US20140284506A1 - Ram shaft assembly for blowout preventer - Google Patents

Ram shaft assembly for blowout preventer Download PDF

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Publication number
US20140284506A1
US20140284506A1 US13/849,347 US201313849347A US2014284506A1 US 20140284506 A1 US20140284506 A1 US 20140284506A1 US 201313849347 A US201313849347 A US 201313849347A US 2014284506 A1 US2014284506 A1 US 2014284506A1
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
ram
shaft
piston
segments
blowout preventer
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
Application number
US13/849,347
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English (en)
Inventor
Nicolas J. Arteaga
Miguel Urrutia
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Cameron International Corp
Original Assignee
Cameron International Corp
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Cameron International Corp filed Critical Cameron International Corp
Priority to US13/849,347 priority Critical patent/US20140284506A1/en
Assigned to CAMERON INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION reassignment CAMERON INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: ARTEAGA, NICOLAS J., URRUTIA, MIGUEL
Priority to CA2847153A priority patent/CA2847153A1/fr
Publication of US20140284506A1 publication Critical patent/US20140284506A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
    • E21B33/00—Sealing or packing boreholes or wells
    • E21B33/02—Surface sealing or packing
    • E21B33/03—Well heads; Setting-up thereof
    • E21B33/06—Blow-out preventers, i.e. apparatus closing around a drill pipe, e.g. annular blow-out preventers
    • E21B33/061—Ram-type blow-out preventers, e.g. with pivoting rams
    • E21B33/062—Ram-type blow-out preventers, e.g. with pivoting rams with sliding rams
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T137/00—Fluid handling
    • Y10T137/0318—Processes
    • Y10T137/0402—Cleaning, repairing, or assembling
    • Y10T137/0441—Repairing, securing, replacing, or servicing pipe joint, valve, or tank

Definitions

  • drilling and production systems are often employed to access and extract the resource.
  • These systems may be located onshore or offshore depending on the location of a desired resource.
  • wellhead assemblies may include a wide variety of components, such as various casings, valves, fluid conduits, and the like, that control drilling or extraction operations.
  • blowout preventer such as a ram-type blowout preventer that uses one or more pairs of opposing rams that press to one another to restrict flow of fluid through the blowout preventer.
  • Many rams include main bodies (or ram blocks) that receive sealing elements (or ram packers) that press together when a pair of opposing rams close against one another.
  • the rams are driven into and out of a main bore of a blowout preventer by operating pistons coupled to the rams by connecting rods (or ram shafts).
  • a ram actuation assembly generally relate to ram actuation assemblies for blowout preventers.
  • a ram actuation assembly includes a ram shaft and a removable piston connected to the ram shaft via intermediate mounting members.
  • the mounting members which may be segments of a split mounting ring in one embodiment, are positioned radially about the ram shaft, such as within an external groove of the shaft.
  • the piston is fastened to the mounting members to retain the piston on the ram shaft.
  • FIG. 1 generally depicts a drilling system for forming a well, the drilling system having wellhead equipment including a blowout preventer, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a ram-type blowout preventer having ram actuation assemblies in accordance with one embodiment
  • FIG. 3 is a cross-section of the blowout preventer of FIG. 2 , which depicts the ram actuation assemblies in accordance with one embodiment
  • FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views of a ram actuation assembly of FIG. 3 having a piston coupled to a shaft via one or more intermediate mounting elements in accordance with one embodiment
  • FIG. 6 is an elevational view of an end the ram actuation assembly of FIG. 5 having a ram button
  • FIG. 7 is an exploded view generally illustrating positioning of mounting elements in a groove of the shaft in accordance with one embodiment
  • FIG. 8 is an exploded view generally depicting fastening of the piston to the mounting elements positioned radially about the shaft in accordance with one embodiment
  • FIG. 9 is a cross-section of the ram actuation assembly of FIGS. 4 and 5 in accordance with one embodiment.
  • the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements.
  • the terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
  • any use of “top,” “bottom,” “above,” “below,” other directional terms, and variations of these terms is made for convenience, but does not require any particular orientation of the components.
  • the ram actuation assembly of the present disclosure can be used in various blowout preventers, and such blowout preventers can be used in a variety of systems.
  • a drilling system 10 including a blowout preventer is illustrated in FIG. 1 in accordance with one embodiment.
  • the system 10 may be operated to drill a well 12 to access a subterranean resource, such as oil or natural gas.
  • the system 10 includes an onshore drilling rig 14 , although the system 10 could instead be an offshore system in other embodiments.
  • the drilling rig 14 uses a drill string 16 and a drill bit 18 to form the well 12 .
  • the drilling rig 14 also includes a mast 20 and a hoisting system (here generally shown as including a traveling block 22 , a crown block 24 , and drawworks 26 ) to enable a top drive 28 to be raised and lowered with respect to a drill floor 30 .
  • the drill string 16 is suspended from the top drive 28 , and extends through a hole in the drill floor 30 and through wellhead equipment 32 (e.g., a blowout preventer installed on a wellhead).
  • the drill string 16 can be rotated by the top drive 28 and can be raised and lowered with the top drive 28 (via the traveling block 22 ) to facilitate drilling operations.
  • the drilling system 10 is depicted as including the top drive 28 , some other embodiments do not include a top drive, such as embodiments using a kelly and a rotary table for rotating the drill string 16 .
  • blowout preventer 34 of the wellhead equipment 32 is generally depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3 .
  • the blowout preventer 34 includes a hollow main body 36 and a bore 38 that allows fluid or devices (e.g., the drill string 16 ) to pass through the blowout preventer 34 .
  • a plate 40 is provided on the main body 36 and can be removed to allow an operator to easily access the inside of the blowout preventer 34 .
  • the depicted blowout preventer 34 can be mounted on a wellhead or another component by way of a lower connection flange. Additional equipment may be installed on the blowout preventer 34 via studs on top of the blowout preventer.
  • Bonnet assemblies 42 secured to the main body 36 include various components that facilitate control of rams 48 disposed in the blowout preventer 34 . More specifically, in the depicted embodiment, ram actuation assemblies 50 are disposed in housings between bonnets 44 and end caps 46 of the bonnet assemblies 42 .
  • the ram actuation assemblies 50 include pistons 52 coupled to ram shafts 54 .
  • a force e.g., from hydraulic pressure
  • the rams 48 can be pipe rams (as depicted in FIG.
  • Such pipe rams could also include variable-bore pipe rams. But the rams 48 could take other forms as well, such as blind rams or shear rams. Further, the rams 48 can have any desired size, which may vary depending on the intended application. For example, various pipe rams 48 may be sized for use with blowout preventers having different bore diameters, such as bores of seven and one-sixteenth inches or nine inches. And in the depicted embodiment, the end caps 46 include locking stems that can be threaded through the end caps 46 to engage the ram shafts 54 and lock the rams 48 into place within the bore 38 .
  • ram actuation assemblies can be used to control movement of rams in a blowout preventer.
  • ram actuation assemblies included a separable ram shaft with two shaft portions that could be coupled together via a threaded connection to retain (e.g., pin) a piston between the two shaft portions.
  • a threaded connection between the two shaft portions increases manufacturing expense (e.g., from machining the threads) and can be susceptible to galling.
  • the two shaft portions are made of a soft material, like stainless steel, care must be taken by an assembler to properly align and connect the two shaft portions.
  • the threaded surfaces of the two shaft portions could be scarred, and the actuation assembly could be misaligned (e.g., out-of-round) when connected.
  • Another previous instance includes a ram actuation assembly in which the piston is formed integrally with the ram shaft. While this arrangement may avoid certain alignment issues, manufacturing costs may be undesirably high from increased machining time and material expense (e.g., by removing material from stainless steel bar stock, sized to accommodate the larger-diameter piston, to form the smaller-diameter shaft).
  • the ram actuation assemblies 50 include separate pistons 52 that can be installed on ram shafts 54 without threaded surfaces. Additional details of such ram actuation assemblies 50 may be better understood through reference to FIGS. 4-9 , which depict a ram actuation assembly 50 in accordance with certain embodiments. Perspective views of this example of a ram actuation assembly 50 are provided in FIGS. 4 and 5 , while an elevational view of one end of the ram actuation assembly 50 is provided in FIG. 6 . These figures show the piston 52 installed on the ram shaft 54 . One end of the ram shaft 54 (the end depicted in FIG.
  • ram button 56 sized to fit within a slot in a ram 48 to facilitate coupling of the ram shaft 54 to the ram 48 , as generally depicted in FIG. 3 .
  • the other end of the shaft 54 includes a recess 58 for receiving a locking stem through an end cap 46 as shown in FIG. 3 and discussed above.
  • the ram shaft 54 is formed from a single piece of material (such as metal), although the shaft could be formed with multiple pieces. More specifically, in at least some embodiments the ram shaft 54 is made from stainless steel bar stock (e.g., type 304 or type 316 stainless steel). And in accordance with certain embodiments, the depicted ram shaft 54 does not have threaded surfaces. Compared to certain previous arrangements, the omission of threaded connections on the ram shaft 54 in some embodiments allows the ram shaft 54 to reduce or avoid the problems of alignment, scarring, and galling discussed above. And by avoiding the need to cut threads on the shaft, such ram shafts 54 may also be less expensive to manufacture.
  • the ram actuation assembly 50 also includes one or more mounting members 60 for coupling the piston 52 to the ram shaft 54 .
  • these mounting members 60 are provided in the form of segments of a split mounting ring positioned radially about the ram shaft 54 .
  • Fasteners 62 such as cap screws, couple the piston 52 to the mounting members 60 .
  • the piston 52 also includes a seal 64 for inhibiting fluid flow between interior portions of a bonnet assembly 42 separated by the piston 52 .
  • the piston 52 and the mounting members 60 can be made from the same material as the ram shaft 54 (e.g., stainless steel). But in at least some embodiments the piston 52 and the mounting members 60 are made from different material than the ram shaft 54 .
  • the ram shaft 54 is made from stainless steel and the piston 52 and the mounting members 60 are made from non-stainless steel, such as a chromoly steel (e.g., type 4130 steel) or a carbon steel. Because the piston 52 and mounting members 60 are separate from the ram shaft 54 , they can be made from less expensive materials than the ram shaft 54 , thereby reducing manufacturing expense compared to arrangements with ram shafts having integral pistons. Maintenance costs may also be lower, as the separate components could be individually replaced as needed.
  • the mounting members 60 are first positioned about the ram shaft 54 as generally depicted in FIGS. 7 and 8 .
  • the mounting members 60 include inner edges 72 , holes 76 , and outer edges 78 .
  • the mounting members 60 are received in an external groove 74 of the ram shaft 54 .
  • the piston 52 includes an aperture 80 that allows the piston 52 to be slipped over an end of the ram shaft 54 .
  • the piston 52 may be moved along the ram shaft 54 to engage the mounting members 60 .
  • the piston 52 abuts a seal 70 within a seal groove 68 of the ram shaft 54 .
  • the seal 70 inhibits fluid from passing between interior portions of the bonnet assembly 42 separated by the piston 52 .
  • the ram actuation assemblies 50 are constructed to use the same seals 64 and 70 as certain previous ram actuation assemblies. This enables a blowout preventer to be retrofit with ram actuation assemblies 50 that use the same seals as the previous ram actuation assemblies.
  • the piston 52 includes a recess 82 that allows the piston 52 to receive the mounting members 60 within the recess 82 such that the piston 52 circumscribes or otherwise encompasses the outer edges 78 of the mounting members 60 .
  • the piston 52 includes a shoulder 84 having threaded mounting recesses 86 .
  • the piston 52 can then be coupled to the mounting members 60 by threading the fasteners 62 into mounting recesses 86 through the holes 76 , as generally depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9 .
  • the recess 82 generally facilitates assembly of the piston 52 on the ram shaft 54 by allowing the piston 52 to encircle the split mounting ring segments or other mounting members 60 and hold them in place about the ram shaft 54 while the fasteners 62 are installed. But in other embodiments, the recess 82 could be omitted.
  • the piston 52 could have a flat transverse surface, rather than a recessed surface, that abuts the mounting members 60 .

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  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Geology (AREA)
  • Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
  • Actuator (AREA)
US13/849,347 2013-03-22 2013-03-22 Ram shaft assembly for blowout preventer Abandoned US20140284506A1 (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US13/849,347 US20140284506A1 (en) 2013-03-22 2013-03-22 Ram shaft assembly for blowout preventer
CA2847153A CA2847153A1 (fr) 2013-03-22 2014-03-21 Ensemble piston pour obturateur anti-eruption

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US13/849,347 US20140284506A1 (en) 2013-03-22 2013-03-22 Ram shaft assembly for blowout preventer

Publications (1)

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US20140284506A1 true US20140284506A1 (en) 2014-09-25

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US (1) US20140284506A1 (fr)
CA (1) CA2847153A1 (fr)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2530681A (en) * 2012-07-19 2016-03-30 Cameron Int Corp Asymmetrical button for ram-type blowout preventers
WO2020028455A1 (fr) * 2018-07-31 2020-02-06 National Oilwell Varco, L.P. Appareil et procédé de test de bloc obturateur de puits
US20220178219A1 (en) * 2019-03-26 2022-06-09 Worldwide Oilfield Machine, Inc. Annular preventer

Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3791616A (en) * 1971-09-08 1974-02-12 Hydril Co Non-rotating ram rod locking assembly for blowout preventer
US4009645A (en) * 1975-11-03 1977-03-01 Gerhart Engineering And Machine Company Piston pump
US5234383A (en) * 1991-10-21 1993-08-10 Tsubakimoto Chain Co. Temperature compensated tensioner
US5287879A (en) * 1993-04-13 1994-02-22 Eastern Oil Tools Pte Ltd. Hydraulically energized wireline blowout preventer
US5505426A (en) * 1995-04-05 1996-04-09 Varco Shaffer, Inc. Hydraulically controlled blowout preventer
US5531574A (en) * 1994-02-28 1996-07-02 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Closed-type compressor
US6892625B2 (en) * 2002-02-01 2005-05-17 Parker-Hannifin Corporation Double rod end cylinder with split ring coupling
US20060144586A1 (en) * 2004-12-30 2006-07-06 Cooper Cameron Corporation Shearing blind ram assembly with a fish pocket
US20080236387A1 (en) * 2007-03-28 2008-10-02 Smc Corporation Piston assembly in fluid pressure cylinder

Patent Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3791616A (en) * 1971-09-08 1974-02-12 Hydril Co Non-rotating ram rod locking assembly for blowout preventer
US4009645A (en) * 1975-11-03 1977-03-01 Gerhart Engineering And Machine Company Piston pump
US5234383A (en) * 1991-10-21 1993-08-10 Tsubakimoto Chain Co. Temperature compensated tensioner
US5287879A (en) * 1993-04-13 1994-02-22 Eastern Oil Tools Pte Ltd. Hydraulically energized wireline blowout preventer
US5531574A (en) * 1994-02-28 1996-07-02 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Closed-type compressor
US5505426A (en) * 1995-04-05 1996-04-09 Varco Shaffer, Inc. Hydraulically controlled blowout preventer
US6892625B2 (en) * 2002-02-01 2005-05-17 Parker-Hannifin Corporation Double rod end cylinder with split ring coupling
US20060144586A1 (en) * 2004-12-30 2006-07-06 Cooper Cameron Corporation Shearing blind ram assembly with a fish pocket
US20080236387A1 (en) * 2007-03-28 2008-10-02 Smc Corporation Piston assembly in fluid pressure cylinder

Non-Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
Definition of button; printed 10/21/2016 *
UNISOURCE MFG; 08/20/2007; http://web.archive.org/web/20070820073647/http://www.unisource-mfg.com/products/oneproduct.php?categoryid=37&productid=156 *

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2530681A (en) * 2012-07-19 2016-03-30 Cameron Int Corp Asymmetrical button for ram-type blowout preventers
GB2530681B (en) * 2012-07-19 2016-06-22 Cameron Int Corp Asymmetrical button for ram-type blowout preventers
WO2020028455A1 (fr) * 2018-07-31 2020-02-06 National Oilwell Varco, L.P. Appareil et procédé de test de bloc obturateur de puits
US11603730B2 (en) 2018-07-31 2023-03-14 National Oilwell Varco, L.P. Blowout preventer testing apparatus and method
US20220178219A1 (en) * 2019-03-26 2022-06-09 Worldwide Oilfield Machine, Inc. Annular preventer

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Publication number Publication date
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AS Assignment

Owner name: CAMERON INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, TEXAS

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:ARTEAGA, NICOLAS J.;URRUTIA, MIGUEL;REEL/FRAME:030072/0194

Effective date: 20130322

STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION