Flange-Mounted Plunger Catcher for Lubricator Anti-Sticking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing plunger lift systems face challenges in efficiently capturing plungers due to design limitations, leading to stalling and inefficient use of materials, especially when plungers have lower velocities or handle larger volumes of fluid, resulting in inefficient capture of the system, which often leads to the plunger getting stuck in the catcher, and the catcher, and the catcher, which often leads to the plunger getting stuck in the lubricator.
Innovation Solution
The plunger lubricator incorporates a flange-mounted catcher positioned in the widest and lowest portion of the lubricator, which reduces the amount of material required for the cylindrical portion and allows for a thicker wall thickness, enabling a longer bullet for improved support and easier installation and removal of the concentric sleeve.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional threaded catcher is used in the lubricator body, then the plunger can be captured, but the plunger may get stuck in the catcher or lubricator due to design limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The catcher is separated from the lubricator body as a distinct component mounted on the flange, allowing independent optimization of each part. The catcher body is divided into a cylindrical portion and a conical portion, with the conical section providing a tapered escape path that prevents plunger sticking while maintaining reliable capture.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the catcher threaded into the lubricator body (conventional approach), the invention inverts the mounting approach by attaching the catcher to the flange that connects to the wellhead. This reversal allows the catcher to be positioned in the widest and lowest portion of the lubricator, improving plunger capture geometry and removal ease.
2Ease of manufacture
If the catcher is positioned higher in the lubricator, then installation is easier, but the cylindrical portion requires more material and wall thickness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The catcher is repositioned from a vertical orientation within the lubricator body to a horizontal/radial orientation on the flange. This dimensional change allows the catcher to be mounted in the widest portion of the lubricator, maximizing the available diameter for the cylindrical portion while maintaining adequate wall thickness for strength.
3Ease of manufacture
If the bullet is made shorter to reduce material, then manufacturing is easier, but support for the bullet is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The bullet is nested within the catcher's cylindrical portion, which provides structural support. The conical portion of the catcher further supports the bullet by providing a tapered guide and retention structure, allowing the bullet to be shorter while maintaining adequate support through the nested configuration.
4Strength
If the lubricator body is made thicker to accommodate the catcher, then strength is improved, but the amount of material required increases
Solution Approach 1:
The catcher function is extracted from the lubricator body and placed on the flange, eliminating the need to thicken the lubricator body walls to accommodate the catcher. This separation allows the lubricator body to maintain its original wall thickness and material quantity while the catcher is supported by the flange structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A lubricator for receiving a reciprocating plunger has a catcher mounted in a lower flange, or in an integral flow block.