Multipart Frac Head With Replaceable Bottom Legs
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high maintenance and repair costs of frac heads due to abrasion from pumping abrasive proppant, which requires expensive and time-consuming refurbishment processes, including transportation to specialized machine shops, and the inability of existing abrasion-resistant materials to completely eliminate maintenance needs.
Innovation Solution
A multipart frac head design with removable components, such as a bottom leg and inlet ports, that can be replaced in the field, eliminating the need for welding and reducing construction and maintenance costs by allowing on-site refurbishment using machined parts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a frac head is constructed with welded inlet ports and abrasion-resistant materials, then abrasion resistance is improved, but maintenance cost and complexity increase due to expensive refurbishment processes
Solution Approach 1:
The frac head is divided into modular components: a reusable frac head body and replaceable wear components (inlet ports, bottom legs, adapters). This segmentation allows the wear components to be independently replaced without refurbishing the entire frac head, reducing maintenance complexity while maintaining abrasion resistance through replaceable hardened components.
2Ease of repair
If a frac head is refurbished by machining and welding, then wear damage is repaired, but time and cost are significantly increased
Solution Approach 1:
Wear components are pre-hardened with abrasion-resistant materials during manufacturing. This preliminary action ensures maximum wear resistance is achieved before field deployment, eliminating the need for time-consuming field refurbishment processes while maintaining the ability to replace worn components.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs replaceable wear components that can be economically replaced rather than refurbished. These components are designed to be replaced in the field when worn, avoiding the expensive and time-consuming machining and welding operations required for traditional frac head refurbishment.
3Ease of repair
If a frac head is transported to a machine shop for refurbishment, then wear damage is corrected, but transportation cost and equipment downtime increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wear-prone components (inlet ports, bottom legs, adapters) are extracted as separate replaceable parts from the frac head body. This extraction enables these components to be replaced in the field without transporting the entire frac head to a machine shop, significantly reducing equipment downtime and transportation costs while maintaining the ability to correct wear damage.
4Strength
If inlet ports are welded into the frac head body, then structural integrity is improved, but manufacturing cost and time are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The inlet ports are segmented as separate replaceable components rather than being permanently welded to the frac head body. These components are secured through threaded connections that provide sufficient structural integrity while eliminating expensive preheating, welding, and post-heating operations, significantly reducing manufacturing cost and time.
Data Source
AI summary
A multipart frac head with removable components permits the frac head to be refurbished in the field. A bottom leg and inlet ports of the multipart frac head can be replaced. The bottom leg is provisioned with a flange.