US3538238A - Flexible guide pipe for underwater drilling - Google Patents

Flexible guide pipe for underwater drilling Download PDF

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Publication number
US3538238A
US3538238A US741138A US3538238DA US3538238A US 3538238 A US3538238 A US 3538238A US 741138 A US741138 A US 741138A US 3538238D A US3538238D A US 3538238DA US 3538238 A US3538238 A US 3538238A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
armoring
pipe
sleeve
metallic
well head
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.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US741138A
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English (en)
Inventor
Jacques Delacour
Remi Reynard
Michel Chatard
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.)
IFP Energies Nouvelles IFPEN
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IFP Energies Nouvelles IFPEN
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by IFP Energies Nouvelles IFPEN filed Critical IFP Energies Nouvelles IFPEN
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3538238A publication Critical patent/US3538238A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime 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
    • E21B17/00—Drilling rods or pipes; Flexible drill strings; Kellies; Drill collars; Sucker rods; Cables; Casings; Tubings
    • E21B17/01—Risers
    • 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
    • E21B7/00—Special methods or apparatus for drilling
    • E21B7/12—Underwater drilling
    • E21B7/128—Underwater drilling from floating support with independent underwater anchored guide base
    • 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
    • F16L11/00—Hoses, i.e. flexible pipes
    • F16L11/14—Hoses, i.e. flexible pipes made of rigid material, e.g. metal or hard plastics
    • F16L11/16—Hoses, i.e. flexible pipes made of rigid material, e.g. metal or hard plastics wound from profiled strips or bands

Definitions

  • a flexible pipe permanently connects a submerged well head with a surface installation and is used both for guiding the lowering of the drill bit and for conveying the flushing fluid.
  • This pipe which may include conductors for remote control is constituted by the combination of an internal armoring formed by the helical winding of a strip with interlocking convolutions and of an external sleeve tightly surrounding this armoring.
  • the present invention relates to a flexible guide pipe for underwater drilling from a surfaceinstallation, such as a ship or a drilling platform.
  • the object of this invention is to provide a flexible pipe for permanently connecting the surface installation with the underwater well head, this pipe being adapted to perform by itself several functions, comprising the guiding of the drill bit so as to permit the reintroduction thereof into the well, the circulation of the drilling or flushing fluid and optionally the remote control of the well head mechanisms and the transmission of data between the well head and the surface installation.
  • the invention provides a special pipe structure adapted to fulfill the above-indicated requirements, this special structure providing the pipe both with a great flexibility, allowing it to conform to the movements of the surface installation and with a high resistance to traction stresses, and also providing this pipe with an excellent resistance to abrasion, internally as well as externally.
  • this pipe will advantageously be embedded electric wires and/ or flexible hydraulic hoses for transmitting control signals, data or power between the surface installation and the well head.
  • a particular structure of flexible pipe permitting the achievement of these objects is constituted by the combination of an internal flexible metallic armoring resistant to abrasion, formed by the helical winding of a metallic strip forming interlocking convolutions provided with means for hydraulic sealing, and of an external sleeve or sock constituted by a winding or netting of metallic wires or cables tightly surrounding said metallic armoring, the pipe also including a lower hydraulic connecting element and an upper hydraulic connecting element, said elements providing for water-tight connections with the well head and the surface installation respectively for the circulation of drilling fluid through said pipe, said internal element being tightly secured at both of its ends to said connecting elements, said connecting elements being further provided with anchoring means for the respective ends of said external sleeve.
  • Some of the metallic wires or cables of the external sleeve may advantageously be electrically insulated so as to be used for transmitting control signals or measurements between the surface installation and the well head.
  • Small diametered hoses for hydraulic remote control may also be embedded in the external sleeve of the pipe.
  • FIG. 1 diagrammatically illustrates a conventional device for underwater drilling
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the invention
  • FIGS. 2A and 2B are detail views showing, on a larger scale, two embodiments of the internal armoring and of the means for making it watertight,
  • FIG. 3 is a view on a larger scale of the pipe shown by FIG. 2.
  • FIG. 1 which diagrammatically shows a conventional equipment for underwater drilling
  • the reference numeral 1 designates a surface installation
  • 2 refers to the head of the drilled well
  • 3 indicates guide cables.
  • Two guide means 4, 5 of conventional design including radial arms slidable along the guide cables, allow to position successive elements, the aggregate of which constitutes the well head and which are provided with bores forming an axial passage for the drill stem or tubing.
  • This aggregate includes at its upper end means such as a stuffing box 6 providing for tightness in the annular space between the drill pipe and the wall of the axial bore of the well head, the return of the drilling mud to the surface installation occurring through the pipe 7.
  • a stuffing box 6 providing for tightness in the annular space between the drill pipe and the wall of the axial bore of the well head, the return of the drilling mud to the surface installation occurring through the pipe 7.
  • the reference numeral 8 designates a cable including conductors for remote measuring, transmitting to the surface installation data emanating from the well head.
  • the remote control from this surface installation of the devices, especially the valves, of the well head is performed by means of a line 9 for electric or hydraulic control.
  • the flexible guide pipe 10 according to the invention shown by FIG. 2 and, on a larger scale, by FIG. 3 (the same reference numerals have been used on these two figures to designate corresponding elements) is tightly connected at its lower part by a flange 11 with an hydraulic connector 12, which may be of a conventional design, located at the top of the well head 2 and, at its upper part, is tightly connected by a flange 13 with a hydraulic connector '14 connected by the pipe 15 with a circuit for recirculating the drilling mud (not shown).
  • This pipe includes an internal armoring 16 formed by the helical winding of a metallic strip with interlocking convolutions, having for example a S- or Z-shaped section which may be of a known type, this armoring having an internal diammeter which is suflicient to provide a passage for the drill bit and of the elements of the drill stem or drill tubing surmounting this drill bit.
  • the cross section of the metallic strip has the shape of a very flattened S, and a coating 17 of elastomeric or thermoplastic material provides for hydraulic sealing.
  • the metallic strip 16a constituting the armoring has a substantially Z-shaped cross section including on each upper loop of the Z a housing for an helical sealing joint 17a.
  • the Armoring 16, 16a (FIG. 3) is flexible and must be 3 capable of withstanding the internal wear caused by the friction of the drill bit and of the assembly of the elements of the drill stem or drill tubing lowered and raised through the guide pipe according to the invention.
  • the pipe 10 includes, in combination with its internal metallic armoring 16, 16a an external sleeve or sock 18 formed of a winding or of a netting of metallic wires or cables clamping the internal armoring.
  • wires or cables constituting this sleeve are at both their ends joined together so as to form connecting strands anchored on the adjacent connecting flange (flanges 11 and 13), being in the illustrated embodiment folded around anchoring pulleys 19 and 20, the axes of which are respectively integral with the lower flange 11 and the upper flange 13-, so as to constitute two knots 21 and 22.
  • any tractive force resulting in a compression of the internal armoring 16, 16a by the external sleeve 18 increases the mutual friction of the adjacent convolutions of this internal armoring on the one hand and, on the other hand, causes a constriction of the sleeve 18 around the internal armoring 16, 16a which blocks the sleeve 18 and thereby limits the axial elongation thereof.
  • This combination of the sleeve 18 and of the internal armoring 16, 16a thus provides the flexible pipe according to the invention with a resistance to tractive stresses which is suificient in the contemplated application.
  • Electrical conductors will advantageously be embedded in the sleeve or sock 18 so as to provide for the transmission of measurements between the well head and the surface installation, as well as, electric power conductors or pipes for the hydraulic control of the mechanisms, particularly of the valves of the well head from the surface installation.
  • the conductors may be constituted by some of the wires or cables of the sleeve 18, coated with an electrically insulating material, such as a polyamide.
  • the armoring 16, 16a will advantageously be precompressed in the axial direction so as to, on the one l 1and, reduce the spacing between its convolutions thereby reducing the risks of jamming of the teeth of the drill bit therebetween, and, on the other hand, increase the resistance of this armoring to crushing, this resistance being necessary for withstanding the crushing stresses applied by the sleeve 18 when the whole pipe is subjected to a tractive force.
  • FIG. 2B In order to completely eliminate these risks of jamming it will be possible, as illustrated by FIG. 2B, to place an intermediary metallic strip 26 between the ad acent convolutions of the metallic strip 16a which constitutes the armoring during the operation of interlocking the convolutions of this last mentioned strip.
  • Flexible guide pipe for connecting a well head to a surface installation including in combination an internal armoring constituted by the helical winding of a metallic strip with interlocking convolutions, provided with means for hydraulic sealing, and an external sleeve made of a netting of metallic wires tightly surrounding said metallic armoring, a lower hydraulic connecting element and an upper hydraulic connecting element adapted to provide connection with the well head and the surface installation respectively, said internal armoring being tightly secured to said connecting elements at its upper and lower ends respectively, said metallic wires of said external sleeve being joined together at each end of said sleeve so as to form at least one connecting strand, means anchoring said strands on said two connecting elements respectively, so that subsidiarye force applied to the pipe results in said sleeve being constructed on said internal armoring, thereby limiting, on the one hand, the lengthening of the armoring by increasing the coeflicient of mutual friction of the adjacent convolutions of this armoring, as a result of the constriction of said sleeve and

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Geology (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Earth Drilling (AREA)
  • Excavating Of Shafts Or Tunnels (AREA)
US741138A 1967-06-29 1968-06-28 Flexible guide pipe for underwater drilling Expired - Lifetime US3538238A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR112552 1967-06-29

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3538238A true US3538238A (en) 1970-11-03

Family

ID=8634170

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US741138A Expired - Lifetime US3538238A (en) 1967-06-29 1968-06-28 Flexible guide pipe for underwater drilling

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US3538238A (OSRAM)
BE (1) BE717089A (OSRAM)
DE (1) DE1758576A1 (OSRAM)
FR (1) FR1583169A (OSRAM)
GB (1) GB1234800A (OSRAM)
NL (1) NL158885B (OSRAM)
OA (1) OA02839A (OSRAM)

Cited By (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4249610A (en) * 1978-04-26 1981-02-10 Sante Fe International Corporation Offshore drilling control cable clamp system
US4266886A (en) * 1977-09-08 1981-05-12 Institut Francais Du Petrole Method and device for connecting a floating installation to an underwater installation through at least one flexible line
EP0039596A3 (en) * 1980-05-05 1982-05-26 Conoco Inc. Offshore platform
EP0039597A3 (en) * 1980-05-05 1982-05-26 Conoco Inc. Drilling a borehole from an offshore platform
US4345624A (en) * 1980-02-15 1982-08-24 Gould Inc. Blow-out guard for high-pressure hoses
US4375835A (en) * 1979-12-21 1983-03-08 The British Petroleum Company Limited Oil production system
US4470621A (en) * 1982-01-04 1984-09-11 Hydril Company Flexible tubular connector
US4556340A (en) * 1983-08-15 1985-12-03 Conoco Inc. Method and apparatus for production of subsea hydrocarbons using a floating vessel
US4634314A (en) * 1984-06-26 1987-01-06 Vetco Offshore Inc. Composite marine riser system
US7721611B2 (en) 2003-11-07 2010-05-25 Conocophillips Company Composite riser with integrity monitoring apparatus and method
US20160312918A1 (en) * 2015-04-21 2016-10-27 Caterpillar Inc. Hose Restraint System and Method for Using the Same
CN114165160A (zh) * 2021-11-22 2022-03-11 中国石油大学(华东) 基于精细网格存储和一维函数的快速地质导向方法
CN115303425A (zh) * 2022-08-10 2022-11-08 长沙矿冶研究院有限责任公司 一种用于海底采矿的复合材料输送立管及立管布放系统
CN115596391A (zh) * 2022-10-15 2023-01-13 吕远（Cn） 一种柔性杆减磨密封装置及方法

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2459420A1 (fr) * 1979-06-18 1981-01-09 Coflexip Canalisation pour la collecte du petrole produit par un gisement sous-marin

Citations (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US330910A (en) * 1885-11-24 Eugene levavasseue
US973901A (en) * 1907-10-26 1910-10-25 Emil Witzenmann Hose.
US1023032A (en) * 1910-02-03 1912-04-09 Firm Of Gebrueder Jacob Metallic flexible hose-pipe.
US1198392A (en) * 1915-09-07 1916-09-12 Titeflex Metal Hose Corp Flexible tube.
US1365306A (en) * 1919-12-01 1921-01-11 William M Dickinson Flexible conduit
US2028793A (en) * 1931-07-11 1936-01-28 Joseph J Mascuch Interference preventing cable
US2402503A (en) * 1945-02-24 1946-06-18 Rome Cable Corp Shielded electrical conductor construction and method of making the same
US2409530A (en) * 1942-07-03 1946-10-15 Okonite Co Electric cable
US2438146A (en) * 1945-06-07 1948-03-23 American Brass Co Flexible metal hose
GB1069274A (en) * 1963-12-24 1967-05-17 Ass Elect Ind Improvements relating to hoses with in-built conductors

Patent Citations (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US330910A (en) * 1885-11-24 Eugene levavasseue
US973901A (en) * 1907-10-26 1910-10-25 Emil Witzenmann Hose.
US1023032A (en) * 1910-02-03 1912-04-09 Firm Of Gebrueder Jacob Metallic flexible hose-pipe.
US1198392A (en) * 1915-09-07 1916-09-12 Titeflex Metal Hose Corp Flexible tube.
US1365306A (en) * 1919-12-01 1921-01-11 William M Dickinson Flexible conduit
US2028793A (en) * 1931-07-11 1936-01-28 Joseph J Mascuch Interference preventing cable
US2409530A (en) * 1942-07-03 1946-10-15 Okonite Co Electric cable
US2402503A (en) * 1945-02-24 1946-06-18 Rome Cable Corp Shielded electrical conductor construction and method of making the same
US2438146A (en) * 1945-06-07 1948-03-23 American Brass Co Flexible metal hose
GB1069274A (en) * 1963-12-24 1967-05-17 Ass Elect Ind Improvements relating to hoses with in-built conductors

Cited By (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4266886A (en) * 1977-09-08 1981-05-12 Institut Francais Du Petrole Method and device for connecting a floating installation to an underwater installation through at least one flexible line
US4249610A (en) * 1978-04-26 1981-02-10 Sante Fe International Corporation Offshore drilling control cable clamp system
US4375835A (en) * 1979-12-21 1983-03-08 The British Petroleum Company Limited Oil production system
US4345624A (en) * 1980-02-15 1982-08-24 Gould Inc. Blow-out guard for high-pressure hoses
EP0039596A3 (en) * 1980-05-05 1982-05-26 Conoco Inc. Offshore platform
EP0039597A3 (en) * 1980-05-05 1982-05-26 Conoco Inc. Drilling a borehole from an offshore platform
US4470621A (en) * 1982-01-04 1984-09-11 Hydril Company Flexible tubular connector
US4556340A (en) * 1983-08-15 1985-12-03 Conoco Inc. Method and apparatus for production of subsea hydrocarbons using a floating vessel
US4634314A (en) * 1984-06-26 1987-01-06 Vetco Offshore Inc. Composite marine riser system
US7721611B2 (en) 2003-11-07 2010-05-25 Conocophillips Company Composite riser with integrity monitoring apparatus and method
US20160312918A1 (en) * 2015-04-21 2016-10-27 Caterpillar Inc. Hose Restraint System and Method for Using the Same
CN114165160A (zh) * 2021-11-22 2022-03-11 中国石油大学(华东) 基于精细网格存储和一维函数的快速地质导向方法
CN115303425A (zh) * 2022-08-10 2022-11-08 长沙矿冶研究院有限责任公司 一种用于海底采矿的复合材料输送立管及立管布放系统
CN115596391A (zh) * 2022-10-15 2023-01-13 吕远（Cn） 一种柔性杆减磨密封装置及方法

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
BE717089A (OSRAM) 1968-12-02
FR1583169A (OSRAM) 1969-10-24
DE1758576A1 (de) 1971-03-11
GB1234800A (en) 1971-06-09
OA02839A (fr) 1970-12-15
NL158885B (nl) 1978-12-15
NL6809133A (OSRAM) 1968-12-30

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