Truck-Mounted Drilling Rig With Torque Transfer Pipe Automation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drilling rigs are large and immobile, making them difficult to transport and operate to significant depths, and lack autonomous capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A truck-mounted drilling arrangement with a rotary table stage, drilling mast, drill pipe gripper, and torque transference pipe, allowing for interchangeable drill pipe sections and torque transfer via rotary head couplings, enabling autonomous or semi-autonomous operation and compact design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If conventional large drilling rigs are used to drill to significant depths, then drilling capability to depth is achieved, but mobility and transportability are severely limited
Solution Approach 1:
The drilling rig is divided into separate modular components (rotary table stage, drilling mast, drill pipe gripper, loading assembly, mud system) that can be independently transported on truck platforms and assembled at the drilling site, enabling both deep drilling capability and road mobility
Solution Approach 2:
The drilling mast is designed to be displaceable along the rotary table stage, and the rotary head drive can move between rotary head couplings on the drill string, allowing the system to adapt its configuration for both transport and drilling operations
2Power
If conventional large drilling rigs are used, then sufficient torque and lifting capability are provided, but device size and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The drill string is segmented into conventional drill pipe sections and a torque transference pipe section with rotary head couplings, allowing the torque application mechanism to be distributed along the drill string rather than requiring a single large torque system at the surface
Solution Approach 2:
The torque transference pipe section acts as an intermediary element between the rotary head drive and the drill bit, transferring torque through rotary head couplings without requiring the entire drill string to withstand maximum torque loads
3Ease of operation
If manual operation is used for drilling operations, then operational flexibility is maintained, but automation and autonomous capability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The drill pipe loading assembly automatically loads drill pipe sections and torque transference pipe sections onto the drill string without manual intervention, and the system can operate in autonomous mode with minimal human supervision while maintaining operational flexibility through programmable control
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a drilling arrangement (10) comprising a truck-mounted rotary table stage (12), a truck-mounted drilling mast (16) comprising a rotary head drive (18) displaceable along said mast (16) to effect drilling, a truck-mounted drill pipe gripper (20) to grip and hold a drill string (22), and a truck-mounted drill pipe loading assembly (24) configured automatically to load sections of drill pipe to said drilling mast (16) to form a drill string (22). Drilling arrangement (10) also includes at least one section of torque transference pipe (28) which comprises rotary head couplings (30) defined proximate either end (32) thereof, the torque transference pipe engageable with the drill string (22). In this manner, the drilling arrangement (10) is configured to drill a well by the pipe loading assembly (24) interchanging drill pipe sections (26) with the at least one section of torque transference pipe (28) within the drill string, the rotary head drive (18) applying drilling torque only when engaged with the rotary head couplings (30) of the torque transference pipe (28), and the gripper (20) gripping the drill string (22) to facilitate the interchanging of drill pipe and torque transference pipe and the rotary head drive moving between rotary head couplings (30).