US20120168167A1 - Blowout resistant frictionless hydraulic connector - Google Patents
Blowout resistant frictionless hydraulic connector Download PDFInfo
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- US20120168167A1 US20120168167A1 US12/930,298 US93029811A US2012168167A1 US 20120168167 A1 US20120168167 A1 US 20120168167A1 US 93029811 A US93029811 A US 93029811A US 2012168167 A1 US2012168167 A1 US 2012168167A1
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- 239000012858 resilient material Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 26
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 20
- 239000002131 composite material Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 15
- 238000007789 sealing Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 14
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims abstract 4
- 238000003780 insertion Methods 0.000 claims description 10
- 230000037431 insertion Effects 0.000 claims description 10
- 238000005553 drilling Methods 0.000 description 6
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 description 4
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- 230000009182 swimming Effects 0.000 description 3
- 229920013646 Hycar Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000013461 design Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000011161 development Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000013011 mating Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000003208 petroleum Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000002035 prolonged effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001012 protector Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000011160 research Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000523 sample Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000012360 testing method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000003643 water by type Substances 0.000 description 1
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Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B33/00—Sealing or packing boreholes or wells
- E21B33/02—Surface sealing or packing
- E21B33/03—Well heads; Setting-up thereof
- E21B33/035—Well heads; Setting-up thereof specially adapted for underwater installations
- E21B33/0387—Hydraulic stab connectors
Definitions
- This invention relates to the general subject of monitoring the current in the ocean from a floating vessel
- a further complication to this is that if a significant amount of remote capability is to be gained, more than one stab sub needs to be engaged at an interface to allow multiple control functions. In some cases as many as twenty four functions are being considered at a time, each of which require hydraulic control through a stab sub. The potential forces to be required to handle multiple insertions such as these are clearly in excess of the horizontal forces available from free swimming vehicles or divers.
- a further complication to the remote stabbing tools is that for many of the subsea systems, a 20 year life expectancy is desired for the tooling. This means that the surface finish of the subsea receptacles can be questionable after prolonged exposure. Even when protectors have been in place for 20 years, the protected surfaces would be suspect.
- a further complication is that if the stab subs are removed from the receptacles without the pressure being removed, the seals are prone to be damaged and/or literally blown out of the seal groove where they are supposed to be. In addition to potential damage and the potential lack of safety from operations with failed seals, trips back to the surface to replace these seals are time consuming and therefore expensive. Some of the offshore operations cost as much as one million dollars per day.
- U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,3144 to the present inventor, issued Sep. 5, 1989, discloses a hydraulic stab sub with multiple seal especially for use in remote and harsh environments with the ability to move the seals radially inward to a retracted position in which the hydraulic stab sub can be easily inserted into a mating receptacle and alternately to move the seals radially outward to perform useful functions such as sealing or locking into the receptacle.
- U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,314 is incorporated herein by reference.
- the hydraulic stab sub of '314 provides an exemplary solution for the problem of insertion of multiple seals utilizing only a very limited sub insertion force required, which can be applied by free swimming ROVs and divers.
- pressure in the lines that is applied to the moveable seals can subject the seals to potentially damaging or pinching movement under certain conditions.
- the object of this invention is to provide a subsea hydraulic stab connector which can be inserted with pressure energized seals without requiring insertion force to compress the seals.
- a second object of this invention is to provide a subsea hydraulic stab connector which the seals can be released from a sealing bore without first removing the pressure within the stab connector and without causing damage to the seals or causing the seals to move out of the seal grooves.
- a third object of this invention is to provide a connector which can be locked in place after the seals are set.
- FIG. 1 is a view of a semi-submersible drilling facility showing the vessel, the drilling riser, and the current measuring device.
- FIG. 2 is an elevational view, in section, showing insertion of a prior art hydraulic stab sub into a receptacle.
- FIG. 3 is an elevational view, in section, showing removal of a prior art hydraulic stab sub under pressure from a receptacle.
- FIG. 4A is an enlarged elevational view, in section, of a composite sealing ring in accord with one possible embodiment of the present invention in the non-activated state.
- FIG. 4B is a side view of the composite sealing ring of FIG. 4A .
- FIG. 5 is a graphic showing a composite seal in accord with the present invention in the non-energized or non-activated state.
- FIG. 6 is a graphic similar to FIG. 5 , with the composite seal activated or energized.
- FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a hydraulic stab sub showing the seals in a non-activated state for frictionless removal or insertion from the bore of the receptacle in accord with a possible embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 8 is an elevational view of a hydraulic stab sub showing the seals activated and having sealing engagement with the bore of the receptacle and the locking ring engaged.
- FIG. 9 is an elevational view of a hydraulic stab sub showing the seals in a non-activated state and the hydraulic stab sub partially removed from the bore of the receptacle illustrating that the seals will not be damaged or blown out of their intended position as was illustrated in FIG. 3 .
- a vessel 10 is shown floating upon the surface 11 of the body of water 12 .
- a riser assembly 13 extends downwardly from the vessel 10 towards the bottom 14 of the body of water 12 .
- the lower elements of the riser assembly 13 consist, in this example, of a subsea wellhead assembly 20 typically positioned on or near the bottom 14 of the body of water 12 .
- Extending downward into the earth formation for drilling and completion operation is housing assembly 21 which suspends one or more strings of casing and is landed on landing base 22 .
- subsea wellhead assembly is meant to include any assemblage of components either fixedly or removably secured to the top of the housing assembly 21 , either during the drilling, completion, production, reworking or maintenance of a well.
- the subsea wellhead assembly may comprise certain components such as blowout preventers, valves connectors, and the like.
- the subsea wellhead assembly 20 comprises various components such as a hydraulically operated connector 23 and hydraulically actuated valves 24 and 25 which are actuated by valve actuators 26 and 27 respectively.
- the operator 28 for the connector 23 is typically made integrally with the connector.
- Receptacles 30 , 31 and 32 are provided for receiving hydraulic flow and pressure to operate connector 23 and valves 24 and 25 respectively.
- Receptacles 31 and 32 are connected to valves 24 and 25 through shuttle valves 33 and 34 .
- Shuttle valves 33 and 34 are further connected to a control means 35 through hoses 36 and 37 .
- Control means 35 is connected by control hoses 38 to the surface. Normal control of these functions is through the control means 35 from the surface; when required secondary or emergency control can be achieved by pressuring through the receptacles.
- the shuttle valves 33 and 34 prevent the signal from one shuttle valve port to communicate with the opposite shuttle valve port, as is well known in the industry.
- Receptacle 30 is connected to the hydraulically operated connector 23 by hose 39 and is not operated redundantly from the surface. In this example, the only means of operating this connector is through the receptacle.
- ROV 40 is shown with a manipulator arm 41 , a hydraulic stab sub 42 , hose 43 which receives hydraulic and/or electric power from the surface to operate the ROV and hose 44 which receives hydraulic power from the surface for the hydraulic stab sub 42 .
- reel 45 On the vessel 10 at the surface the hose 43 connects to reel 45 and the hose 44 connects to the reel 46 . Both reel 45 and reel 46 is shown connected to the hydraulic accumulator skid 47 .
- conventional O-ring type seal 50 is shown within groove 52 of stab 54 , sealingly engaging the bottom 56 of groove 52 and the seal bore 58 of receptacle 60 . It can be seen that the original round shape of the O-Ring type seal is deformed to an oval shape as it is squeezed so it will seal against the surfaces. Seal 62 in groove 64 is approaching chamfer 66 , and as it moves along chamfer 66 it is compressed to a shape similar to seal 50 . In practice a remotely operated subsea vehicle can provide the force to compress one or two of these seals, but when controls involving 10-30 functions are required this is simply not workable.
- stab 54 is being removed to the right on the figure from receptacle 60 without the pressure being vented.
- seal 62 moves along the chamfer 66 , it is literally pushed out of groove 64 by pressure and is damaged or lost. This can be a very expensive mistake in 10,000 feet of ocean depths.
- FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B show a composite seal ring, which may comprise seal 70 , in a non-activated state.
- Seal 70 comprises resilient material 72 such as Buna N Hycar of 70 to 90 durometer hardness bonded between two metal rings 74 and 76 .
- the outer diameter 78 of resilient material 72 is preferably approximately the same as the outer diameter of metal rings 74 and 76 .
- the outer diameter 78 could be slightly recessed, be the same as, or could be slightly greater than the outer diameter of metal rings 74 and 76 .
- the outer diameter 78 of resilient material 72 is no more than five thousandth of an inch greater than the outer diameters of metal rings 74 and 76 .
- excessive resilient material molded or bonded between the metal rings which is greater than the diameters of metal rings 74 and 76 may be removed by a desired amount.
- any excessive resilient material may be removed by a lathe to be substantially equal to the outer diameter of metal rings 74 and 76 .
- any difference between outer diameter 78 of resilient material 72 and the outer diameter of rings 74 and 76 is referred to as an outer diameter offset. If outer diameter 78 is the same as then outer diameter of rings 74 and 76 , then the outer diameter offset is zero. If the outer diameter 78 is less than the outer diameter of rings 74 and 76 , the outer diameter offset is negative. Thus, the outer diameter offset between outer diameter 78 and the outer diameters of rings 74 and 76 can be positive, negative, or zero.
- the inner diameter 80 of resilient material 72 is smaller than the inner diameters 82 and 84 of metal rings 74 and 76 by an amount that may be referred to as an inner offset, such as inner diameter offset 86 .
- inner diameter 80 may be about 30 or 40 thousandth of an inch less than the inner diameters 82 and 84 of metal rings 74 and 76 . This amount can be selected to produce a desired amount of expansion capability with the understanding that too much or too little expansion capability may not be desirable.
- the outer diameter offset as defined above is less than, and preferably considerably less than the inner diameter offset.
- the inner diameter offset might be thirty thousandth of an inch while the outer diameter offset is one thousandth of an inch, making the inner diameter offset thirty times greater than the outer diameter offset.
- mandrel 90 is shown approaching composite seal 70 .
- the outer diameter 92 of mandrel 90 is smaller than the internal diameters 82 and 84 but larger than inner diameter 74 of resilient material 72 .
- the volume of resilient material 72 bonded to metal rings 74 and 76 is such that radially outward force engaging the inner diameter 80 activates outer diameter 78 to move or be urged radially outwardly into sealing engagement with the sealing surface.
- the side surfaces 86 and 88 of seal 70 which are bonded to metal rings 74 and 76 do not move in the radial direction.
- mandrel 90 is engaged with seal 70 , causing the inner diameter 80 and therefore outer diameter 78 of resilient material 72 to become larger, as discussed above.
- the outer diameter 78 of seal material 72 will engage the seal bore, stopping further enlargement and will require that that the seal expand in the left and right directions.
- receptacle 100 has seal bores 102 and 104 , entrance chamfer 106 and fluid port 108 .
- Stab sub 110 has 2 seals 70 , mandrel 112 with chamfers 114 and 116 and seal diameters 118 and 120 , body 122 , fluid port 124 , retaining nut 126 , internal seal 128 and 130 , lock ring 132 and retaining nose 134 .
- Mandrel 112 has a hole 136 which can be engaged to move the mandrel 112 to the left from the position as shown in this figure and then back to the present position.
- Lock ring 132 has outer diameter 138 which is eccentric from inner diameter 140 such that when retaining nose 134 is engaged by mandrel 112 , the outer diameter is forced to be eccentric to the centerline of the body 122 and prevent the removal of the stab sub 110 from the receptacle 100 .
- the outer diameter 78 (See FIG. 4A ) of seal rings 70 and outer diameter 138 of lock ring 132 are a smaller diameter than the bores 102 and 104 of receptacle 100 , so the stab sub 110 can be inserted into the receptacle 100 without seal or lock ring friction.
- Lock ring 132 is moved to an eccentric position such that a portion of the outer diameter 138 is radially further from the centerline of the body 122 than the bore 104 of the receptacle. This means that the stab sub 110 is effectively mechanically locked into the receptacle 100 .
- the stab sub 110 is ready to receive pressurized fluid into port 124 for delivery out of port 108 on receptacle 100 to do useful work on a subsea blowout preventer stack or other subsea installation.
- hole 136 was moved back to the original position to the right and the stab sub 110 is removed from the receptacle 100 to the position which simulates what was observed in FIG. 3 .
- the seal 70 is prevented from being blown out by fluid flow as is indicated by arrows 150 - 156 .
- the movement of the mandrel away from the lock ring 132 also allowed the inner diameter 140 to become eccentric so that outer diameter 138 can become concentric, allowing the stab sub 110 to be removed from receptacle 100 .
- the present invention eliminates the costly problems of stab subs that have been utilized by divers and ROVs (remotely operated vehicles), which have had seals such as are illustrated in FIG. 3 , for over 50 years, wherein operators have simply endured the inconvenience and risk of losing seals when pulled under pressure and in some cases simply being inserted.
Abstract
Description
- This invention relates to the general subject of monitoring the current in the ocean from a floating vessel
- Not applicable.
- Not applicable
- Not applicable
- As offshore drilling and completion operations progress into deeper waters, especially in depths of water greater than 1000 feet, many relatively simple surface operations become complex and costly. One frequent operational requirement is that of engaging a hydraulic stab sub receptacle with a probe for the purpose of applying hydraulic flow and pressure to operate a function. The function can be a valve, blowout preventer, test port or other such items.
- These connections can be made by divers, by ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) which are free swimming, or by manipulators which are guided into place.
- These type operations have seen a history of field problems in that the force of insertions is somewhat unpredictable depending on a number of factors such as percent squeeze of the seals, surface finishes, shape of entrance chambers, hardness of the seal members, cross sectional area of the seal members, and the outer diameter of the seal members.
- Industry standards are being developed through the American Petroleum Institute which should provide a maximum of 30-50 lbs of insertion force, a number which will not allow the insertion of most stab subs manufactured at the present time.
- A further complication to this is that if a significant amount of remote capability is to be gained, more than one stab sub needs to be engaged at an interface to allow multiple control functions. In some cases as many as twenty four functions are being considered at a time, each of which require hydraulic control through a stab sub. The potential forces to be required to handle multiple insertions such as these are clearly in excess of the horizontal forces available from free swimming vehicles or divers.
- A further complication to the remote stabbing tools is that for many of the subsea systems, a 20 year life expectancy is desired for the tooling. This means that the surface finish of the subsea receptacles can be questionable after prolonged exposure. Even when protectors have been in place for 20 years, the protected surfaces would be suspect.
- A further complication is that if the stab subs are removed from the receptacles without the pressure being removed, the seals are prone to be damaged and/or literally blown out of the seal groove where they are supposed to be. In addition to potential damage and the potential lack of safety from operations with failed seals, trips back to the surface to replace these seals are time consuming and therefore expensive. Some of the offshore operations cost as much as one million dollars per day.
- Adequate secondary control for subsea operations has long been needed and has been considered to be not available because of the lack of the ability of the subsea remotely operated vehicles from handling multiport stabbing profiles.
- U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,314, to the present inventor, issued Sep. 5, 1989, discloses a hydraulic stab sub with multiple seal especially for use in remote and harsh environments with the ability to move the seals radially inward to a retracted position in which the hydraulic stab sub can be easily inserted into a mating receptacle and alternately to move the seals radially outward to perform useful functions such as sealing or locking into the receptacle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,314 is incorporated herein by reference.
- The hydraulic stab sub of '314 provides an exemplary solution for the problem of insertion of multiple seals utilizing only a very limited sub insertion force required, which can be applied by free swimming ROVs and divers. However, during removal of the hydraulic stab sub of '314, pressure in the lines that is applied to the moveable seals can subject the seals to potentially damaging or pinching movement under certain conditions.
- Consequently, those of skill in the art will appreciate the present invention which addresses the above and other problems.
- The object of this invention is to provide a subsea hydraulic stab connector which can be inserted with pressure energized seals without requiring insertion force to compress the seals.
- A second object of this invention is to provide a subsea hydraulic stab connector which the seals can be released from a sealing bore without first removing the pressure within the stab connector and without causing damage to the seals or causing the seals to move out of the seal grooves.
- A third object of this invention is to provide a connector which can be locked in place after the seals are set.
-
FIG. 1 is a view of a semi-submersible drilling facility showing the vessel, the drilling riser, and the current measuring device. -
FIG. 2 is an elevational view, in section, showing insertion of a prior art hydraulic stab sub into a receptacle. -
FIG. 3 is an elevational view, in section, showing removal of a prior art hydraulic stab sub under pressure from a receptacle. -
FIG. 4A is an enlarged elevational view, in section, of a composite sealing ring in accord with one possible embodiment of the present invention in the non-activated state. -
FIG. 4B is a side view of the composite sealing ring ofFIG. 4A . -
FIG. 5 is a graphic showing a composite seal in accord with the present invention in the non-energized or non-activated state. -
FIG. 6 is a graphic similar toFIG. 5 , with the composite seal activated or energized. -
FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a hydraulic stab sub showing the seals in a non-activated state for frictionless removal or insertion from the bore of the receptacle in accord with a possible embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 8 is an elevational view of a hydraulic stab sub showing the seals activated and having sealing engagement with the bore of the receptacle and the locking ring engaged. -
FIG. 9 is an elevational view of a hydraulic stab sub showing the seals in a non-activated state and the hydraulic stab sub partially removed from the bore of the receptacle illustrating that the seals will not be damaged or blown out of their intended position as was illustrated inFIG. 3 . - Referring now to
FIG. 1 , avessel 10 is shown floating upon thesurface 11 of the body ofwater 12. Ariser assembly 13 extends downwardly from thevessel 10 towards thebottom 14 of the body ofwater 12. The lower elements of theriser assembly 13 consist, in this example, of asubsea wellhead assembly 20 typically positioned on or near thebottom 14 of the body ofwater 12. Extending downward into the earth formation for drilling and completion operation ishousing assembly 21 which suspends one or more strings of casing and is landed onlanding base 22. - It will be understood that the term subsea wellhead assembly is meant to include any assemblage of components either fixedly or removably secured to the top of the
housing assembly 21, either during the drilling, completion, production, reworking or maintenance of a well. Thus, during the drilling of a well, the subsea wellhead assembly may comprise certain components such as blowout preventers, valves connectors, and the like. - The
subsea wellhead assembly 20 comprises various components such as a hydraulically operatedconnector 23 and hydraulically actuatedvalves valve actuators operator 28 for theconnector 23 is typically made integrally with the connector. -
Receptacles connector 23 andvalves Receptacles valves shuttle valves Shuttle valves hoses control hoses 38 to the surface. Normal control of these functions is through the control means 35 from the surface; when required secondary or emergency control can be achieved by pressuring through the receptacles. Theshuttle valves -
Receptacle 30 is connected to the hydraulically operatedconnector 23 byhose 39 and is not operated redundantly from the surface. In this example, the only means of operating this connector is through the receptacle. -
ROV 40 is shown with amanipulator arm 41, ahydraulic stab sub 42,hose 43 which receives hydraulic and/or electric power from the surface to operate the ROV andhose 44 which receives hydraulic power from the surface for thehydraulic stab sub 42. - On the
vessel 10 at the surface thehose 43 connects to reel 45 and thehose 44 connects to thereel 46. Bothreel 45 and reel 46 is shown connected to thehydraulic accumulator skid 47. - Referring now to
FIG. 2 , conventional O-ring type seal 50 is shown withingroove 52 ofstab 54, sealingly engaging the bottom 56 ofgroove 52 and the seal bore 58 ofreceptacle 60. It can be seen that the original round shape of the O-Ring type seal is deformed to an oval shape as it is squeezed so it will seal against the surfaces.Seal 62 ingroove 64 is approachingchamfer 66, and as it moves alongchamfer 66 it is compressed to a shape similar to seal 50. In practice a remotely operated subsea vehicle can provide the force to compress one or two of these seals, but when controls involving 10-30 functions are required this is simply not workable. - Referring now to
FIG. 3 , stab 54 is being removed to the right on the figure fromreceptacle 60 without the pressure being vented. As theseal 62 moves along thechamfer 66, it is literally pushed out ofgroove 64 by pressure and is damaged or lost. This can be a very expensive mistake in 10,000 feet of ocean depths. -
FIG. 4A andFIG. 4B show a composite seal ring, which may compriseseal 70, in a non-activated state.Seal 70 comprisesresilient material 72 such as Buna N Hycar of 70 to 90 durometer hardness bonded between twometal rings outer diameter 78 ofresilient material 72 is preferably approximately the same as the outer diameter of metal rings 74 and 76. However, theouter diameter 78 could be slightly recessed, be the same as, or could be slightly greater than the outer diameter of metal rings 74 and 76. In one embodiment, theouter diameter 78 ofresilient material 72 is no more than five thousandth of an inch greater than the outer diameters of metal rings 74 and 76. In one embodiment, excessive resilient material molded or bonded between the metal rings which is greater than the diameters of metal rings 74 and 76 may be removed by a desired amount. For example, any excessive resilient material may be removed by a lathe to be substantially equal to the outer diameter of metal rings 74 and 76. - For convenience, any difference between
outer diameter 78 ofresilient material 72 and the outer diameter ofrings outer diameter 78 is the same as then outer diameter ofrings outer diameter 78 is less than the outer diameter ofrings outer diameter 78 and the outer diameters ofrings - The
inner diameter 80 ofresilient material 72 is smaller than theinner diameters inner diameter 80 may be about 30 or 40 thousandth of an inch less than theinner diameters - In a preferred embodiment, in the non-activated state, the outer diameter offset as defined above, is less than, and preferably considerably less than the inner diameter offset. For example, the inner diameter offset might be thirty thousandth of an inch while the outer diameter offset is one thousandth of an inch, making the inner diameter offset thirty times greater than the outer diameter offset.
- Referring now to
FIG. 5 ,mandrel 90 is shown approachingcomposite seal 70. Theouter diameter 92 ofmandrel 90 is smaller than theinternal diameters inner diameter 74 ofresilient material 72. The volume ofresilient material 72 bonded to metal rings 74 and 76 is such that radially outward force engaging theinner diameter 80 activatesouter diameter 78 to move or be urged radially outwardly into sealing engagement with the sealing surface. This produces an outer offset 94 (seen inFIG. 6 ) which will insure thatsurface 78 will sealingly engage the inner bore of a receptacle, such asreceptacle 60. The side surfaces 86 and 88 ofseal 70, which are bonded to metal rings 74 and 76 do not move in the radial direction. - Referring now to
FIG. 6 ,mandrel 90 is engaged withseal 70, causing theinner diameter 80 and thereforeouter diameter 78 ofresilient material 72 to become larger, as discussed above. When appropriately within a seal bore, theouter diameter 78 ofseal material 72 will engage the seal bore, stopping further enlargement and will require that that the seal expand in the left and right directions. - Referring now to
FIG. 7 receptacle 100 has seal bores 102 and 104,entrance chamfer 106 andfluid port 108. - Stab
sub 110 has 2seals 70,mandrel 112 withchamfers diameters body 122,fluid port 124, retainingnut 126,internal seal lock ring 132 and retainingnose 134.Mandrel 112 has ahole 136 which can be engaged to move themandrel 112 to the left from the position as shown in this figure and then back to the present position.Lock ring 132 hasouter diameter 138 which is eccentric frominner diameter 140 such that when retainingnose 134 is engaged bymandrel 112, the outer diameter is forced to be eccentric to the centerline of thebody 122 and prevent the removal of thestab sub 110 from thereceptacle 100. - The outer diameter 78 (See
FIG. 4A ) of seal rings 70 andouter diameter 138 oflock ring 132 are a smaller diameter than thebores receptacle 100, so thestab sub 110 can be inserted into thereceptacle 100 without seal or lock ring friction. - Referring now to
FIG. 8 hole 136 and therefore mandrel 112 have been moved to the left and sealdiameters seals 70 as was seen inFIG. 6 . This has forced theouter diameters 78 into sealing engagement with the seal bores 102 and 104. The movement ofmandrel 112 has happened after thestab sub 110 was inserted intoreceptacle 100, and is preferable done by a hydraulic cylinder interconnected tohole 136. -
Lock ring 132 is moved to an eccentric position such that a portion of theouter diameter 138 is radially further from the centerline of thebody 122 than thebore 104 of the receptacle. This means that thestab sub 110 is effectively mechanically locked into thereceptacle 100. - In this position, the
stab sub 110 is ready to receive pressurized fluid intoport 124 for delivery out ofport 108 onreceptacle 100 to do useful work on a subsea blowout preventer stack or other subsea installation. - Referring now to
FIG. 9 hole 136 was moved back to the original position to the right and thestab sub 110 is removed from thereceptacle 100 to the position which simulates what was observed inFIG. 3 . As theouter diameter 78 ofseal ring 70 returned to the original smaller diameter whendiameter 118 was moved from being within the seal ring and as theresilient material 72 is bonded tometallic rings FIG. 4A , theseal 70 is prevented from being blown out by fluid flow as is indicated by arrows 150-156. - The movement of the mandrel away from the
lock ring 132 also allowed theinner diameter 140 to become eccentric so thatouter diameter 138 can become concentric, allowing thestab sub 110 to be removed fromreceptacle 100. - Accordingly, the present invention eliminates the costly problems of stab subs that have been utilized by divers and ROVs (remotely operated vehicles), which have had seals such as are illustrated in
FIG. 3 , for over 50 years, wherein operators have simply endured the inconvenience and risk of losing seals when pulled under pressure and in some cases simply being inserted. - The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below.
Claims (4)
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US12/930,298 US20120168167A1 (en) | 2011-01-04 | 2011-01-04 | Blowout resistant frictionless hydraulic connector |
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US12/930,298 US20120168167A1 (en) | 2011-01-04 | 2011-01-04 | Blowout resistant frictionless hydraulic connector |
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US20120168167A1 true US20120168167A1 (en) | 2012-07-05 |
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Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20120222865A1 (en) * | 2011-03-01 | 2012-09-06 | Vetco Gray Inc. | Drilling Riser Adapter Connection with Subsea Functionality |
US20150090454A1 (en) * | 2013-09-30 | 2015-04-02 | Marie Pasvandi | Hydromecanical piercing perforator and method of operation thereof |
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Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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US20120222865A1 (en) * | 2011-03-01 | 2012-09-06 | Vetco Gray Inc. | Drilling Riser Adapter Connection with Subsea Functionality |
US8746349B2 (en) * | 2011-03-01 | 2014-06-10 | Vetco Gray Inc. | Drilling riser adapter connection with subsea functionality |
US20150090454A1 (en) * | 2013-09-30 | 2015-04-02 | Marie Pasvandi | Hydromecanical piercing perforator and method of operation thereof |
US9394768B2 (en) * | 2013-09-30 | 2016-07-19 | Passerby Inc. | Hydromecanical piercing perforator and method of operation thereof |
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