Pipe Joint Stress Collar for Thin-Wall Seal Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pipe joints in the oil and gas drilling industry face challenges in maintaining a fluid-tight seal when the radial thickness of the box section is thinner than conventional pipes, leading to potential bending and compromise of the seal.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a pipe joint design featuring a box stress collar with a cylindrical shape and a circumferential collar on the pin section, which includes a channel to engage with the box collar's profiled end surface, allowing for a thinner pipe string while maintaining a secure seal through radial pressure exerted by securing means housed in the box collar.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If the radial thickness of the box section is reduced to achieve a thinner overall pipe, then the outer radius of the pipe string is reduced, but the ability of the box end to withstand outward radial force is reduced causing the box end to bend outwards and compromising the seal
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces a new structural dimension by adding a collar to the box section that engages with the pin section. This collar creates an additional load-bearing dimension that prevents the box end from bending outwards, allowing the main pipe body to be thinner while maintaining structural integrity through this additional dimensional support.
Solution Approach 2:
The collar acts as an intermediary structural element between the box section and pin section. It mediates the force transmission by providing an engagement surface that distributes and manages the outward radial forces, preventing these forces from causing the box end to bend and compromising the seal.
2Shape
If the radial thickness of the box section is reduced to achieve a thinner overall pipe, then the outer radius of the pipe string is reduced, but the seal integrity is compromised due to box end bending
Solution Approach 1:
By adding the collar dimension, the invention creates a new structural level that independently supports the seal integrity. This additional dimension allows the main pipe body to be thinner while the collar maintains the necessary structural support to prevent seal compromise.
Solution Approach 2:
The collar is pre-configured with an engagement surface that is designed to engage with the pin section before operational forces are applied. This preliminary structural arrangement ensures that the box end is restrained against bending outward from the outset, maintaining seal integrity even with reduced pipe thickness.
3Reliability
If conventional box section design is used with sufficient radial thickness, then the seal integrity is maintained, but the overall pipe string becomes thicker than required
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the structural support function by separating it from the main pipe body. The collar is introduced as a distinct component that specifically handles the load-bearing function, allowing the main pipe body to be optimized for fluid conveyance with minimal thickness while the collar provides the necessary structural support for seal integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of making the entire pipe thicker to maintain seal integrity, the invention applies the additional structural support locally through the collar at the critical box-end region. This localized quality enhancement maintains seal integrity only where needed without increasing the overall pipe thickness unnecessarily.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design effectively maintains a fluid-tight seal even with thinner pipe sections, preventing the box end from bending outward and compromising the seal, thus enabling the use of smaller outer radius pipes while ensuring reliability and integrity.
Implementation Method 1
actuable to exert radial pressure to urge the pin and box into sealing arrangement
Implementation Method 2
having a seal element partially therebetween
Data Source
AI summary
A pipe joint formed between a pin section and a box section. The pin and box sections each have a tubular pipe section, engaging at respective first ends in end-to-end arrangement and have a seal element partially therebetween. The box section includes a box stress collar extending from the first end, the box stress collar being generally cylindrical, axially aligned with the tubular box pipe section and having an inner diameter of the same size as the outer diameter of the pin section, enabling the box stress collar to be placed about the pin section. The pin and the box sections are secured together by means of one or more securing means housed in the box collar and actuable by exertion of radial pressure to urge the pin and box into sealing arrangement.