Submarine Drill Pipe Guide Roller Rotation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Riserless drilling operations face inefficiencies due to the need for frequent handling and replacement of large, heavy guide horns and rollers, which are subject to wear and fatigue from strong tidal currents, leading to increased operational time and risk of equipment damage.
Innovation Solution
A submarine drilling support system featuring a ring-shaped guide support component with horizontally directed rollers that rotate to reduce friction and wear, and a decentralized support system to mitigate bending moments, allowing for efficient drill pipe movement and reduced stress on equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If guide horns and guide rollers are used to support the drill pipe, then the drill pipe can be guided during downward drifting, but the guide horns and rollers are subject to wear and fatigue from strong tidal currents, requiring frequent handling and replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The guide structure is designed to rotate about a vertical axis in response to lateral forces from the drill pipe, transforming from a static structure to a dynamic one. This rotation reduces contact friction and wear between the guide rollers and drill pipe, thereby improving durability without requiring frequent replacement, while maintaining continuous drilling operation efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The guide structure is divided into multiple guide rollers arranged circumferentially, allowing the system to handle lateral forces from different directions independently. This segmentation distributes the wear and stress across multiple components rather than concentrating them on a single fixed structure, extending overall system durability
2Strength
If large-sized, heavy guide horns are replaced with guide rollers, then the bending moment on the drill pipe is decentralized, but the work of attaching and detaching the large-sized, heavy guide rollers requires a lot of time and effort
Solution Approach 1:
The guide structure's ability to rotate about the vertical axis allows it to dynamically adjust to the drill pipe's position and movement, maintaining effective guidance without requiring heavy, fixed structures. This reduces the weight and size of individual guide components, making them faster to attach and detach while still providing adequate structural support to decentralize bending moments
3Ease of operation
If the drill pipe is in constant contact with the guide horn or slip bowl due to strong tidal current, then the drill pipe is guided, but the continuous friction causes wear and heat deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The guide rollers are designed to rotate about their horizontal roller axes and the entire guide structure rotates about the vertical axis, creating a dynamic contact interface. This multi-axis rotation significantly reduces sliding friction between the drill pipe and guide structure, minimizing wear and heat generation while maintaining stable guidance during downward drifting in strong tidal currents
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
The system enhances work efficiency by minimizing wear and heat deterioration, reducing the risk of equipment damage, and enabling smoother drill pipe movement, thus shortening construction periods and improving riserless drilling operations under strong tidal conditions.
Implementation Method 1
the rollers are arranged in a state where the drill pipe is able to drift through the space surrounded by the plurality of rollers... the roller itself rotates around the roller axis... the contact friction between the drill pipe and rollers can be significantly reduced
Implementation Method 2
when a lateral force from the drill pipe is exerted on the rollers, the guide support component rotates about its rotational axis in the circumferential direction along with the plurality of rollers. Hence the contact friction between the drill pipe and rollers can be significantly reduced
Implementation Method 3
the drill pipe is capable of being inserted though the main bore of the guide support part so as to be rotatable in the circumferential direction... the drill pipe can smoothly drift downwards in a vertical direction
Data Source
AI summary
The submarine drilling support system includes a first guide support part that has a ring shape, has a plurality of rollers of which roller axes are directed to a horizontal direction and is arranged along a circumferential direction going around a rotation support axis parallel to a vertical direction, and is provided to allow the drill pipe to be inserted through in the vertical direction; and a first rotation holding part that is configured to support the first guide support part so as to be rotatable in the circumferential direction. The pluralities of rollers are adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction and are arranged in a state where the drill pipe is able to insert through a space surrounded by the plurality of rollers.