JP3297697B2 - Threaded joint for oil country tubular goods with excellent external pressure resistance - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to oil wells for exploration or production of natural gas and crude oil, particularly in oil wells that pump reserves such as gas and oil under seawater and groundwater layers under high external pressure. It relates to a pipe joint suitable for use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, threaded joints are widely used as a technology for connecting oil country tubular goods used for exploration and production of natural gas fields and oil fields having a depth of several thousand meters. For oil well pipe threaded joints, there is an integral method that connects the pipes by forming a pin at one end of the pipe and a box at the other end, and a coupling with two box sections and a pipe with pin sections at both ends. There is a coupling method for connecting the. In common with these threaded joints, 1) withstand the axial tensile force due to the weight of the connected pipe, 2) withstand the internal pressure of the internal fluid or the external pressure of the external fluid, 3) dozens of Performance such as being able to be used repeatedly. In recent years, the depth of wells has tended to be deeper, and mining and production have often been carried out even in poorly buried environments such as deep oil fields and polar regions that have not been targeted for drilling until now. Therefore, the required performance is becoming more and more severe.

In response to such demands, many proposals have been made on joints having a seal portion and a torque shoulder portion in a fastened state.

FIG. 1 (a) shows a coupling system in which the seal portion and the torque shoulder portion in the fastening state are located on the tip side of the male screw portion of the pin and at the same time are located on the back side of the female screw portion of the box. FIG. 4 is a “cross-section by a plane including a tube axis” of the threaded joint of FIG. FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of the inside of the joint including the screw portion and the seal portion. In the following description, the “cross section by a plane including the tube axis” is simply referred to as “cross section”. The term “rear” refers to a portion of the inner surface of the box that is deeper than the female screw portion, that is, a portion closer to the center of the coupling.

As shown in FIG. 1, in this joint,
A conical seal forming surface 13 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the pin portion 11 which is the end portion of the tube 10 ahead of the external thread 12. The internal thread 2 of the box portion 21 inside the coupling 20
The inner peripheral surface deeper than 2 also has a conical surface, and has a seal forming surface 23 whose effective diameter is smaller than the effective diameter of the pin side seal forming surface 13. The pipe and the coupling are screwed together, and the seal forming surfaces of the two are fitted to form a seal portion in a fastened state. Here, the “effective diameter” means that the pipe shaft 18 or the coupling shaft 18
Mean diameter at the reference position of the seal forming surface of the pin portion or the box portion, which is the rotating surface around. The “reference position” refers to a surface position of the pin tip 13 or the back of the box 23 in a state where the seal portion is not fastened corresponding to a position where the seal portion is formed at the time of fastening. The reason why the pin is fitted into the box even though the effective diameter on the pin side is larger than the box side is that elastic deformation occurs at the time of fastening. Further, the “conical surface” is a conical surface having the pipe shaft 18 or the coupling shaft 18 as a rotation axis. In the case of a pin portion, the tip of the pin is closer to the tube axis, and in the box portion, the coupling shaft is deeper in the box. Refers to the side approaching. When fastened, the conical surfaces contact with a width (not a point on the "cross-section"). The subject of the present invention is also directed to a joint for forming a seal having such a shape.

By forming a metal touch seal in the seal portion, airtight performance against internal pressure load due to fluid inside the oil country tubular good or external pressure load due to fluid outside the pipe is secured.

[0007] A portion without a screw at the tip of the pin and having a seal forming surface and a torque shoulder forming surface on its surface is referred to as a lip portion 15.

[0008] A torque shoulder forming surface 14 which is further distal than the seal forming surface 13 of the pin portion 11, and a box portion 2
A torque shoulder portion is formed by abutting a torque shoulder forming surface 24 deeper than the first seal forming surface 23. By forming the torque shoulder portion, the fastening torque is controlled to an appropriate value so that a high contact surface pressure that causes excessive plastic deformation does not occur in the seal portion.

Next, the structure of a threaded joint for preventing leakage due to external pressure will be described.

In such a threaded joint for oil country tubular goods, it is a matter of course to ensure airtightness so as to prevent the internal fluid from leaking. However, external high-pressure fluid other than the object to be excavated enters the inside of the pipe, so-called external pressure. It is also important to prevent leakage. That is, if an external high-pressure fluid enters the inside of the oil country tubular good through the joint portion, muddy water or the like is mixed into the fluid to be produced flowing inside, thereby deteriorating the quality. To make matters worse, the physical properties such as the viscosity and specific gravity of the fluid to be produced or the circulating water for drilling change rapidly, making it difficult to control oil well pressure and making pumping impossible due to insufficient pressure. Or, in the worst case, it could lead to the eruption of the oil well. Therefore, various forms of the invention have been hitherto made on the structure of the seal portion, which is responsible for the airtightness of the oil country tubular goods.

These are summarized as follows.

Depending on the location of the seal, the seal may be an internal seal installed at the back of the box from the thread of the joint, an external seal installed at the tip of the box, an intermediate seal installed at the screw, or a combination of these seals. Can be roughly divided into Further, the sealing mode includes a method of forming a metal touch seal by fitting the seal forming surface of the pin portion and the box portion, and a method of inserting a packing material made of a soft material such as a Teflon ring between the pin member and the box member. There are a method of forming a shoulder having a sealing function by imparting high airtightness to the torque shoulder portion, and a method of combining some of them. Also, as a special method, there is a method of forming a so-called screw seal by making the screw itself have an airtight performance by making the gap of the screw portion extremely small and filling the gap with grease or a compound. In each of the embodiments, in order to improve the airtight performance, a seal forming surface, a shoulder forming surface, a screw forming surface, or the like is coated with an alloy or soft metal or coated with a synthetic resin, and a surface treatment is performed with zinc phosphate, manganese phosphate, or the like. In addition, there is a technique in which a residual stress is applied to increase the sealing surface pressure of the metal touch seal portion.

The following (a) to (d) show typical examples of these sealing modes and their problems.

(A) As shown in FIG. 1, the inner seal installed deeper than the female screw in the box portion is the most common type of seal for a threaded joint for oil country tubular goods for general use, and improves airtightness and handleability. For this purpose, many seal shapes and torque shoulder shapes have been devised.

FIG. 2 shows the seal forming surface 13 of the pin portion as a rotating surface formed by rotating a curved arc having a large radius of curvature with respect to the tube axis, and the seal forming surface 23 of the box portion rotates a tapered straight line. By making the shape of the sealed part of the seal forming part a line contact instead of a face contact,
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a coupling type screw joint (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-31271) in which a sealing surface pressure is increased to ensure reliable sealing performance. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the contact with the seal forming surface on the pin side becomes a point on the "cross-section", and stress is concentrated there to increase the sealing surface pressure. Actually, in the fastened state, due to elastic deformation or the like, the contact is wide although the degree is small.

FIG. 3 shows that the curved arcs on the “cross-section” of the pin-side torque shoulder forming surface and the box-side torque shoulder forming surface are convex and concave curves having different curvatures R ₁ and R ₂ , respectively. taken smaller than the radius of curvature R ₂ of the box side torque shoulder forming face curvature radius R ₁ of the torque shoulder forming face, and a radius of curvature center of the R ₁ R
Fitting with pipe inside (closer to pipe axis) than that of ₂
FIG. When the torque shoulder forming surface is formed in such a shape, the bending of the pin side lip portion 15 in the direction of the center of the tube axis is reduced in FIG. Furthermore, uneven contact pressure in the circumferential direction of the seal portion due to manufacturing error is automatically redistributed to uniform contact pressure, and a good sealing state is obtained at the two locations of the torque shoulder portions 14 and 24 and the seal portions 13 and 23. Will be able to

Further, a packing material such as a Teflon ring is inserted in the vicinity of the metal touch seal, and a high-pressure fluid is sealed by a metal touch seal, and a low-pressure fluid is sealed by a packing material. (Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-11768, Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-11969, Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-3)
No. 8249, Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-9956, etc.).

Each of these internal seal joints has the following characteristics:
It is not practical because the shape of the seal portion is complicated and processing is difficult, or the production cost is too high. 2)
There is a common problem that the hermetic performance against external pressure is not taken into consideration at all, or even if it is taken into consideration, it is not possible to predict how much external pressure resistance it actually has at the design stage.

(B) FIG. 4 shows a coupling joint of an intermediate seal provided with torque shoulder portions 14 and 24 and two metal touch seal portions 13, 23 and 17 and 27 in the middle of the screw portion. (Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-8678)
FIG. An invention for improving the seal at the threaded portion includes a combination of a metal touch seal at the inner surface and a metal touch seal at the threaded portion in addition to the joint shown in the same figure (Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-29915).

FIG. 5 shows a joint in which an annular groove 30 is provided in the middle of the female screw on the box side along with the internal seals 13 and 23, and a packing material 31 such as a Teflon ring is inserted (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-119281, It is a sectional view showing Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-32273). In addition, as a joint provided with a seal that is provided with the internal seal, one or two ridges near the center of the complete thread portion are subjected to metal plating or surface treatment, and the thread portion is provided with sealing ability (special feature). JP-A-63-130986).

Of these intermediate seal couplings,
-8678 (FIG. 4) and Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 4-29915.
The joint presented in the above publication has the same problem as the inner surface seal. That is, since high processing accuracy is required such that the thread pitches of the first and second stages must be precisely adjusted, the processing time is prolonged, the yield is deteriorated, and the manufacturing cost is increased. Further, it is not known how much airtightness it has against external pressure until a substantive test is performed. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-119281 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-32
In the joint shown in FIG. 273 (FIG. 5), a sealing surface such as a Teflon ring inserted into an annular groove in the middle of the female screw portion on the box side exerts a sealing effect with respect to a normal low-pressure fluid. Has a problem that the sealing effect cannot be expected so much. The method of plating or surface-treating one or two ridges in the middle of the threaded portion as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 63-130986, in addition to the above-mentioned problems, involves coating the joint while repeating the tightening and loosening of the joint several times. There is a disadvantage that the airtightness is reduced due to wear or chipping of the material, and the material cannot withstand several tens of uses.

(C) FIG. 6 shows a torque shoulder shoulder 14 provided at the base of the external thread on the pin side outer surface in parallel with the inner seals 13 and 23, and a torque shoulder flat surface 24 provided at the tip of the box portion. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a joint (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-12051) in which an outer surface torque shoulder portion formed by abutting the outer surface with a sealing capability in addition to a torque controlling capability.

In this external seal, airtightness is imparted to the torque shoulder surface formed of a surface perpendicular to the tube axis direction. As with the problem (b), how much airtightness is provided against external pressure? I doubt it.

(D) Examples of the screw seal having a screw portion provided with airtightness include a screw having a soft metal plating such as tin on the entire surface, or a box side female screw portion as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-75796. In addition, there is one in which a synthetic material lining is attached to the entire surface of the seal forming portion.

In this joint, it is difficult to uniformly apply a synthetic material lining to the box-side female screw portion and the seal forming portion, and the processing time is prolonged, the yield is deteriorated, and the manufacturing cost is increased. In addition, the lining material may be damaged or missing during repeated use on site, and the airtightness may be reduced.

[0026]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a threaded joint for oil country tubular goods which has all the basic performances required for a threaded type joint for oil country tubular goods, and which is more excellent in external pressure resistance. It is in. Specifically, API Bulletin 5C3
An object of the present invention is to provide a threaded joint for an oil country tubular good having an external pressure resistance which does not cause leakage even when an external pressure of 1.2 times or more of the collapse external pressure Pp of the pipe main body specified in the above.

[0027]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors have developed a screw joint for an oil country tubular good having an internal seal when an internal pressure is applied with a pin portion and a box portion fastened and when an external pressure is applied. A detailed study was conducted on the difference between the behavior of the metal seal forming part and the behavior of the torque shoulder forming part when the gas acted, and the following items were confirmed.

1) FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the pin-side seal forming surface 13 is pressed against the box-side seal forming surface 23 when the internal pressure Pi40 is applied to the inner surface of the joint. That is, as the internal pressure Pi increases, the sealing surface pressure of the seal portion also increases, so that the airtightness of the seal forming portion is further improved.

FIG. 8 shows an external pressure Pe 4 that has penetrated to the area just before the sealing surface of the seal portion through the gap of the screw portion.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the hermetic performance is reduced by No. 2. As shown in the figure, a force is applied in a direction to expand the space 32 between the seal forming portion and the cut portion of the screw by the external pressure Pe. The force Fe 43 in the direction of reducing the diameter increases. Since this force Fe acts in a direction to separate the pin-side seal forming surface 13 and the box-side seal forming surface 23, as the external pressure Pe increases, the sealing surface pressure of the seal portion decreases. Here, Pe 42 is a net working external pressure (kgf / mm ² ), and Fe 43 is a force (kgf) generated by an internal / external pressure difference.

However, it is not practical to form the seal forming portion in a special shape or to increase the number of sealed portions, since this unnecessarily increases the processing labor and cost, and also reduces the handleability. Therefore, the present invention is directed to the shape of the internal seal including the conical seal forming portion and the torque shoulder forming portion, that is, the shape shown in FIG. 1, which is advantageous in terms of manufacturing cost and handleability. As a result of a detailed investigation on the mechanical behavior near the seal forming portion when an external pressure acts on such a joint, the following was confirmed.

2) FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the contact surface pressure distribution of the seal portion and the torque shoulder portion when the joint is fastened.
In the figure, since the effective diameter of the pin-side seal forming surface is made larger than the effective diameter of the box-side seal forming surface, bending deformation occurs in the lip portion at the tip of the pin in the diameter reducing direction. At this time, since the bending rigidity is higher at the root side than at the free end of the lip portion, the contact pressure distribution on the seal forming surface is:
The contact pressure distribution 45 (FIG. 9) becomes larger on the base side than on the free end side.

In the torque shoulder portion as well, due to the bending deformation in the radial direction of the pin tip lip portion, the contact margin on the seal forming portion side of the torque shoulder forming surface is larger than that on the tube inner surface side (tube axis side). Therefore, a contact pressure distribution 45 as shown in FIG. 9 is obtained.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the contact surface pressure distribution of the seal portion and the torque shoulder portion when an external pressure is applied to this fastened state.

FIG. 11 shows a state in which a force Fe43 caused by an external pressure acts on a parallel portion of the pin close to the screw portion (hereinafter referred to as a "threadless parallel portion"), and this portion bends in the diameter-reducing direction. FIG. As shown in the figure, the fitting margin on the base side of the seal forming portion is reduced by the force Fe caused by the external pressure. On the other hand, since the inner end 28 (marked by ▲) of the torque shoulder forming surface acts just like a fulcrum, the tip of the lip portion is deformed so as to bend in the radially expanding direction. Therefore, the fitting margin on the tip end side of the seal forming surface becomes large. As for the torque shoulder part, the contact pressure of the inner end 28 on the inner surface of the pipe is increased by the fulcrum reaction force of the bending deformation of the pin-side lip part, and the seal forming part side is warped in the radially expanding direction of the lip tip part. The contact pressure is reduced because the contact margin is reduced due to the excessive deformation.

From the detailed examination of the above 2), it was confirmed that the following five form factors mainly affect the airtight performance against external pressure, that is, the contact surface pressure distribution of the seal portion under the external pressure load. .

The "shoulder angle θ (゜)" which determines the effect of the role of the fulcrum of the torque shoulder forming surface, the "lip thickness ratio R" and the "lip length L" which determine the amount of deflection of the threadless parallel portion at the tip of the pin. (Mm) "," seal length S (mm) "and" seal taper T "that determine the shape of the seal forming portion itself. FIG. 12 is a drawing showing the above five form factors on a" cross section ". . Here, the “lip thickness ratio R” is
It refers to the ratio of (pin side lip portion thickness) / (lip portion outer diameter) to (tube body wall thickness) / (tube body outer diameter), and is a factor in consideration of the tube body size.

The present invention has been completed by investigating the relationship between the range of possible values of these five seal form factors and the external pressure at which leakage occurs, and determining the relationship between the two. The joint is the gist (Fig. 1
(See (a) and (b) and FIG. 12).

[The pin and the box are screwed together, and the seal forming surface provided on the outer peripheral surface of the tip of the threaded portion of the pin and the seal forming surface provided on the inner peripheral surface behind the threaded portion of the box are fitted. A threaded joint that forms a seal portion by forming a torque shoulder portion at the same time by abutting a torque shoulder forming surface provided at the foremost pin of the pin with a torque shoulder forming surface provided at the shoulder at the innermost portion of the box. Characterized by satisfying all of the following conditions (a), (b), (c), and (d) that determine the range of the shape of the pin tip and the back of the box opposite thereto: Excellent threaded joint for oil country tubular goods. (A) The seal-forming surface on the outer peripheral surface of the pin tip or the seal-forming surface on the inner peripheral surface of the box uses the pipe axis or the coupling axis as the rotation axis. It is.

(B) The effective diameter of the seal forming surface at the pin tip at the reference position is larger than the effective diameter of the seal forming surface at the back of the box at the reference position.

(C) Five factors that determine the shape of the pin tip and the back of the box facing each other, shoulder angle: θ
(゜), lip thickness ratio: R, lip length: L (mm), seal length: S (mm), and seal taper: T are in the following ranges, respectively.

0 ° ≦ θ (゜) ≦ 20 °, 0.25 ≦ R ≦
0.76 mm ≤ L (mm) ≤ 30 mm, 3 mm ≤ S (mm) ≤ 10 mm, 1/16 ≤ T ≤ 1 (d) Shoulder angle: θ (゜), lip thickness ratio: R, lip length: L (Mm), the seal length: S (mm) and the seal taper: T. The function f, which is a first-order polynomial, satisfies f> 1.2. However, According to the present invention described above, each range (condition (c)) of the five factors that determine the shape of the tip of the pin portion and one range (condition (d)) that is determined by the first-order polynomial f of the five factors in addition to them. Specifying only means that a threaded joint having a metal seal that does not leak even when an external pressure of 1.2 times the external collapse pressure of the pipe specified in API Bulletin 5C3 is applied is obtained. Clearly, these five factors also determine the shape of the back of the box corresponding to the pin tip.

The reason why it is not necessary to specify the yield strength and size of the pipe body and the joint is as follows. That is, the yield strength and size of the pipe are determined by API Bulletin 5C3
It is used in the calculation of “external pressure of pipe collapse” according to the above, and the external pressure resistance of the joint is “external pressure of 1.2 times the external pressure of pipe collapse”.
It is already used in a form that does not appear on the front. In other words, as described later, the external pressure was normalized by the collapse pressure of the pipe,
That is, the function f does not require the terms of the yield strength and size of the joint.

In the present invention, the conditions (a), (b),
As a result of satisfying (c) and (d), the five form factors are not uniquely determined. For each of the five factors, the range of the condition (c) is narrowed by the condition (d). Has a range. As long as it is within the narrowed range, it can withstand an external pressure of 1.2 times the collapse external pressure Pp specified in API Bulletin 5C3.
Within the narrowed range, the final shape can be determined in consideration of ease of processing and the like.

[0044]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the reasons for limiting the constituent elements related to the present invention will be described.

1. Approximate Shape of Pin Tip (Conditions (a) and (b)) The seal forming surface of the pin portion or the box portion is a conical surface formed by rotating around a pipe axis or a coupling axis. The conical surface is used to obtain a complete metal touch seal over the entire circumference of the seal portion. The tapered shape approaching the axis toward the end of the pin or the depth of the box facilitates the insertion of the threadless surface for forming the seal at the tip of the pin into the surface without the thread for forming the box-side seal. This is to facilitate the formation of the torque shoulder portion.

The reason why the effective diameter on the pin side is made larger than that on the box side in the non-fastened state at the reference position of the surface without the screw for forming the seal is to utilize the elastic deformation of the material (steel material) in the fastened state. As a result, the surface pressure of the metal touch seal portion is generated, and the sealing capability is provided.

2.5 Shape Factors First, reasons for limiting the range of values (condition (c)) that the five shape factors that can constitute the present invention can take will be described.

Shoulder angle: θ (゜) First, the range of possible values of the shoulder angle θ is 0 ° to 20 °.
° or less for the following reason. That is, when the upper limit is set to 20 °, when the shoulder angle exceeds 20 °, excessive plastic deformation occurs particularly at the innermost shoulder portion of the box-side torque shoulder portion, and the torque control function is impaired and cannot be used. Because. The lower limit is set to 0 ° when the shoulder angle is less than 0 ° (that is, when the angle on the opposite side across the cross section perpendicular to the tube axis = a> 0), the radius of the reaction force F _t of the torque shoulder surface is set. direction component F _t · cosa is, the sealing surface pressure of the seal portion in order to act in a direction to separate the pin side seal forming face 13 of the box side seal forming face 23 is decreased, because the results sufficient airtightness can not be obtained It is.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing how the sealing surface pressure of the seal portion decreases when the shoulder angle is less than 0 °.

Lip thickness ratio: R The lip thickness ratio R is set to 0.25 or more and 0.75 or less.
For the following reasons. That is, the upper limit is set to 0.75 because it is not necessary to consider a lip thickness ratio of 0.75 or more in practical use. In other words, usually, the pipe end is threaded with the wall thickness as it is to produce the pin portion.However, since the taper screw is used, the physical upper limit of the lip thickness is the screw length, screw taper, and screw height. Once decided, it will be decided naturally. In the case of oil country tubular goods threaded joints used for practical use, the thread length is approximately three times or more the wall thickness, and the thread taper is 1 /
20 or more, and the screw height is designed to be about 1 mm or more.
As a result, the physical upper limit of the lip thickness ratio is about 0.75, including the margin for threading and the internal cutting of the pin tip.

On the other hand, the lower limit is set to 0.25 because if the thickness of the lip portion at the pin tip is smaller than this, the rigidity of the lip portion becomes too small. This is because so-called overtorque performance is deteriorated in that excessive plastic deformation is caused and airtight performance is deteriorated.

Lip length: L (mm) The reason why the range of the lip length L can be set to 6 mm or more and 30 mm or less is as follows. In other words, in FIG. 12, [from the end of the seal forming portion to the end of the screw]
The gap (space) between the pin portion and the box portion formed in contact with the [threadless parallel portion] is called [screw runout groove], and the lip length is (lip length) = (seal length). ) + [Screw run-out groove = parallel part without screw]. The thread run-out groove serves as an escape area for cutting chips of a thread cutting tool called a chaser at the time of thread cutting on the box side. Therefore, the reason why the lower limit of the lip length is set to 6 mm is to secure a screw runout groove of a minimum required size. On the other hand, the upper limit is set to 30 mm because even if the screw runout groove length is unnecessarily increased, the airtightness, tensile resistance and compression resistance of the joint are hardly improved, and conversely the material cost is increased. is there.

Seal length: S (mm) The reason for setting the range of the seal length S to 3 mm or more and 10 mm or less is as follows. That is, the reason why the upper limit of the seal length is set to 10 mm is that if the seal length is long, the contact area of the seal forming portion is increased, the contact surface pressure is reduced, and the airtightness is reduced. Further, if the fitting margin of the seal forming portion is increased in order to obtain a contact surface pressure sufficient to secure the airtight performance, seizure occurs on the seal forming surface. In addition, the seal-forming surface is usually precision-cut so that the surface roughness is smaller than other parts, and surface treatment is performed using zinc phosphate, manganese phosphate, etc. Therefore, unnecessarily increasing the length of the seal is not preferable because it causes a reduction in product accuracy and an increase in manufacturing cost.

On the other hand, the reason for setting the lower limit of the seal length to 3 mm is as follows. That is, if the seal length is too short, the contact form of the seal forming surface becomes close to the line contact, and the contact pressure becomes too high, causing seizure or excessive plastic deformation of the seal forming surface.

Seal Taper: T Finally, the range of the value of the seal taper T is set to 1/16 or more and 1 or less for the following reason. That is, when the upper limit of the seal taper is set to a value larger than this, when a tensile force acts on the pipe body including the fastened joint in the axial direction, the reduction rate of the contact surface pressure of the seal forming surface is large, and the airtightness is increased. This is because the performance is greatly reduced. On the other hand, the reason why the lower limit of the seal taper is set to 1/16 is that if the seal taper is smaller than 1/16, the distance that the seal forming surface rotates while contacting, that is, the sliding distance becomes longer, which causes seizure on the seal forming surface. Because.

The above five form factors are all described with respect to the pin portion and are shown with respect to the pin portion in FIG. 12. However, in order to function as a joint, the shape of the inner surface of the box portion corresponding to the joint portion must be of course. Needless to say, the shape must be adapted to the pin portion.

3. Function f Next, the function f shown in the inequality (d) of the present invention
The reason for setting is described. The function f is to produce a coupling type threaded joint for oil country tubular goods having lips of various shapes within the range of the shape of the internal seal shown in Fig. 1, perform a substantive test of external pressure load, and analyze the results Determined by

Next, a description will be given of a substantive test which is the basis for setting the function f.

A. Substantive test A number of joints having different seal shapes were manufactured by changing each seal shape factor within the range described in the condition (c) of the present invention with respect to the shape of the pin tip of the test material and the inside of the coupling facing each other. And subjected to the following external pressure load test.

A-2. External pressure load test A steel plate is welded to the pipe end where the screw of the pin portion is not provided, and the tube is sealed and fastened to the coupling portion, and then an external pressure is applied. Then, the load external pressure was gradually increased, and the test was continued until leakage occurred or the joint or the pipe body was crushed, and the final pressure value was recorded.

B. Derivation of Function f By arranging the results of the above-mentioned external pressure load test, it was confirmed that each of the seal shape factors had a substantially proportional relationship with the leakage external pressure within the above range. The effects were as follows.

(A) The greater the shoulder angle θ and the lip thickness ratio R, the higher the leakage external pressure.

(B) The shorter the seal length S and the smaller the seal taper T, the higher the external pressure at which leakage occurs.

(C) The influence of the lip length L on the external pressure resistance is low.

From this, each seal form factor and the external pressure at which leakage occurs (the external pressure value standardized by the collapse external pressure defined by Bulletin 5C of the API (American Petroleum Institute) = Pp)
In order to uniquely determine the relationship, the experimental results were approximated by the least squares method in the form of a first-order polynomial shown in the following equation (e), and the values of the coefficients α _{0 to} α ₅ were determined. (E) ... f (θ, R, L, S, T) = α ₀ + α ₁ · θ + α ₂ · R + α ₃ · L + α ₄ · S + α ₅ · T Thus, θ represents the shoulder angle, R represents the lip thickness ratio, L represents the lip length, S represents the seal length, and T represents the seal taper.

More specifically, f (θ, R, L, S,
T) = P / Pp, and the values of the coefficients α _{0 to} α ₅ were determined.
In other words, the external collapse pressure specified in API Bulletin 5C3 is 5k
Assuming that the external pressure at which leakage occurs is 7 kg / mm ² (experimental value) at g / mm ² , 1.4 (= 7/5) is substituted into the right side as a standardized external pressure. Other experimental values were substituted in the same manner, and the coefficients α _{0 to} α ₅ were obtained by applying the least square method to them. The result is as follows.

Α ₀ = −3.26 × 10 ⁻¹ α ₁ = + 3.19 × 10 ⁻² (1 / ゜) α ₂ = + 1.43 α ₃ = −4.67 × 10 ⁻⁴ (1 / mm Α ₄ = + 8.39 × 10 ⁻² (1 / mm) α ₅ = −6.22 × 10 ^{−1 The} first-order polynomial obtained by substituting these coefficients into the above equation (e) is
Function f. By using this function, the above 5
It is possible to estimate the leakage external pressure in any seal shape within the limited range of the two form factors, and to perform a very accurate leakage external pressure prediction with a maximum error of about 4% between the estimated value and the measured value. Can be.

4. Setting of Inequalities By using f representing the relationship between each seal shape factor obtained from the above-described substantive test and the external pressure at which leakage occurs, performance design relating to external pressure resistance can be easily performed at the stage of shape design. That is, the external pressure P which is y times the API external collapse pressure Pp
When designing a lip tip shape having sealing performance such that no leakage occurs even when (P = y · Pp) acts, even if the function f satisfies f (θ, R, L, S, T)> y Then, the range of the threaded joint that can withstand the external pressure P can be determined by appropriately combining the five seal shape factors. In the case of the present invention, y = 1.2. There has been no example of a threaded joint for oil country tubular goods that has been described to withstand an external pressure of 1.2 times the external pressure of collapse of the pipe as in the present invention.
Thus, while minimizing the number of trial production based on the technical idea of the present invention without going through many trial production tests, while securing the performance against external pressure, the remaining degree of freedom is to joints that minimize the processing cost It is also possible to make the joint less likely to cause problems such as seizure. Here, the “remaining degrees of freedom” means that the above conditions (a), (b), (c) and (d) determine the range of five form factors, but each of the five form factors is uniquely defined. It is not decided but decided as a range. Therefore, as described above, each factor can be freely selected within the range.

In the above description, the term “coupling” has been used in some cases. However, the present invention needs to be modified even if the box structure of the coupling is provided at the end of the pipe to be connected in advance. There is no. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to both the coupling method and the integral method.

[0070]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The effects of the present invention will be described based on an embodiment of a coupling type joint having an internal seal shown in FIG.

Table 1 is a list showing specifications of the joints A, B, C, D and E other than the pin tip.

Table 2 is a list of five seal form factors which determine the shape of the pins of the joints A, B, C, D, and E and the corresponding shapes at the back of the box. Fitting A,
The values of the five seal form factors B and C are within the range set by the present invention for each factor (condition (c)), and are within the condition (d), that is, 1.2 times the external pressure of the collapse of the pipe. It was decided to endure.

[0073]

[Table 1]

[0074]

[Table 2]

In order to clarify how the external pressure resistance of the threaded joint for oil country tubular goods obtained by the present invention is superior to that of the existing joints, the joints D and E are comparative examples actually used in oil wells. Threaded joint for oil country tubular goods 2
Kind.

These joints were subjected to the following tests to evaluate their performance.

A. External pressure load test After lubricating grease was applied to the threaded portion and the threadless portion, and fastening and disassembly of the joint were repeated 10 times, an external pressure was applied with gas while the joint was fastened. The load was gradually increased in pressure and tested until leakage occurred or the joint or tube body collapsed, and the final pressure value was recorded. This test is a test for confirming the performance of the joint of the present invention in which the external pressure resistance has been improved to an unprecedented level.

B. Superimposed load test of tensile load and internal pressure After repeating fastening and disassembly of the joint 10 times in the same manner as the above test, the joint is fastened and an axial tensile force such that a stress equivalent to 95% of the yield strength is generated in the pipe body ( 291.2 to
n), and an internal pressure (6.6 kgf / m) at which a stress equivalent to 95% of the yield strength is generated in the pipe body.
m ² ) with gas. Investigate the occurrence of leakage at this time. This test is a test to prove that the joint of the present invention satisfies the basic performance.

Table 3 is a list showing the results of these tests.

As shown in the table, the external pressure resistance of the example of the present invention satisfies the external pressure resistance (1.2 times the collapse external pressure specified by the API) when designing the shape of the pin tip. The error between the external pressure at which the leak actually occurred and the external pressure value calculated by the function f is at most 2.3%. Further, it is clear from Table 3 that the example of the present invention has superior external pressure resistance as compared with the existing joint (comparative example).

[0081]

[Table 3]

[0082]

The threaded joint for an oil country tubular good according to the present invention has a shape of the inner seal determined based on the function f, and has an external pressure resistance of 1.2 times the collapse pressure of the pipe main body, which is not found in the conventional joint. Satisfactory, yet it is possible to minimize the processing cost, increase the durability, and balance their performance, and can sufficiently withstand the increasingly severe mining conditions in the future is there.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a sectional view of a plane including a pipe axis of a coupling type threaded joint to which the present invention is directed. FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of the inside of the joint including the screw and the seal portion.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a threaded joint of the prior invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a curvature radius R ₁ of a pin-side torque shoulder forming surface and a curvature radius R of a box-side torque shoulder forming surface;
₂ is a cross-sectional view showing a joint of the prior invention, which is smaller than _{2 and} the center of the radius of curvature of R ₁ is set closer to the tube axis than that of R ₂ .

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing torque shoulders 14 and 24 and two metal touch seals 13 and 23 in the middle of a thread;
FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a joint of the prior invention provided with the joints 17 and 27.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional joint in which an annular groove 30 is provided in the middle of the box-side female screw in parallel with the internal seals 13 and 23 and a packing material 31 such as a Teflon ring is inserted. .

FIG. 6 is a side view of the shoulder portion 1 for torque shoulder provided at the base of the external thread portion on the outer surface of the pin side together with the inner seals 13 and 23;
4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a joint of a prior invention in which sealing ability is provided to an external torque shoulder portion provided with a joint 4.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the pin-side seal forming surface 13 is pressed against the box-side seal forming surface 23 when an internal pressure Pi is applied to the joint inner surface.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which airtightness is deteriorated by an external pressure Pe that has penetrated to a position immediately before a sealing portion sealing surface through a gap of a screw portion.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a contact surface pressure distribution of a seal portion and a torque shoulder portion when a joint is fastened.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a contact surface pressure distribution of a seal portion and a torque shoulder portion when an external pressure is applied in a fastened state.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of deformation of a pin tip caused by a force Fe caused by an internal / external pressure difference acting on a threadless parallel portion between a seal portion and a thread portion of the pin. is there.

FIG. 12 is a drawing showing a “cross-section” of five form factors at a pin tip.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the sealing surface pressure of the seal portion is reduced when the shoulder angle is less than 0 °.

[Explanation of symbols]

θ: shoulder angle, r: lip thickness (not lip thickness ratio), L: lip length S: seal length, T: seal taper 10: pipe body 11: pin portion 12: male screw 13: seal formation of pin portion Surface 14: Torque shoulder forming surface of pin portion 15: Pin tip lip portion 16: Inner surface end of tube of torque shoulder forming portion 17: Second seal forming portion in intermediate seal 18: Pipe shaft or coupling shaft 20: Coupling DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 ... Pin part 22 ... Male screw 23 ... Seal formation surface of box part 24 ... Torque shoulder formation surface of box part 26 ... Tube inner surface end part of torque shoulder formation part of box part 27 ... Intermediate seal formation part of box part 28 ... External pressure Position acting as a fulcrum when is actuated 30 ... an annular groove for inserting a packing material provided in the middle of the screw portion 31 ... a ring-shaped packing material such as Teflon 40 ... Internal pressure Pi 41 ... Increase in surface pressure caused by internal pressure 42 ... External pressure Pe 43 ... Force Fe caused by external pressure 44 ... Decrease in surface pressure caused by external pressure 45 ... Distribution of surface pressure at fastening 46 ... At the time of external pressure load Surface pressure distribution 47 ... Increase in surface pressure due to external pressure 48 ... Decrease in surface pressure of the seal portion when the shoulder angle is negative

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F16L 15/00-15/04

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pin and a box are screwed together, and a seal forming surface provided on an outer peripheral surface of a tip of a threaded portion of a pin and a seal forming surface provided on an inner peripheral surface deeper than a screw portion of the box are fitted. A threaded joint that forms a seal portion by making the torque shoulder forming surface provided at the foremost pin of the pin and the torque shoulder forming surface provided at the shoulder at the back of the box at the same time form a torque shoulder portion Then, the following conditions (a), (b), (c) and (d) for determining the range of the shape of the pin tip and the back of the box facing it.
A threaded joint for oil country tubular goods with excellent external pressure resistance, characterized by satisfying all of the following. (B) The seal-forming surface on the outer peripheral surface of the pin tip or the seal-forming surface on the inner peripheral surface of the box is a conical surface with the pipe axis or the coupling axis as the rotation axis. is there. (B) The effective diameter at the reference position of the seal forming surface at the tip of the pin is larger than the effective diameter at the reference position of the seal forming surface at the back of the box. (C) Five factors that determine the shape of the pin tip and the back of the opposing box, shoulder angle: θ (゜), lip thickness ratio: R, lip length: L (mm), seal length: S (mm)
And the seal taper: T are in the following ranges, respectively. 0 ° ≦ θ (゜) ≦ 20 °, 0.25 ≦ R ≦ 0.756 mm
≤ L (mm) ≤ 30 mm, 3 mm ≤ S (mm) ≤ 10 mm, 1/16 ≤ T ≤ 1 (d) Shoulder angle: θ (゜), lip thickness ratio: R, lip length: L (mm), A function f that is a first-order polynomial of the seal length: S (mm) and the seal taper: T satisfies f> 1.2. However,