High-Pressure Flow Sealing With Replaceable Erosion Inserts
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-pressure flow devices in the oil and gas industry, such as valves and fluid ends, face erosion issues due to corrosive and abrasive fluids, leading to leakage and cumbersome repairs, which increase downtime and operational costs.
Innovation Solution
The design involves a fluid end assembly with a housing and conduits that intersect, featuring recesses and grooves for mounting seals, which transfer erosion wear from the body to less complex and less expensive components, such as inserts and retaining nuts, reducing the complexity and cost of repairs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If seals are mounted in the valve body bore to seal against the insert, then sealing integrity is achieved, but erosion of the valve body bore occurs leading to leakage
Solution Approach 1:
A seal carrier insert is introduced as an intermediary component between the valve body bore and the seal. The seal carrier insert is selectively replaceable and serves as the sacrificial element that absorbs erosion wear, protecting the valve body bore from direct contact with corrosive and abrasive fluids while maintaining sealing integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing system is segmented into distinct components: the valve body, the seal carrier insert, and the seal. This segmentation allows the seal carrier insert to be independently replaced when eroded, without requiring replacement or repair of the valve body, thus resolving the contradiction between maintaining sealing integrity and preventing bore erosion.
2Reliability
If the valve body is repaired through weld build-up and machining, then erosion damage is restored, but downtime and operational disruption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The seal carrier insert acts as a sacrificial intermediary that can be quickly replaced without requiring complex weld build-up and machining operations on the valve body. This reduces repair downtime and operational disruption while restoring the valve's sealing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal carrier insert is designed as a disposable or easily replaceable component that absorbs erosion wear. Instead of repairing the expensive and time-consuming valve body, the inexpensive insert is replaced, significantly reducing downtime and operational disruption.
3Reliability
If seals are mounted on the insert to seal against the valve body bore, then sealing is achieved, but erosion of the insert occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The seal carrier insert serves as a mediator between the seal and the valve body bore. By mounting the seal on the insert rather than directly in the bore, the insert becomes the sacrificial element that absorbs erosion wear, protecting the valve body while maintaining sealing integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of mounting the seal directly in the valve body bore to seal against the insert (which causes bore erosion), the seal is mounted on the insert to seal against the bore (which causes insert erosion). This inversion of the mounting arrangement transfers erosion wear to the more easily replaceable insert.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and method contemplating a high pressure fluid end assembly having a body defining a body bore and defining a recess in the body intersecting the body bore. A closure is joined to the body and forms a sealing surface. A seal is mounted to the body in the recess and configured to extend from the recess beyond the body bore to seal against the sealing surface formed by the closure.