Rotating Lifting Elevator for Non-Vertical Pipe Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The installation and removal of lifting and handling eyes on large-diameter conductor pipes are time-consuming, costly, and prone to damage, and they can disrupt the sediment around the wellbore, causing resistance and potential failure during the installation process.
Innovation Solution
A lifting elevator with rotatable segments and slips that can grip the external surface of the pipe, allowing for the lifting and positioning of non-vertical pipe joints without the need for pre-installed lifting eyes, enabling the pipe to be rotated and attached to a vertical position atop a conductor string without welding or bolting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If lifting eyes are installed on large-diameter conductor pipes, then the pipes can be lifted and positioned, but the installation and removal process is time-consuming and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the lifting function from separate lifting eyes and integrates it directly into the conductor pipe structure through formed lifting lugs. This eliminates the need for separate lifting eye components and their installation/removal processes, resolving the time-loss contradiction while maintaining lifting capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The lifting lugs are formed as an integrated part of the conductor pipe during the pipe manufacturing process, merging the lifting function with the pipe structure itself. This combination eliminates the need for separate lifting eye installation and removal operations.
2Ease of operation
If lifting eyes are installed on large-diameter conductor pipes, then the pipes can be handled, but the process is prone to damage
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting lugs are formed as an integrated part of the conductor pipe during manufacturing, merging the lifting function with the pipe structure. This eliminates separate lifting eye components that could be damaged during installation, removal, or use, thereby reducing overall damage risk.
3Ease of operation
If lifting eyes are installed on large-diameter conductor pipes, then the pipes can be lifted, but sediment around the wellbore is disrupted causing resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the separate lifting eye components that required installation onto the pipe exterior. By integrating lifting lugs directly into the pipe structure during manufacturing, the need for separate eye installation is eliminated, thereby preventing sediment disruption around the wellbore area.
4Ease of operation
If lifting eyes are installed on large-diameter conductor pipes, then the pipes can be positioned, but the process is costly
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting lugs are formed as an integrated part of the conductor pipe during the pipe manufacturing process using forming operations. This merging of functions eliminates the need for separate lifting eye components and their associated installation and removal costs, reducing overall manufacturing and operational expenses.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method simplifies the assembly and installation of conductor pipe joints, reduces the risk of damage, and minimizes resistance as the pipe is driven into the ground, allowing for efficient and reliable installation without the need for costly and time-consuming eye installation and removal processes.
Implementation Method 1
each of the first plurality of slips and the second plurality of slips has a die configured to grip an external surface of a pipe
Data Source
AI summary
A lifting elevator includes a first elevator segment having a first plurality of slips, a second elevator segment having a second plurality of slips, and a hinge. The first elevator segment and the second elevator segment each have a swept angle of about 180°, and each of the first plurality of slips and the second plurality of slips includes a die configured to grip an external surface of a pipe.