tubing, as well as various other purposes. A continuous length of tubing is inserted into the well from a large reel at the surface. In the oil and gas industries, this process is known as coiled tubing.
A coiled tubing reel assembly includes a reel (otherwise known in the industry as a spool or wheel) on which the tubing is spooled, a stand for supporting the reel on which the tubing is stored, a drive system for rotating the reel and creating back-tension during operation of the reel, and a swivel assembly (typically hydraulic) to connect the coiled tubing to a fluid source/hydraulic pumps. The drive system is typically a chain driven system or a direct drive system, each having their own advantages/disadvantages which are commonly known in the industry.
Conventional designs of tubing reel assemblies, such as chain driven tubing reel assemblies and direct drive tubing reel assemblies, have significant issues in reel replacement in the situation where a different size coiled tubing must be used. Specifically, for changing a small-sized coiled tubing to large-sized coiled tubing and vice versa, the bore size of the hydraulic swivel would be an issue because of the sudden area change (expansion or contraction) at the swivel and coiled tubing. To solve these sudden expansion or contraction issues, using a proper size hydraulic swivel that has similar bore size with coiled tubing is preferred. However changing the hydraulic swivel to one with a proper bore size on a conventional tubing reel assembly is often difficult or impossible. Additionally, the tubing reel assembly may have a plumbing issue because the connection is typically located at the inside of the reel.
For the reasons included above, it is therefore an object of embodiments of the present invention to provide a tubing reel assembly that permits easier reel and hydraulic swivel replacement as well as easier maintenance for the entire assembly.
The embodiments of the present invention include a tubing reel assembly including a drive assembly, a swivel assembly, a reel, and a stand. The drive assembly includes a drive assembly adapter that connects the reel and the drive assembly, a drive assembly mount that connects the drive assembly and the stand, and a rotational power source. The swivel assembly includes a swivel assembly adapter that connects the reel and the swivel assembly, a swivel assembly mount that connects the swivel assembly and the stand, a bearing, and a hydraulic swivel. The reel includes recessed hubs that allow the overall width of the tubing reel assembly to be reduced, and the recessed hubs are used for connecting the drive assembly to the reel and the swivel assembly to the reel.
Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a tubing reel assembly for coiled tubing systems including a drive assembly that includes a direct drive system, a drive assembly adapter, and a drive assembly mount. The tubing reel assembly also includes a swivel assembly including a swivel assembly adapter, a hydraulic swivel, a turntable bearing, and a swivel assembly mount. Additionally, the tubing reel assembly includes a reel having two recessed hubs and a hub plate with a standard shipping hub design, and a stand including a guide mechanism. The swivel assembly adapter connects the swivel assembly to the reel and includes alignment pins, bolt holes with bolts to connect the swivel assembly and the reel, a standard shipping reel hub interface, a pocket to allow for high pressure plumbing to be located outside of the reel, and a bearing mount for the turntable bearing. The swivel assembly mount includes at least two pin holes with alignment pins to connect the swivel assembly to the stand and a cutout disposed at the bottom of the swivel assembly mount for guiding the swivel assembly when assembling the swivel assembly to the stand. The drive assembly adapter includes at least two mount holes and mounts that are used to connect the drive assembly and the reel, and at least two alignment pins. The drive assembly mount includes at least two pin holes with alignment pins to connect the drive assembly to the stand and a cutout disposed at the bottom of the drive assembly mount for guiding the drive assembly when assembling the drive assembly to the stand.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a tubing reel assembly for coiled tubing systems including a drive assembly that includes a direct drive system, a drive assembly adapter, and a drive assembly mount. The direct drive system includes a rotational power source, hydraulic quick disconnect (QD) couplings, a planetary gearbox and motor, and a gearbox mount. The tubing reel assembly also includes a swivel assembly that includes a swivel assembly adapter, a hydraulic swivel, a turntable bearing, and a swivel assembly mount. Additionally, the tubing reel assembly includes a reel having two recessed hubs and a hub plate with a standard shipping hub design, and a stand that includes a guide mechanism, a platform, and side mounts, where the side mounts are mounted to the platform and the drive assembly and swivel assembly are supported by the side mounts. The guide mechanism includes telescopic movement of the swivel assembly and the drive assembly. The swivel assembly adapter connects the swivel assembly to the reel, and the swivel assembly adapter further includes at least two alignment pins, bolt holes with bolts to connect the swivel assembly and the reel, a standard shipping reel hub interface, a pocket to allow for high pressure plumbing to be located outside of the reel, and an adapter for the turntable bearing. The swivel assembly mount includes at least two pin holes with alignment pins to connect the swivel assembly to the stand and a cutout located at the bottom of the swivel assembly mount for guiding the swivel assembly when assembling the swivel assembly to the stand. The turntable bearing facilitates the mechanical rotation of at least one ring and its adjoining structure relative to one another. The drive assembly adapter connects the drive assembly to the reel, and the drive assembly adapter further includes at least two bolt holes and bolts to connect the drive assembly and the reel, a standard shipping reel hub interface, and at least two alignment pins. The drive assembly mount includes at least two pin holes with alignment pins to connect the drive assembly to the stand and a cutout located at the bottom of the drive assembly mount for guiding the drive assembly when assembling the drive assembly to the stand.
Preferred features of embodiments of the present invention are disclosed in the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, and wherein:
The embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the illustrated embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these illustrated embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the figures. Additionally, in the following description, it is understood that terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “left,” “right,” and the like, are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms.
As depicted in
Compared to conventional tubing reel assemblies known in the art, the embodiments of the present invention permit easier reel and hydraulic swivel replacement. Additionally, embodiments of the present invention permit easier maintenance of the swivel by using the adapter design described herein. For rapid reel change, the adapter 14 has alignment pins 24 and bolt holes 26. Additionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the adapter 14 has a pocket 28 to allow for high pressure plumbing 30 to be located at the outside of the reel 6, which increases the convenience and safety of the assembly compared to other reel assemblies that have the high pressure plumbing located on the inside of the reel.
As depicted in
The individual components of the embodiments of the present invention will now be discussed in further detail.
Swivel Assembly 4. The swivel assembly 4 is depicted in
The swivel assembly 4 further includes a bearing 16, which may be in the form of a turntable bearing 16, and a hydraulic swivel 18. In general, a bearing serves as a connection between two adjacent structures, allowing rotation and transmission of a load between them. In addition to satisfying this requirement, in the embodiments of the present invention, the turntable bearing 16 typically includes features for simple and quick attachment to the structures adjacent to the bearing 16. The turntable bearing 16 facilitates the mechanical rotation of at least one ring 50 and its adjoining structure relative to one another. Instead of having a wide overall width, the turntable bearing 16 typically has a large overall outside diameter. A cutaway section of the turntable bearing 16 is shown in
As depicted in
Drive Assembly 2. The drive assembly 2 is depicted in
As depicted in
As stated above, the drive assembly 2 of an embodiment of the present invention includes a rotational power source 72, which may be, for example, a motor and gearbox. The rotational power source 72 can be seen in
Adapter 10, 14. In an embodiment of the present invention, the swivel assembly adapter 14 has a mount 32 for a turntable bearing 16, which gives the swivel assembly 4 a compact overall width and provides a space for using different bore size hydraulic swivels 18. In the embodiments of the present invention, the turntable bearing 16 typically includes features for simple and quick attachment to the structures adjacent to the bearing 16. The turntable bearing 16 facilitates the mechanical rotation of at least one ring 50 and its adjoining structure relative to one another.
For easy maintenance, the swivel assembly adapter 14 gives the hydraulic swivel 18 independence from the reel 6, which enables users to perform maintenance without removing the reel 6 from the stand 8. Also, in an embodiment of the present invention, the adapter 10, 14 designs have a standard shipping reel hub interface, which allows for the reel 6 to be spooled without a special drive system.
Reel 6. As depicted in
Additionally, as depicted in
Stand 8. The stand is shown in
In an embodiment of the invention, as depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
The embodiments of the present invention can be used in any type of reel system.
The reel change procedure for an embodiment of the present invention will now be described.
The first step in the reel change procedure is removing the mount pins 54 and disconnecting the couplings 66, which are preferably quick-disconnect (QD) couplings, from the drive side 3 of the assembly 1. The second step in the reel change procedure is removing the mount pins 24 and disconnecting the high-pressure (HP) plumbing 30 from the swivel side 5 of the assembly 1. The third step in the reel change procedure is lifting the tubing reel 6. The fourth step in the reel change procedure is placing the tubing reel 6 on the ground. The fifth step in the reel change procedure is removing the bolts and nuts from the drive side 3 of the assembly 1. The sixth step in the reel change procedure is removing the gear box 68 from the tubing reel 6. The seventh step in the reel change procedure is disconnecting the HP plumbing 30 (including disconnecting the hammer union 92). The eighth step in the reel change procedure is removing the swivel assembly 4 from the tubing reel 6.
This application claims priority to provisional application No. 61/471,403, which was filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Apr. 4, 2011.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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