Modular Flow Line Wrap Anchor System for High Pressure Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
High pressure fluid lines in oil and gas drilling operations pose a risk of violent whipping upon accidental separation, potentially causing injury to workers and damage to equipment, as existing safety restraint systems require threading the anchor line through flow line wraps, making replacement of damaged wraps cumbersome.
Innovation Solution
A safety restraint system featuring axially spaced flow line wraps with opposed ends terminating in loops, secured by shackles to a longitudinally extending anchor line that spans the flow line, allowing for replacement of wraps without disconnecting the anchor line from anchor structures, eliminating the need for rethreading through existing wraps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the anchor line is threaded through flow line wraps, then the safety restraint system provides effective restraint, but replacement of damaged wraps becomes cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the restraint mechanism into separate functional segments: the anchor line remains fixed and threaded through anchors, while flow line wraps are independent modular components that can be replaced individually without affecting the anchor line or other wraps. This segmentation allows damaged wraps to be replaced by simply unshackling and re-shackling new wraps to the anchor line.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the threading function from the wrap replacement process. Instead of threading the anchor line through wraps during replacement (which is cumbersome), the system uses pre-installed anchors and shackles to attach wraps, separating the anchoring function from the wrap itself. This allows wraps to be easily removed and replaced without handling the anchor line.
2Reliability
If multiple flow line wraps are installed axially spaced along the flow line, then safety coverage is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The anchor line serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides the restraining force, acts as the mounting structure for wraps via shackles, and spans between anchors to define the restraint zone. The shackles serve as universal connectors that attach all wraps to the anchor line. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the anchor structures with the restraint function by positioning anchors at the ends of the flow line sections to be restrained. The anchor line combines the functions of structural support, force transmission, and wrap mounting. Multiple wraps are merged into a single coordinated system all attached to the same anchor line, creating a unified restraint mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A safety restraint system for a flow line for pressurized liquids, comprising a plurality of axially spaced flow line wraps each having end loops that are releasably connected to an anchor line, the anchor line being further attached at each of its two ends to a relatively immobile anchor structure, and each flow line wrap being removable from the flow line and from the anchor line without detaching either end of the anchor line from its respective anchor structure.