Segmented Clamp Adapter for Tubular Wellhead Connections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional adapters for joining tubular wellhead components are slow, cumbersome, and unreliable, often leading to leakage and safety concerns, and are vendor-specific, limiting their universal application across different oilfield equipment.
Innovation Solution
A robust adapter with a clamp having split halves or dog segments and an outer housing, featuring drive screws that securely engage and lock tubular components, providing enhanced strength and compatibility with various vendors' equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional two-piece clamps with bolts are used to join tubular wellhead components, then the adapter can be manufactured with simple structure, but the installation is slow and cumbersome and the connection is unreliable leading to leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp is divided into two separate halves that can be independently positioned around the tubular components. Each clamp half is actuated by its own drive screw, allowing independent adjustment and secure engagement with the flanges. This segmentation enables reliable clamping while maintaining manageable structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The conventional bolted connection system is replaced with a drive screw mechanism that converts rotational motion into linear motion to actuate the clamp halves. This mechanical substitution provides more reliable and consistent clamping force compared to traditional bolted assemblies, while the integrated drive screw design keeps the overall structure manageable.
2Adaptability or versatility
If vendor-specific non-standard threads or features are used on adapters, then the adapter can be designed with simplified specialized features, but the adapter cannot be used with equipment from other vendors and cannot retrofit existing equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The adapter is designed with standard threaded features that conform to industry standards (such as API standards), allowing the same adapter design to be used with equipment from different vendors. The clamp mechanism and housing are configured to accommodate standard flange configurations, enabling universal application across various oilfield equipment while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through standardized components.
3Strength
If conventional two-piece clamps without outer housing are used, then the adapter structure is simpler, but the adapter cannot withstand increased pressure and bending forces
Solution Approach 1:
The adapter integrates multiple functional elements into a unified structure: the housing provides structural support and protection, the drive screws provide actuation and locking mechanisms, and the clamp halves provide the clamping function. This merging of functions into a single integrated assembly increases strength to withstand pressure and bending forces while keeping the overall structure manageable through functional integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The adapter employs composite construction combining the housing ( providing structural rigidity), drive screws (providing mechanical advantage and locking), and clamp halves (providing direct contact and clamping force). This composite approach distributes mechanical loads across different components with optimized properties, enabling the adapter to withstand increased pressure and bending forces while maintaining reasonable structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An assembly for clamping flanged tubular components, the assembly including a segmented clamp having a recess configured to accept the flanges of the tubular components, and a hole oriented substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the tubular components. The assembly also includes a housing surrounding an outer portion of the segmented clamp and configured for attachment to at least one of the tubular components, and a drive screw that passes through the housing and is threadedly engaged with the hole of the segmented clamp. As the drive screw rotates, it drives the segmented clamp perpendicularly relative to the tubular components between a locked position, in which the circumferential recess engages the flanges of the tubular components, and an unlocked position, in which the circumferential recess is positioned laterally out of engagement with the flanges of the tubular components.