Pre-Installed Stabbing Guide for Steel Tube Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stabbing guides for threaded tube connections in tubular hydrocarbon columns are time-consuming and pose safety risks during installation, particularly on the drill floor, increasing operational costs and exposure of operators.
Innovation Solution
A pre-installed stabbing guide device with a cylindrical body and a locking door that secures to the tube outside the drill floor, allowing for easier alignment and quicker installation by moving between locked, intermediate, and unlocked positions, reducing the need for additional tools and protecting the coupling box portion during transport and installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional stabbing guide is used during tube installation, then alignment guidance is provided, but installation time increases and operator exposure to drill floor hazards increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stabbing guide device is pre-installed on the tube outside the drill floor before the tube is lifted and positioned on the drill floor. This preliminary installation eliminates the need to install the stabbing guide during the critical path activity on the drill floor, thereby reducing installation time and operator exposure to hazards while maintaining alignment guidance functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The stabbing guide device serves as an intermediary tool that facilitates the connection between tubes by providing alignment guidance during the stabbing operation. The device enables operators to quickly align and insert the male threaded portion into the female threaded portion without requiring complex manual alignment procedures
2Reliability
If a protecting device is installed on the tube to protect threaded portions, then thread protection is provided, but the installation process becomes more complicated and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The stabbing guide device combines two functions into a single integrated tool: it provides both alignment guidance for the stabbing operation and protection for the threaded portions (box end) of the tube. This merging eliminates the need for separate protecting devices that would require installation and removal, thereby simplifying the installation process while maintaining both alignment guidance and thread protection functionalities
Solution Approach 2:
The stabbing guide device is designed as a multi-functional tool that serves multiple purposes: guiding alignment during stabbing, protecting the box end threads from damage, and facilitating the installation process. This universal design reduces the number of separate components needed and simplifies the overall installation procedure
Data Source
AI summary
A stabbing guide device is for a steel tube to be secured on a portion of the tube used in a tubular column for oil and gas, energy, or storage applications. The device includes a substantially cylindrical body extending along a rotational axis to surround the portion of the first steel tube, the body forming an open ring so that a circumferential gap subsists between two free ends of the body, and a locking door secured to the body at one of the two free ends and movable compared to the body between a locked position in which the locking door rotates towards the body and surrounds the first tube, an intermediate position in which the locking door is slid along the rotational axis towards a lower end of the body, and an unlocked position in which the locking door is rotated radially away from the body.