Method for the testing of machines operating on oil drilling rigs

Abstract

The invention has as its object a method for the simultaneous testing of all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs, this using a testing winch mechanically and / or electrically connected to said critical machines.

Description

[0001] METHOD FOR THE TESTING OF MACHINES OPERATING ON OIL DRILLING RIGS

[0002] TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

[0003] INVENTIVE SCOPE

[0004] The present invention relates to the scope of machines operating on shore and offshore drilling rigs. In these rigs it is known to use numerous types of machines whose operation is essential and whose malfunction causes critical situations, such machines can be suitable for a variety of purposes such as: Drilling winches, Mud Pumps, Diesel Engines, alternators, direct current motors and alternating current motors. All these types of machines obviously need maintenance. Thus, more specifically, the present invention falls within the scope of the devices and / or methods of revision for said machines.

[0005] STATE OF THE ART

[0006] It is well known that the type of machines mentioned is subject to periodic general and partial inspections, at the end of which it is in many cases difficult, if not impossible, to carry out tests at full load, limiting them in most cases to the execution of simple functional tests. As proof of this, it is certainly possible to say that tests with load tests, even of small intensity, are in practice impossible to carry out on drilling winches (draw works), as known to experts in the field.

[0007] At the current state of the art, there are no known systems for testing drilling winches, even small ones. In addition, to date, tests with load tests for mud pumps are also difficult to apply, while to date only some systems / devices for testing, even with full load tests, for electric generators are known. Disadvantageously, therefore, the machines on the drilling systems are always affected by problems deriving from the scarce possibility of full load tests, especially if to be carried out directly on the site.

[0008] The system for testing all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs and its method, object of the present invention, not only makes possible a test that provides for full load tests for all types of drilling winches, but also manages to simultaneously perform tests with full load tests for mud pumps, for electric generators (including diesel engines and alternators), for direct current motors and for alternating current motors.

[0009] It should be noted that the "critical machines" supplied to drilling rigs, due to the impossibility of carrying out tests with important load tests at the end of periodic inspections, are subject to the so-called "infant failure", that is, breaks that occur in the first years of life of the machines, which cause sometimes catastrophic accidents, with harmful consequences and effects, putting the lives of all operating personnel at great risk and devastating and impoverishing the surrounding environment, especially on offshore systems.

[0010] An object of the present invention is therefore to describe a system for the simultaneous testing of all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs that can test at full load any size and type of drilling winch.

[0011] A further object of the present invention is to describe a system for the simultaneous testing of all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs that can perform a maximum power test of any size and type of mud pumps.

[0012] A further object of the present invention is to describe a system for the simultaneous testing of all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs that can perform a full load test of any size and type of current generators.

[0013] A further object of the present invention is to describe a system for the simultaneous testing of all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs capable of performing a full load test of any size and type of direct current motor.

[0014] Still a further object of the present invention is to describe a system for the simultaneous testing of all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs that can perform a full load test of any size and type of alternating current motor.

[0015] A further object of the present invention is to describe a system for the simultaneous testing of all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs that can therefore perform a full load test of any size and type of drilling winch, simultaneously with any size and type of mud pump, simultaneously with any size and type of current generator, simultaneously with any size and type of direct current motor and simultaneously with any size and type of alternating current motor.

[0016] A further object of the present invention is to describe a system for the simultaneous testing of all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs that can provide a standalone system that is separately purchasable or leasable and usable for one or a plurality of machines.

[0017] A further object is to provide a customizable and configurable control system in the number of tests and for different types of machines.

[0018] An object is also to describe a system for the simultaneous testing of all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs that can be modular and that can be configured in one unit or in a plurality of interconnected units.

[0019] A further object of the present invention is to propose a system that is easy to manage and automated.

[0020] A further object of the present invention is to describe a system for the simultaneous testing of all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs that allows to simultaneously carry out the tests of all the machines of an oil rig saving more than 60% of energy.

[0021] Finally, a relevant object of the present invention is to increase the safety of operators of critical machines supplied to both offshore and onshore oil drilling rigs and, more generally, to increase the safety of all personnel operating on drilling rigs.

[0022] These and other purposes will be achieved thanks to the innovative system for the simultaneous testing of all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs and its method.

[0023] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] The system for the simultaneous testing of all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs object of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises at least one testing winch 4 comprising an electromagnetic brake 7 and a disc or belt brake 8, and at least one load sensor, said testing winch being connected by means of a rope to at least one winch to be tested, said load sensor being adapted to measure the effort on the rope and therefore the effort transmitted to the winch to be tested, and / or said testing winch also being connected by electrical means to at least one mud pump (present on the system) to be tested and / or being also connected by means of electrical means to resistive loads, and / or said winch also being also connected by means of electrical cables to an electrical generator to be tested.

[0025] The system is related to an innovative operating method thereof, wherein said testing winch, powered by said generator to be tested being connected by means of a rope to said winch to be tested, performing the operations of: Phase 1

[0026] • positioning of the winch to be tested and the testing winch facing each other;

[0027] • fixing the rope at one end, on the dead end of the test winch and at the other end, on the dead end of the tested winch so that the rope can be unwound by the drum of one of the two winches and simultaneously rewound on the drum of the opposite winch. In this way the drum of one of the winches will be emptied of the rope (except for a few turns that will be kept for safety reasons) and consequently the drum of the opposite winch will be filled with the entire length of the rope. This interchange can be performed "n" times until the test is completed. Note that the electromagnetic brake of the test winch will be able to apply a constant load in dynamic conditions at different speeds while the belt or disc brake will be able to stop both drums until the maximum overload is applied in static conditions of substantial equilibrium.

[0028] • start of the test with several phases of winding and unwinding of said rope between the two winches, the procedure will provide that the electromagnetic brake of the test winch is used first applying loads initially very low which will gradually increase until ending with the maximum load test (100% of the nominal load of the tested winch) under dynamic conditions.

[0029] • second testing phase in which the belt or disc brake will be used for the maximum overload test (120% of the rated load of the tested winch) under static conditions.

[0030] The testing system wherein said mud pump, on the other hand, also electrically powered by said generator to be tested, is connected by means of a delivery pipe and a suction pipe to a tank with liquid (e.g. water) on said delivery pipe an automatic adjustable cook is mounted, i.e. a valve able to almost completely close the flow that passes through it, and a pressure gauge while a shut-off valve is mounted on the suction pipe. Said mud pump will be tested by carrying out load tests at maximum power or with the operations of (phase 2 method in addition to or replacing phase 1 :

[0031] • continuous circulation of water by drawing it from the tank and returning it through the mud pump to be tested in the same tank passing through said automatic adjustable cook and said pressure gauge.

[0032] • Progressive increase in the strokes per minute of the pump to be tested until reaching the maximum flow rate declared by the manufacturer.

[0033] • progressive closing of the automatic adjustable cook until the maximum deliverable power value of the pump to be tested is reached with pressure reading on the pressure gauge. Satisfactory test up to 100% and more of the load will be obtained, able to ensure the correct maximum operational functionality of the mud pump.

[0034] Said method comprises at least a third phase, in addition to or replacing the previous ones, in which (PHASE 3):

[0035] • Testing of the current generator: the current generator to be tested will be loaded by the absorption of the motors of the winch and of the pump, if the loads applied by the machines (winches and pump) are not sufficient to bring the current generator to be tested at maximum power, resistive loads can be temporarily connected to perform a test of the generator up to 100% of the permissible load.

[0036] So, in essence, with a great saving of energy that is totally used to cascade test all the machines but also following a viable scheme on each oil rig, it will be possible to obtain at any time necessary, load tests at 100% of all the main elements of an extraction rig and in particular of that critical machines (generator, winches, pumps) that are more subject to infant failures precisely because of the impossibility of being able to carry out tests with important loads even at the end of the estimated periodic reviews (typically every 5 years).

[0037] In a variant of the case, it will be possible to test even a single drilling winch without necessarily having a testing winch and a tested winch: it will be sufficient to make use of the electromagnetic brake present on the winch to test (each winch has an electromagnetic brake and a disc brake) said electromagnetic brake, once activated, will develop a braking action which will oppose the movement of the drum generated by the electric motors of the winch, in both directions of rotation therefore, substantially we will proceed with a series of empty runs on the winch to be tested generating a load through the braking. This variant of the procedure is affected by several limits: since it is not possible to carry out any measurement, the value of the load generated from time to time by the action of the electromagnetic brake can only be obtained empirically as it will assume values proportional to the power dissipated by the winch which will in turn be calculated by means of the formula including the known values of the electric voltage applied and the electric current absorbed by the electric motors supplied with the winch. In addition, although it is a simpler and cheaper method than the one with the test winch and winch to be tested, the disadvantage of being able to perform limited load tests and only in dynamic conditions remains. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0038] Fig. 1 therefore shows a general diagram of the system for the simultaneous testing of all the critical machines operating on the oil drilling rigs object of the present invention.

[0039] DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0040] Fig. 1 shows the system for the simultaneous testing of all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs 1 in which the generator to be tested 2 is connected via electrical cables 3 to a testing winch 4 and a mud pump 11 . The testing winch 4 comprising an electromagnetic brake 7 and a disc brake 8 is placed in front of the winch to be tested 5 also comprising an electromagnetic brake 9 and a disc brake 10. A rope 6 is wound on the two winches (on the drums not shown here) in such a way that, when it is unwound from one winch, it is wound on the other and vice versa. A load cell 20 is mounted on the test winch to measure the force transmitted by the rope 6. The mud pump 11 is also connected with a delivery pipe 12 and a suction pipe 13 to a water tank 17 (or similar). An automatic adjustable cook 14 (able to almost completely close the flow that passes through the pipe itself) and a pressure gauge 15 are mounted on the delivery pipe, a shut-off valve 16 is mounted on the suction pipe.

[0041] As described above, the system thus described and configured lends itself to a simultaneous testing of the current generator 2, the winch to be tested 5 and the mud pump 11.

[0042] Therefore, in an innovative and advantageous way, the system for the simultaneous testing of all critical machines operating on oil drilling rigs can test at full load any size and type of drilling winch, any type of mud pumps and any type of current generators and any type of direct or alternating current motor. In addition to this, in an innovative way, said system for the simultaneous testing of all the critical machines operating on the drilling systems can therefore be a stand-alone system that can be purchased or rented even after the market, as well as being modular and therefore usable for all or part of the machines present on the system, and all this can also be easily automated with great energy savings since the dissipated powers are mostly used to carry out the testing operation.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . An operating method of a system for the simultaneous testing of all the critical machines operating on the oil drilling rigs, said system comprising at least one testing winch (4) which includes an electromagnetic brake (7) and a disc or band brake (8), and at least one sensor / load cell (20), said test winch (4) being connected by means of a rope (6) to at least one winch to be tested (5), said load sensor (20) being suitable for measuring the effort on the rope (6) and therefore the effort transmitted to the winch to be tested (5), and / or said test winch (4) also being connected via electric cables (3) to at least one mud pump (11 ) (present on the system) to be tested and / or being connected by means of electric cables to resistive loads, and / or said testing winch (4) also being connected by means of electric cables (3) to an electric generator (2) to be tested, wherein said test winch (4), powered by said electric generator (2) to be tested being connected by means of a rope (6) to said winch to be tested (5), carrying out the operations of: Phase 1 positioning of the winch to be tested (5) and the testing winch (4) facing each other; fixing of the rope (6) at one end, on the dead end of the tested winch (4) and at the other end, on the dead end of the tested winch (5) so that the rope (6) can be unwound from the drum one of the two winches and simultaneously rewound on the drum of the opposite winch; in this way the drum of one of the winches will be emptied of the rope (except for a few turns which will be kept for safety reasons) and consequently the drum of the opposite winch will fill up with the entire length of the rope; this interchange can be performed "n" times until the test is completed; note that the electromagnetic brake (7) of the test winch (4) will be able to apply a constant load in dynamic conditions at different speeds while the band or disc brake (8) will be able to stop both drums until apply the maximum overload in static conditions of substantialequilibrium; start of the test with several phases of winding and unwinding of said rope (6) between the two winches (4,5), the procedure will provide that the electromagnetic brake (7) of the test winch (4) is used first by applying loads initially very low which will gradually increase until ending with the maximum load test (100% of the nominal load of the tested winch) in dynamic conditions; second testing phase in which the band or disc brake (8) will be used for the maximum overload test (120% of the rated load of the tested winch) in static conditions.

2. The operating method of the system according to the preceding claims, wherein said mud pump (11 ), also electrically powered by said generator (2) to be tested, is connected by means of a delivery pipe (12) and a suction pipe (13) to a tank (17) with liquid (e.g. water) on said delivery pipe (12) an automatic adjustable cook (14) is mounted, i.e. a valve able to almost completely close the flow that passes through it and a pressure gauge (15) while a shut-off valve (16) is mounted on the suction pipe (13), said mud pump (11 ) will be tested by carrying out load tests at maximum power or with the operations:PHASE 2 continuous circulation of the water by drawing it from the tank and returning it via the mud pump to be tested in the same tank, passing through said automatic adjustable cook and said pressure gauge. progressive increase of the strokes per minute of the pump to be tested until reaching the maximum flow rate value declared by the manufacturer. progressive closing of the automatic adjustable cook until the maximum deliverable power value of the pump to be tested is reached with pressure reading on the pressure gauge, a satisfactory test up to 100% and more of the load will be obtained, able to ensure the correct maximum operating functionality of the mud pump.

3. The operating method of the system according to the preceding claims, wherein said method comprises at least a third phase, in addition to or replacing the previous ones, in which (PHASE 3) the current generator is tested:the current generator (2) to be tested will be loaded by the absorption of the motors of the winches (5,4) and of the pump (11 ), if the loads applied by the machines (winches and pump) are not sufficient to carry the generator of current (2) to be tested at maximum power, resistive loads can be temporarily connected to also test the generator up to 100% d the permissible load.

4. The operating method of the system according to the preceding claims, wherein it’s possible to test even a single winch without necessarily having to have a test winch (4) and a tested winch (5): it will be sufficient to make use of the electromagnetic brake present on the winch to test (each winch has an electromagnetic and a disc brake) said electromagnetic brake, once activated, will develop a braking action which will oppose the movement of the drum generated by the electric motors of the winch, in both directions of rotation therefore, substantially we will proceed with a series of empty runs on the winch to be tested, generating a load through braking.

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