STABILIZED CENTER-SHOULDER-SEALED
TUBULAR CONNECTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 5
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tubular connections of the kind commonly used in the oil industry. In particular, the tubular connection of the present invention comprises a stabilized center-shoulder seal, wherein lc stabilization is provided by specialized thread constructions adjacent the center-shoulder seal. The invention also pertains to a specialized center-shoulder seal design.
2. Background Art 15 The present invention is applicable broadly for use in
joining pipes, couplings and the like, and has particularly been developed for use in oil industry tubular connections, since these connections experience more severe and demanding conditions than those observed 20 for other industries and applications. In particular, the trend in the oilfield is to minimize pipe diameter and to conserve borehole diameter. The smaller the diameter of the borehole for the well, the greater the conservation of energy and reduction of drilling costs. However, 25 in utilizing smaller diameter pipe, it is important that the connections between adjacent tubular pipes be transparent in geometry and performance characteristics, i.e. the geometry and performance characteristics of the connection be substantially the same as that of the tubu- 30 lar pipe itself. Preferably, the pipe string should behave as if the pipe connections were not there. The ideal connection would have the same geometry as the pipe, such as the same inside and outside diameters, and would have the same performance characteristics such 35 as tension rating, compression rating, internal and external pressure ratings, torsion resistance, and bending resistance, for example.
Two types of oilfield connections, namely flush joints and slim line connections, have been utilized to con- 40 serve hole diameter. The outer diameter of a flush joint connection is generally the same as the outside diameter of the tubular pipe. The outside diameter of a slim line connection is generally 2 to 3.5% greater than that of the pipe. Although the objective of such prior art pipe 45 has been to achieve total geometric and performance characteristic transparency, such has not been possible. Often, the performance characteristics of prior art pipe have been sacrificed to achieve greater geometric transparency. 50
Various standards have been set for evaluating the efficiency of a pipe connection. One such efficiency is determined by the load capacity of the pipe and pipe connection in the axial direction. This tension efficiency is calculated by comparing the fracture strength of the 55 connection with the fracture strength of the tubular pipe. Most prior art flush joint and slim line connections achieve an efficiency in the range of 65% to 75%. This efficiency, of course, varies with the type of connection, the pipe diameter and thickness, and the method of 60 manufacture of the connection.
Prior art connections include the basic elements of threads, shoulders, and seals. The following prior art patents describe various features which have been used to produce flush and slim-line connections. 65
U.S. Pat. No. 1,927,656, issued Sep. 19,1933 to G. M. Eaton et at., describes a pipe joint for fastening together the consecutive pipe lengths of a pipe string in a manner
2
to obtain strength at the joint without increasing the wall thickness (or with a minimum increase thereof) in the portion of the pipe in which the screw threads are cut. One of the two pipes to be joined is machined on the outside surface of the pin and the other is machined on the inside surface of the box so the two pipes can be screwed together to provide what would today be called a slim line connection. The threaded portion of each pipe is machined on a taper with the depth of the turns of the threads being the greatest at the center of the threaded portion and decreasing gradually in both directions to vanishing points at the ends of the threaded portions.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,062,407, issued Dec. 1, 1936 to G. M. Eaton et al., discloses a preferred form of pipe joint wherein the height of the threads in the threaded portion of the joint is at a maximum in the central area of the threaded portion of the joint and decreases gradually in both directions to vanishing points, somewhat similar to the joint described above. However, the thread design differs in that the vanishing of the threads corresponds with the intersection of thread fabrication lines which are not only based on a taper relative to the pipe longitudinal axis but also a line which is cylindrical or parallel to the pipe longitudinal axis. Specifically, the root of the thread at the pipe exterior edge position of the pin is located along a line parallel with the pipe longitudinal axis while the crest of the thread at the same location is located along a line at a constant taper with the pipe longitudinal axis. The root of the thread at a position more interior from the edge of the pipe is located along a line at a constant taper with the pipe longitudinal axis, while the crest of the thread at the same location is located on a line of parallel taper to the root for a distance. Finally, at the most interior thread location on the pin, the thread root continues on a taper with the pipe longitudinal axis while the crest of the thread is constructed along a line parallel with the pipe longitudinal axis. Thus, at both the exterior and interior edges of the threaded connection, the thread disappears where thread root and thread crest intersect. The thread construction of the box is complimentary to that of the pin so the two threaded members can be interengaged.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,109,672, issued Nov. 5, 1963 to William F. Franz describes a threaded pipe joint comprising a pipe member having a cylindrical outer surface and a tapered buttress thread at the end thereof vanishing along the outer cylindrical surface, providing a length of fully formed and a length of vanishing threads. The complementary coupling member having thread machined on the internal surface thereof exhibits a full height tapered thread throughout the entire length thereof. The complementary threads on each member have following flanks in bearing relationship and substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of the joint and leading flanks in bearing relationship, which leading flanks have a larger flank angle than the following flanks. Crests and roots are truncated to provide flat crests and roots which are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the joint. Crest truncations of fully formed threads exceed root truncations to provide a predetermined amount of void between the crests and roots of the complementary threads throughout the length of the joint when the pipe and coupling are in hand tight engagement. After power make-up, the crests of the coupling threads engage the roots of the vanishing pipe
