Bore Selector Device with Movable Rams for Subsea Well Adaptability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bore selector technologies are limited by the need for specific designs matching each subsea production system's bore size and configuration, restricting their versatility and being susceptible to damage from tool string or object impacts.
Innovation Solution
A bore selector device with moveable actuators and rams that can be independently positioned to direct tools into multiple bores, featuring a housing with a main longitudinal axis and rams that can be extended or retracted perpendicularly, allowing for universal adaptability and integrated debris management, and optionally configured for shearing functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a bore selector is specifically designed to match a specific bore size and configuration, then it can effectively direct tools into the intended bore, but it limits the number of opportunities to utilise the same bore selector and requires multiple custom designs for different systems
Solution Approach 1:
The bore selector employs movable rams that can be positioned in different configurations to accommodate various bore sizes and arrangements. The rams are movable between extended and retracted positions, allowing the device to adapt its internal geometry to match different well configurations without requiring custom designs for each application.
Solution Approach 2:
The device allows change of geometric parameters by moving the rams to different positions. The spacing and orientation of the rams can be adjusted to create different flow paths and openings, enabling the same bore selector to handle multiple bore sizes and configurations by changing its physical parameters rather than requiring different hardware designs.
2Ease of operation
If a linkage mechanism is used to translate vertical piston movement to horizontal ram movement, then bore selection is achieved, but the linkage mechanism is susceptible to damage from tool string/dropped object impact to the rams
Solution Approach 1:
The vulnerable linkage mechanism has been removed from the design. Instead of using a linkage to translate motion, the patent employs direct-acting pistons that move horizontally in the same direction as the rams they control. This eliminates the intermediate linkage components that were susceptible to impact damage while maintaining the bore selection functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The design anticipates potential impacts from tool strings or dropped objects by positioning the rams and pistors in a configuration that can withstand such forces. The direct-acting horizontal movement allows the rams to absorb impacts more effectively than a linkage mechanism, and the overall structure is designed to protect critical components from damage before impacts occur.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the rams are positioned to block one bore, then access to another bore is enabled, but the device requires complex positioning mechanisms to achieve precise blocking and directing
Solution Approach 1:
The bore selector is divided into separate functional segments - individual rams controlled by individual pistons - that can be independently positioned. Each ram can be moved to block or open specific bores independently, simplifying the control mechanism compared to a single complex moving assembly. This segmentation allows straightforward blocking of one bore while enabling access to another through simple independent positioning.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a bore selector device (10) comprising a housing (11) defining a bore (20) extending therethrough, the bore having a main longitudinal axis. The bore selector device also comprises at least a first and a second actuator (13) opposite each other. Each of the first and second actuators being moveable between respective retracted and extended positions in a direction perpendicular to the main longitudinal axis. Each actuator is connected to a respective ram (12) such that the rams are each moveable between respective retracted positions and extended positions in a direction perpendicular to the main longitudinal axis. Each actuator and attached ram is moveable in the same linear direction.