US20030019625A1 - Simple flexible joint for high pressure and high temperature - Google Patents
Simple flexible joint for high pressure and high temperature Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20030019625A1 US20030019625A1 US09/955,175 US95517501A US2003019625A1 US 20030019625 A1 US20030019625 A1 US 20030019625A1 US 95517501 A US95517501 A US 95517501A US 2003019625 A1 US2003019625 A1 US 2003019625A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- flexible joint
- abutment
- tubular portion
- tubular
- laminated
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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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
- E21B19/00—Handling rods, casings, tubes or the like outside the borehole, e.g. in the derrick; Apparatus for feeding the rods or cables
- E21B19/002—Handling rods, casings, tubes or the like outside the borehole, e.g. in the derrick; Apparatus for feeding the rods or cables specially adapted for underwater drilling
- E21B19/004—Handling rods, casings, tubes or the like outside the borehole, e.g. in the derrick; Apparatus for feeding the rods or cables specially adapted for underwater drilling supporting a riser from a drilling or production platform
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16L27/00—Adjustable joints, Joints allowing movement
- F16L27/10—Adjustable joints, Joints allowing movement comprising a flexible connection only, e.g. for damping vibrations
- F16L27/103—Adjustable joints, Joints allowing movement comprising a flexible connection only, e.g. for damping vibrations in which a flexible element, e.g. a rubber-metal laminate, which undergoes constraints consisting of shear and flexure, is sandwiched between partly curved surfaces
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Geology (AREA)
- Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
- Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
- General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
- Pivots And Pivotal Connections (AREA)
Abstract
A flexible joint for providing a hinged connection with an underwater transport line or “riser” for transporting an oil or gas fluid and that is subjected to a traction force. The joint comprises a substantially cylindrical housing containing: a second tubular portion fixed to one end of said housing; a first tubular portion fixed to said underwater transport line and secured to a laminated hinge abutment fixed to another end of said housing and against which the traction force of said transport line is exerted; and tubular isolation means interconnecting said first and second tubular portions in such a manner as to confine the fluid passing through the flexible joint.
Description
- The present invention relates to the offshore oil industry, and more particularly it relates to a simple flexible joint for use with high pressure and high temperature and designed to be fitted to connection systems for risers (underwater lines carrying fluid).
- FIG. 3 shows an example of a simple
flexible joint 10 of the prior art as used in the offshore oil industry and designed to have its bottom portion connected (in general via a weld 12) to an underwatertubular structure 14 or “riser” connected to a well head (not shown) in a gas or oil field that is to be worked, with its top portion connected (in general by means of a plurality of bolts 16) to thehead 18 of a pipe-line 20 for carrying the extracted gas or oil fluid. - That conventional assembly includes a laminated spherical hinge abutment30 made up of rigid layers, e.g. of metal, alternating with elastomer layers, the various layers being bonded to one another. The abutment is housed between a
strength member 32 in the form of a spherical cap and forming an integral portion of a firsttubular portion 34 of said assembly that is designed to be fixed to theextraction line 14, and astrength member 36 constituted by a ring which is fixedly connected, e.g. by a plurality ofbolts 38, to a secondtubular portion 40 of said assembly and presenting in the example shown the general external shape of a bell surmounted by aflange 42 for receiving theline head 18. The faces of the layers of the abutment and the faces of the cap and of the ring between which the abutments are disposed are concentric spherical surfaces centered on a common point O situated on the flexible hinge axis (which coincides with the axis of the transport line). Internally, this tubular portion has a spherical emergingend portion 44 which is designed to come into contact with and cooperate with thespherical cap 32 so as to avoid putting the laminatedabutment 30 under tension while theriser 14 is being installed. - That conventional structure gives complete satisfaction under most circumstances of offshore use, in particular when the pressures involved do not exceed 400 bars and the temperatures do not exceed 100 degrees Celsius (° C.). Nevertheless, as liquid or gas hydrocarbon reserves become rarer, more and more fields are being worked in deep water. Unfortunately, at very great depths (greater than 1500 meters (m)), the pressure and the temperature of the extracted fluid are both very high (greater than or equal to 600 bars and 120° C., respectively) and conventional assemblies of the kind described above cannot withstand them, in particular because the laminated hinge is not protected from the fluid.
- An object of the present invention is to mitigate the above-described drawbacks by proposing a simple flexible joint which can be guaranteed to operate under extreme conditions of pressure and temperature. Another object of the invention is to provide an assembly that is particularly reliable and that also presents a long lifetime. Yet another object of the invention is to protect the laminated hinge effectively against chemical attack by the fluid.
- These objects are achieved by a flexible joint for providing a hinged connection with an underwater transport line or “riser” for transporting an oil or gas fluid and that is subjected to a traction force, the joint comprising a substantially cylindrical housing containing: a second tubular portion fixed to one end of said housing; a first tubular portion fixed to said underwater transport line and secured to a laminated hinge abutment fixed to another end of said housing and against which the traction force of said transport line is exerted; and tubular isolation means interconnecting said first and second tubular portions in such a manner as to confine the fluid passing through the flexible joint.
- With this particular structure for a flexible joint, the fluid remains confined within the housing in a central channel that is defined in succession by the first tubular portion, the tubular isolation means, and the second tubular portion, thereby isolating the laminated hinge abutment from attack by the fluid.
- The tubular isolation means comprise a spherical laminated abutment which is preferably mounted between a first strength member secured to said first tubular portion and a second strength member secured to said second tubular portion, the strength members advantageously including sealing means of the O-ring type.
- In an embodiment, the second spherical laminated abutment has a center of rotation O in common with the center of rotation of said first laminated hinge abutment.
- Advantageously, the housing has a plurality of slots for allowing seawater to flow through as a cooling fluid.
- Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly from the following description given by way of non-limiting indication and made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
- FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section view through a simple flexible joint of the invention for use with high pressure and high temperature;
- FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the simple flexible joint of FIG. 1; and
- FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section view through a simple flexible joint of the prior art.
- FIGS. 1 and 2 are respectively a longitudinal section and an outer perspective view of a simple flexible joint of the invention for use in extracting hydrocarbons from very deep waters (depths in excess of 1500 m) where pressure and temperature conditions are extreme, i.e. greater than or equal to 600 bars and 120° C. The joint itself is commonly located a little below the surface.
- Like a conventional assembly, this assembly comprises a single laminated
spherical hinge abutment 50 comprising rigid layers, e.g. of metal, alternating with layers of elastomer, the various layers being bonded to one another. This abutment is also received between afirst strength member 52 in the form of a spherical cap on which there comes to rest a firsttubular portion 54 of said assembly, which portion is shaped like a golf tee and is for welding (via a weld 56) to afluid extraction line 14, and asecond strength member 58 constituted by a ring forming the bottom of this assembly and securely connected, e.g. by means of a first set ofstud bolts 60 disposed circumferentially to a second annular portion of the assembly. The connection between the cap and the tee is advantageously a pressed connection (theabutment 50 being precompressed during assembly) with mechanical cone-on-cone contact. - To make the assembly easier to assemble, the second tubular portion is advantageously made up of two parts (but it would naturally be possible for it to comprise a one-part structure as in the prior art) comprising a
cylindrical housing body 62 and acover plate 64 covering its top portion and surmounted by aflange 66 for receiving the line head (not shown). Theplate 64 is fixed to the cylindrical housing in the same manner as thebottom 58 is fixed to the bottom portion of the housing, by means of a second set ofstud bolts 68 that are likewise disposed circumferentially. The faces of the abutment layers and the faces of the cap and of the ring between which the abutment is disposed are concentric spherical surfaces centered on a common point O situated on the flexible hinge axis (which coincides with the axis of the extraction line). - As in a conventional assembly, the traction force exerted by the
riser 14 is transmitted to the firsttubular portion 54 of thecylindrical housing 62 by the laminatedabutment 50 which also accommodates angular variations of theriser 14 in all directions. - According to the invention, the laminated
hinge abutment 50 is isolated from attack from the transported fluid by tubular isolation means 70 disposed between and in line with the first and second tubular portions to which they are connected to form aconfinement channel 72 for the fluid under pressure and at high temperature. For this purpose, the firsttubular portion 54 is secured rigidly by first connection means 74 (although a simple force-fit would also be possible) to a hemispherically-shapedfirst strength member 76 of a second laminatedabutment 78 whose ring-shapedsecond strength member 80 is securely fixed by second connection means 82 to theplate 64 of the second tubular portion. This second laminated abutment is likewise of a structure that is concentric about a center of rotation O in common with that of thehinge abutment 50. - The confinement channel is frustoconical in shape, being of smaller section level with the first tubular portion and isolation of the fluid is reinforced by sealing means of the O-
ring type hinge abutment 50. In addition, in order to ensure that heat is removed effectively, the cylindrical housing includes a plurality ofslots 88 that are regularly distributed around its periphery and that allow seawater to flow inside the housing, thereby ensuring that it is at the same pressure as the surrounding ocean. The particularly high internal pressure flowing in the transport line and passing through the joint therefore does not act on this housing and thus does not act either on the laminatedhinge abutment 50. - With this particular structure, the laminated
hinge abutment 50 which takes up both tension from the line and angle variations due to the riser 14 (i.e. which takes up mechanical forces), is completely protected from chemical attack, and also from the pressure and the temperature of the fluid, by the second laminatedabutment 78 which performs this separation function (confinement barrier) between the fluid and thehinge abutment 50. This second abutment which takes up the pressure of the fluid and which accompanies the variations of angle (because of its secure connection to thetee 54 fixed to the riser) can, in contrast, accommodate a certain amount of damage due to the fluid since it has little influence on the overall mechanical strength of the assembly.
Claims (6)
1/ A flexible joint for providing a hinged connection with an underwater transport line or “riser” for transporting an oil or gas fluid and that is subjected to a traction force, the joint comprising a substantially cylindrical housing containing: a second tubular portion fixed to one end of said housing; a first tubular portion fixed to said underwater transport line and secured to a laminated hinge abutment fixed to another end of said housing and against which the traction force of said transport line is exerted; and tubular isolation means interconnecting said first and second tubular portions in such a manner as to confine the fluid passing through the flexible joint.
2/ A flexible joint according to claim 1 , wherein said tubular isolation means include a spherical laminated abutment.
3/ A flexible joint according to claim 2 , wherein said spherical laminated abutment is mounted between a first strength member secured to said first tubular portion and a second strength member secured to said second tubular portion.
4/ A flexible joint according to claim 3 , wherein said first and second strength members include O-ring type sealing means.
5/ A flexible joint according to claim 1 , wherein said second spherical laminated abutment has a center of rotation O in common with that of said first laminated hinge abutment.
6/ A flexible joint according to claim 1 , wherein said housing includes a plurality of slots to allow seawater to flow through as a cooling fluid.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
FR0109905 | 2001-07-25 | ||
FR0109905 | 2001-07-25 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20030019625A1 true US20030019625A1 (en) | 2003-01-30 |
Family
ID=8865865
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/955,175 Abandoned US20030019625A1 (en) | 2001-07-25 | 2001-09-19 | Simple flexible joint for high pressure and high temperature |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20030019625A1 (en) |
Cited By (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20050284638A1 (en) * | 2004-06-28 | 2005-12-29 | Riggs David C | Method for inspection and repair of a flexible joint |
US20070201955A1 (en) * | 2006-02-24 | 2007-08-30 | Technip France | Hull-to-caisson interface connection assembly for spar platform |
WO2014164673A3 (en) * | 2013-03-11 | 2015-06-11 | Lord Corporation | Fluid conduit connection system |
US20170198845A1 (en) * | 2014-08-20 | 2017-07-13 | Lord Corporation | Flexible joint and method of manufacturing flexible joint |
WO2017214290A1 (en) * | 2016-06-09 | 2017-12-14 | Oil States Industries, Inc. | Extension members for subsea riser stress joints |
US20180231161A1 (en) * | 2015-08-19 | 2018-08-16 | Lord Corporation | Flexible pipe joint |
US10337655B2 (en) | 2015-05-29 | 2019-07-02 | Oil States Industries, Inc. | Flexible pipe joint having an annular flexible boot thermally or chemically insulating an annular elastomeric flexible element |
CN113914830A (en) * | 2021-11-17 | 2022-01-11 | 西安航天动力技术研究所 | High temperature resistant flexible joint of marine riser |
-
2001
- 2001-09-19 US US09/955,175 patent/US20030019625A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (17)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20050284638A1 (en) * | 2004-06-28 | 2005-12-29 | Riggs David C | Method for inspection and repair of a flexible joint |
US7472755B2 (en) * | 2004-06-28 | 2009-01-06 | Riggs David C | Method for inspection and repair of a flexible joint |
US20070201955A1 (en) * | 2006-02-24 | 2007-08-30 | Technip France | Hull-to-caisson interface connection assembly for spar platform |
WO2007101037A3 (en) * | 2006-02-24 | 2007-10-25 | Technip France | Hull-to-caisson interface connection assembly for spar platform |
US7559723B2 (en) | 2006-02-24 | 2009-07-14 | Technip France | Hull-to-caisson interface connection assembly for spar platform |
AU2007220845B2 (en) * | 2006-02-24 | 2011-09-22 | Technip France | Hull-to-caisson interface connection assembly for spar platform |
WO2014164673A3 (en) * | 2013-03-11 | 2015-06-11 | Lord Corporation | Fluid conduit connection system |
EP3282085A1 (en) * | 2013-03-11 | 2018-02-14 | LORD Corporation | A hydrocarbon production system |
US20170198845A1 (en) * | 2014-08-20 | 2017-07-13 | Lord Corporation | Flexible joint and method of manufacturing flexible joint |
US11009161B2 (en) * | 2014-08-20 | 2021-05-18 | Lord Corporation | Flexible joint and method of manufacturing flexible joint |
US10337655B2 (en) | 2015-05-29 | 2019-07-02 | Oil States Industries, Inc. | Flexible pipe joint having an annular flexible boot thermally or chemically insulating an annular elastomeric flexible element |
US10995889B2 (en) | 2015-05-29 | 2021-05-04 | Oil States Industries, Inc. | Flexible pipe joint having an annular flexible boot thermally or chemically insulating an annular elastomeric flexible element |
US20180231161A1 (en) * | 2015-08-19 | 2018-08-16 | Lord Corporation | Flexible pipe joint |
US10598305B2 (en) * | 2015-08-19 | 2020-03-24 | Lord Corporation | Flexible pipe joint |
US10053929B2 (en) | 2016-06-09 | 2018-08-21 | Oil States Industries, Inc. | Extension members for subsea riser stress joints |
WO2017214290A1 (en) * | 2016-06-09 | 2017-12-14 | Oil States Industries, Inc. | Extension members for subsea riser stress joints |
CN113914830A (en) * | 2021-11-17 | 2022-01-11 | 西安航天动力技术研究所 | High temperature resistant flexible joint of marine riser |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: TECHLAM, FRANCE Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:MOOG, OLIVIER;REEL/FRAME:012342/0854 Effective date: 20011029 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |