RU2704161C1 - Upper isolating valve - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: valves.

SUBSTANCE: group of inventions relates to shutoff valves and can be used as an upper isolating valve as part of a system for accessing a well. Valve with through channel includes housing, holder with ball, in which through channel is made. Ball is reciprocally rotationally connected to the body by means of at least one connecting element so that the possibility of linear movement of the ball together with the cage in the body with simultaneous rotation of the ball is provided. Roller bearings are installed on the ball rotation axis. Each rolling bearing is formed by rolling path made in ball with balls and ring installed in cage with recesses for balls installation. On the outer side of the rings of each rolling bearing there is a protrusion with a recess, and in the holder there are grooves. Each groove is made under the projection of the rolling bearing ring for their fixation in the cage. In the cartridge there is at least one cutout sufficient for passage of the said at least one connecting element and made longitudinally to the through passage of the valve. Rolling bearing ring is installed so that said groove is oriented towards said cutout.

EFFECT: technical result consists in providing locking functions, possibility of opening valve by forcing and simultaneous provision of high reliability of valve.

12 cl, 5 dwg

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The proposed invention relates to shutoff valves and can be used as a top isolating valve as part of a well access system that creates a main working barrier in the riser production well to ensure safe completion and overhaul operations for underwater hydrocarbon production. The valve, in particular, provides the possibility of killing the well in an emergency due to the opening of the valve by forcing the killing fluid.

BACKGROUND

Known ball valve according to patent US 6708946, publ. 03/23/2004, Common features with the claimed invention are the presence in the valve body, cage with a ball in which the passage channel is made, while the rotation of the ball around its axis is ensured. In this valve, the ball has only a rotational connection, the cage with the ball does not move. The disadvantage of the valve is the inability to open the valve by punching and low reliability.

Known ball valve according to patent US 7963339, publ. 06/21/2011, Common signs with the claimed invention are the presence in the valve body, cage with a ball in which the passage channel is made, rolling bearings, while the ball is rotated around its own. In this valve, the ball also has only a rotational connection, the cage with the ball does not move. The disadvantage of the valve is the inability to open the valve by punching and low reliability.

As the closest analogue (prototype) selected valve according to patent US 4522370, publ. 06/11/1985 General features with the claimed invention are the presence in the valve body, cage with a ball in which the passage channel is made, the ball is rotationally-rotationally connected to the body, while it is possible to linearly move the ball together with the cage in the body with simultaneous rotation. The valve allows opening by punching. There are no ball bearings in this valve. The disadvantage of the invention is its low reliability due to the high probability of jamming when turning the ball.

The objective of the invention is to ensure the reliability of the valve, in particular when killing the well with a solution that is forced through the valve. This feature is extremely important in emergency situations at the well, when killing the well avoids major environmental damage.

A thrust ball bearing plate for the ball valve of FIG. 4 patents US 7963339, publ. 06/21/2011 The specified plate has a rectangular shape, is installed on one side of the axis of rotation of the ball and plays the role of a thrust ring. The plate allows you to install the connecting element on the ball, but the rolling friction in it is provided only on one side of the axis of rotation of the ball, which reduces the effectiveness of the bearing and its reliability.

As the closest analogue, the cylindrical thrust ball bearing ring for the ball valve of FIG. 4 patents US 3036590, publ. 05/29/1986 The indicated ring cannot be used to assemble a ball with a bearing and a cage in a valve body in which a connecting element is already installed, because the connecting element installed in the valve body will abut against the wall of the ring and will not allow assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The technical result of the claimed invention is the provision of locking functions, the ability to open the valve by punching and at the same time ensuring high reliability of the valve, as well as ease of manufacture.

To achieve a technical result, a valve with a passage channel is proposed, comprising a body, a cage with a ball in which a passage is made, the ball being rotationally rotationally connected to the body by means of at least one connecting element, so that the ball can be linearly moved together with the cage in case with simultaneous rotation of the ball, rolling bearings are installed on the axis of rotation of the ball, each rolling bearing is formed by a raceway made in the ball with balls and a ring, mounted in a cage, with recesses made in it for installing balls, while on the outer side of the rings of each rolling bearing there is a protrusion with a recess, and in the cage grooves are made, each groove is made under the protrusion of the rolling bearing ring to secure them in the cage, while the clip has at least one cutout sufficient for the passage of the specified at least one connecting element and made longitudinally to the passage channel of the valve; moreover, the roller bearing ring is installed so that the specified recess is oriented towards the specified cut-out.

In the inventive valve, the opening and closing occurs by moving the cage with the ball with the simultaneous rotation of the ball in the cage. The presence of a rolling bearing on the ball significantly increases the reliability of the entire kinematic scheme of closing / opening the valve, including a connecting element, ball, clip. In contrast to the use of a ball without a bearing or with a plain bearing in such a scheme, the rolling bearing is more resistant to contamination and allows large deviations in manufacturing tolerances, which is extremely important for valve applications, especially in the oil and gas industry. Proposed opportunities in the present description to improve the valve can enhance the technical result.

Piston chambers can be formed in the valve body for linear movement of the cage, with at least one piston chamber covering the cage with the ball.

In the valve, the rolling bearings can be thrust and two connecting elements can be used that are installed symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal plane of the ball passage channel.

In the valve, at least one connecting element may be a L-shaped yoke.

The valve may include adapters for connecting to the riser links of the well completion system, and the adapters may be installed at each end of the valve bore and have a trapezoidal thread.

In the valve, L-shaped yokes having a cylindrical part installed in the body and a flat part installed in the groove of the ball on its rotation axis can be used as a connecting element.

A valve may include three hydraulic lines: a valve closing line, a valve opening line, a chemical injection line.

In the valve, control can be carried out using a water-based working fluid.

In the valve, when using piston chambers, an anti-corrosion coating can be applied to the inner surface of each piston chamber, and each piston chamber can be sealed using elastomeric seals based on hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber.

In the valve, the ball, cage, connecting element, ball bearing ring can be made of nickel alloy. In the valve body can be made of low alloy steel. All of the above valve features, if necessary, can be combined.

The clip may be made of two elements interconnected.

The technical result of the inventive thrust ball bearing ring for the aforementioned inventive valve is the simultaneous provision of rolling friction on both sides of the axis and the possibility of assembly in a housing with a connecting element.

The thrust bearing ring for the aforementioned inventive valve, with the thrust bearing, can be made as follows: on the outer side of the thrust ball bearing ring, a protrusion with a recess is made. When assembling, the ring can be installed so that the protrusion with the recess coincides with the recess on the clip. In this case, the connecting element installed in the valve body will not abut against the wall of the ring and will allow assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the proposed technical solution are further described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the accompanying drawings illustrate only certain embodiments of the present technical solution and do not limit the scope of protection claimed in the claims.

In FIG. 1 shows a top isolation valve in perspective according to the present invention;

in FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the upper isolation valve in the open position of the valve according to the present invention;

in FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the upper isolation valve in the closed position of the valve according to the present invention;

in FIG. 4 shows a ball-and-bolt group according to the present invention with a spatial separation of parts;

in FIG. 5 shows a clip according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The proposed upper isolation valve can be used in the oil and gas industry in the access system to the well, in particular for underwater production. More specifically, the proposed valve can be used to prevent downhole tools from falling into the well during completion and overhaul operations, injecting chemicals into the production well, holding the produced fluid in the string during mounting operations for launching tools on cables, ropes and , ensuring pumping fluid to kill the well with a loss of hydraulic control pressure.

During the installation of tools on the platform, the proposed valve is in the closed position, preventing tools from falling into the well. When completing and completing wells, the proposed top isolating valve is in the open position, providing fluid pumping and passage for downhole tools.

The valve may be implemented as an upper isolation valve shown in FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the location of valve parts when it is in the open position. The upper isolation valve 1 comprises a housing 2 with a channel passing through it. According to a non-limiting embodiment of the invention, two adapters 3 and 4 are connected to each end of the housing 2, respectively, for connecting to the riser links of the well completion system. Adapters 3 and 4 have a trapezoidal thread. A cage 5 is installed inside the housing 2, in which the locking ball 6 is placed. The upper and lower pistons 7 and 8, respectively, mounted on the pusher 29 to provide linear movement of the casing 5 with the ball 6, are also installed in the housing. The piston 7 is a structural element with a cage 5 located in the piston chamber 22. A passage is made in the ball 6, and the ball 6 is rotatable in the cage 5 between the open and closed positions by an angle of 90 ° by means of rolling bearings and connecting elements. According to a non-limiting embodiment, the rolling bearings are thrust ball bearings 9, and the connecting elements are L-shaped yokes 10.

In the open position of the valve, the ball 6 is located so that its passage channel coincides with the passage channel of the valve, as shown in FIG. 2. When the ball 6 is rotated, its translational movement is simultaneously carried out in the casing 5. In the closed position of the valve, the ball 6 is located so that its passage channel extends essentially perpendicular to the passage channel of the valve, as shown in FIG. 3.

In the present description, the ball valve group includes a ball 6, two ball bearings 9 and two yokes 10. A more detailed ball and valve group is described in FIG. 4 and 5, which show that a L-shaped yoke 10 is mounted on the ball 6, the flat end 11 of which is fixed with the possibility of translational movement in the groove 28 on the ball 6, and the cylindrical end 12 is rotationally fixed in the housing. As a result, with the translational movement of the holder 5, the flat end 11 of the yoke 10 slides along the ball 6 into the groove 28, and the cylindrical end 12 rotates in the housing 2. Thus, the translational-rotational connection of the ball 6 with the housing 2 is provided.

On the axis of rotation of the ball 6 perpendicular to its passage channel, two thrust ball bearings 9 are located located on the diametrically opposite sides of the ball 6 relative to its passage channel (see Fig. 4). Each ball bearing 9 is formed by a ring 13 and one of the flat sides 14 of the ball 6, between which the rolling bodies are in the form of balls 15. Each ring 13 has recesses 16, each recess 16 is designed to accommodate one of the balls 15, and on each of them diametrically opposite of the flat sides 14 of the ball 6, a raceway 17 is made to allow balls 15 to move in it. According to a non-limiting embodiment, five recesses 16 are made in the ring 13. The raceways 17 have a generally arched shape close to semicircle shape.

In addition, to install the ring 13 into the holder 5, an arcuate protrusion 18 with a recess 19 is made on each ring 13. In the holder 5, a recess 20 is made on the inner side (visible in FIG. 5 through the side passage of the holder 5) to secure the ring 13. In the holder 5 there is also a cutout 21 made longitudinally to the valve passage channel, sufficient for the yoke 10 to be inserted when it is installed, as shown in FIG. 5. The recess 19 on the ring 13 is oriented towards the cutout 21 in the ferrule 5.

The valve has a line for controlling the opening of the valve, providing pressure to the piston chamber (s) for displacing the casing 5 with the ball 6 (by means of pistons 7, 8 and the pusher 29) while turning the ball 6 and closing the passage channel, and a line for controlling the closing a valve providing pressure to the piston chamber (s) for displacing the cage with the ball in the opposite direction with the passage channel overlapping.

Thus, the piston chambers provide linear movement of the casing 5, and in one of the chambers the casing 5 itself can be a piston.

The valve also implements the possibility of injection of reagents by means of a chemical injection line, which is protected from the ingress of fluid from the production shaft due to independent check valves.

A marking may be affixed to the upper isolation valve body indicating the location of the hydraulic lines.

The valve is controlled using a water-based working fluid. The design pressure in the valve opening line is 34.5 MPa, the design pressure in the valve closing line is 34.5 MPa, and the design pressure in the chemical injection line is also 34.5 MPa.

Installing the ball 6 with the clip 5 in the valve can be carried out as follows. On the ball 6, thrust ball bearings 9 are installed with balls 15, rings 13 having protrusions 18 with recesses 19. The rings 13 are oriented by the recess 19 in the direction in which the cage 5 has a recess 20. The ball 6 is installed in the cage 5 so that the recesses 19 of the rings 13 correspond to the recesses 20 of the clip 5. In FIG. 5, the clip is shown so that the recess 20 is visible from the inside of the clip. In the valve body 2, connecting elements are installed - yokes 10. The ball 6 in the cage 5 is inserted into the valve body, while the yokes 10, previously installed in the casing 2, freely pass through the cutouts 21 in the casing 5 and the recesses 19 in the protrusion of the rings 13 of the thrust ball bearings 9 and enter into connection with the ball 6.

The principle of operation of the proposed valve in brief is as follows.

In the inventive valve, the opening and closing occurs by moving the cartridge 5 with the ball 6 while rotating the ball 6 in the cartridge 5. In normal operation, the valve cartridge 5 with the ball 6 are moved under the control action, for example, hydraulic, carried out through the first and second piston chambers 22 , 23, respectively. In this case, the cage 5 moves linearly, and the ball 6, due to the rotational-translational connection with the fixed housing 2, rotates in the cage 5 on the thrust ball bearings 9 and opens the passage channel. In the burst mode, when the control action (pressure) is removed from the cage, the valve can be opened by supplying fluid in the opposite direction to the movement of the cage 5 when the valve is closed. When the fluid is supplied in this direction, the fluid pressure acts on the wall of the closed ball 6, the ball 6, in turn, acts on the holder 5. The holder 5 linearly moves in the chamber 22 and, at the same time, the installed ball 6 in it, due to the rotational-translational connection with the housing 2, rotates on thrust ball bearings 9 in the cage 5, opening the passage channel.

In more detail, the operation of the valve can be described as follows.

The proposed valve has three operating modes: valve opening mode, valve closing mode, and emergency mode.

At the beginning of operation of the valve in the opening mode, the valve is closed, the ball 6 is located so that its passage channel is offset from the passage channel of the valve (located perpendicularly, see Fig. 3). The ball-gate group performs a rectilinear movement by means of pressure arising in the piston chambers 22 and 23, respectively. Under the influence of control pressure in the valve opening / closing control line, fluid flows from the piston chamber to the valve closing / opening control line.

To open the ball 6, the pressure from the first cavity 24 of the first piston chamber 22 is released into the valve opening control line and then into the second cavity 25 of the first piston chamber 22; and the pressure from the first cavity 26 of the second piston chamber 23 is released into the valve opening control line and then into the second cavity 27 of the second piston chamber 23, which causes a linear movement of the cartridge 5 with the ball-bolt group. With the linear movement of the cage 5 with the ball-bolt group due to the fact that the cylindrical part 12 of the yoke is fixed in the housing, and the flat 11 part of the yoke slides into the groove 28 of the ball (rotational-translational connection), the ball rotates through an angle of 90 ° until it coincides with the passage valve channel. In this case, the flat part 11 of the yoke 10 provides a uniform distribution of torque over the ball 6.

The flat part 11 of the yoke 10 adjacent to the ball 6 also rotates at the same time with the ball 6, and the cylindrical part 12 of the yoke 10 located in the opening of the housing rotates inside this hole in the housing, but does not have linear displacement relative to the housing itself. When the ball 6 is rotated and moved, the ring 13 remains stationary relative to the cage 5, the ball 6 rotates on the thrust ball bearings 9. The rolling friction is provided around the axis of rotation of the ball due to the ball bearing ring and the possibility of installing balls 15 in it.

At the beginning of valve operation in closing mode, the valve is open (see Fig. 2). To close the valve, pressure from the second cavity 25 of the piston chamber 22 is vented to the valve closing control line and then to the first cavity 24 of the chamber 22; and the pressure from the second cavity 27 of the second piston chamber 23 is released into the valve closing control line and then into the first cavity 26 of the second piston chamber 23. In this case, the holder 5 is linearly moved with the ball-bolt group until the passage channel of the ball 6 is displaced relative to the passage channel of valve 1 . Similar to the opening of the valve when closing the valve during the linear movement of the ball-bolt group due to the fact that the cylindrical part 12 of the yoke is fixed in the housing, the ball is rotated on bearings 9 by an angle 90 ° to align with the valve bore. Similar to the opening of the valve when closing the valve, the flat part 11 of the yoke 10 provides an even distribution of torque over the ball 6.

The valve maintains an open and closed position after reaching these positions.

In emergency mode, when there is a loss of hydraulic pressure in the control line, the valve allows fluid to pass for completion or killing of the well, as well as testing the well for inflow. When the hydraulic control pressure is lost, that is, provided that the control pressure has left the control lines, pressure is pumped up from above onto the ball 6. Under the applied pressure, the movement of the cage 5 with the ball begins and due to the interaction of the ball with the yoke fixed in the housing, the ball 6 rotates on bearings 9 and opens the passage channel.

The use of bearings provides high reliability of the kinematic scheme of rotation of the ball and, therefore, the operation of the entire valve, including in emergency mode.

Claims (12)

1. A valve with a passage channel, comprising a housing, a cage with a ball in which the passage channel is made, wherein the ball is rotationally rotationally connected to the body by means of at least one connecting element, so that the ball can be linearly moved together with the cage in the housing while by rotation of the ball, rolling bearings are mounted on the axis of rotation of the ball, each rolling bearing is formed by a raceway made in the ball with balls and a ring mounted in a cage, with recesses made in it to install the balls, while on the outer side of the rings of each rolling bearing there is a protrusion with a recess, and recesses are made in the cage, each recess is made under the protrusion of the rolling bearing ring for fixing them in the cage, at least one cutout in the cage, sufficient for the passage of the specified at least one connecting element and made longitudinally to the passage channel of the valve; moreover, the roller bearing ring is installed so that the specified recess is oriented towards the specified cut-out. 2. The valve according to claim 1, in which at least one piston chamber is formed in its casing, providing linear movement of the cage, and at least one piston chamber covers the cage with the ball. 3. The valve according to claim 1, in which the rolling bearings are thrust and two connecting elements are used that are installed symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal plane of the ball passage channel. 4. The valve according to claim 2, in which the rolling bearings are thrust and two connecting elements are used, mounted symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal plane of the ball passage channel. 5. The valve according to claim 4, in which at least one connecting element is a L-shaped yoke. 6. The valve according to claim 1, comprising adapters for connecting to the riser links of the well completion system, the adapters being installed at each end of the valve passage channel and have a trapezoidal thread. 7. The valve according to claim 1, in which the L-shaped yokes are used as a connecting element, having a cylindrical part installed in the body and a flat part installed in the groove of the ball on its axis of rotation. 8. The valve according to claim 1, comprising three hydraulic lines: a valve closing line, a valve opening line, a chemical injection line. 9. The valve of claim 1, wherein the valve is controlled using a water-based working fluid. 10. The valve according to claim 2, in which an anti-corrosion coating is applied to the inner surface of each piston chamber. 11. The valve of claim 2, wherein each piston chamber is sealed using elastomeric seals based on hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber. 12. The rolling bearing ring for the valve according to claim 1.

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