Rotary Insert Coupling for Stable Casing Bowl Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing systems for running casing during drilling operations face issues with non-productive time due to bowl movement and chain slack, leading to inefficiencies and safety hazards during casing operations.
Innovation Solution
A casing running rotary insert system that includes a base with engagement features to securely attach to a rotary table and casing bowl, minimizing movement and ensuring precise alignment, thereby reducing operational interruptions and enhancing safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If heavy duty stability chains are used to anchor the bowl, then the bowl rotation is prevented, but non-productive time increases due to bowl movement and chain slack
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the chains from the system entirely and replaces them with a rotary insert that directly engages the rotary table. This extraction of the intermediary chains eliminates the slack problem and non-productive time associated with chain adjustment while maintaining bowl stability through direct mechanical engagement with the rotary table.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotary insert serves as a new intermediary component between the bowl and the rotary table. Instead of using chains as the mediator, the rotary insert provides direct mechanical coupling that prevents bowl rotation while allowing efficient pipe making operations without the time loss associated with chain slack.
2Reliability
If chains are used to prevent bowl movement, then bowl stability is improved, but safety hazards increase due to trip hazards
Solution Approach 1:
By removing the chains from the system and replacing them with the rotary insert mechanism, the patent eliminates the trip hazard created by loose chains on the rig floor while maintaining bowl stability through the engaged rotary insert that secures the bowl to the rotary table.
3Ease of operation
If the bowl is allowed to move freely, then ease of operation is improved, but productivity decreases due to frequent re-screwing and readjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The rotary insert provides a dynamic solution that allows the bowl to be securely engaged during critical operations (preventing unwanted movement) while maintaining ease of accessibility when needed. The mechanism can be engaged or disengaged from the rotary table as required, providing both stability during pipe making and accessibility during bowl operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A casing running rotary insert can include a base having a first aperture that traverses therethrough. The casing running rotary insert can also include a rotary table engagement feature that extends from a bottom surface of the base, where the rotary table engagement feature is configured to engage a complementary feature of a rotary table to fix a position of the base relative to the rotary table, and where the aperture in the base is configured to align with a second aperture in the rotary table when the rotary table engagement feature is engaged with the complementary feature of the rotary table. The casing running rotary insert can further include a casing bowl engagement feature that extends from a top surface of the base, where the casing bowl engagement feature is configured to engage a casing bowl to fix a position of the casing bowl relative to the base.