Washover Tool High-Pressure Fluid Jets for Stuck Pipe Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for removing underground pipes are time-consuming, require skilled labor, and often result in abandoned drilling rods or pipes due to the difficulty in extracting stuck pipes during Horizontal Directional Drilling, necessitating a more efficient and cost-effective solution.
Innovation Solution
The development of a washover tool system comprising an outer and inner housing with a pressurized fluid system and stabilization members that allows for the circumferential positioning around the pipe, enabling the use of high-pressure fluid jets to loosen and remove dirt and debris, facilitating the extraction of pipes without the need for extensive excavation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional sequential digging and cutting methods are used to remove underground pipes, then pipe removal can be achieved, but the process becomes extremely time-consuming and requires highly skilled labor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical digging and cutting operations with a hydrodynamic system. High-pressure fluid jets are directed at the pipe and surrounding soil to erode and separate the pipe from the ground, eliminating the need for sequential manual or mechanical excavation and cutting operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs hydraulic technology by using high-pressure fluid jets to remove the pipe. The system utilizes pressurized fluid to erode the soil and detach the pipe, replacing traditional mechanical removal methods with a hydraulic-based approach that significantly reduces time and labor requirements.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional pipe removal methods are used, then pipe extraction is possible, but costly equipment and highly skilled laborers are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical excavation and cutting equipment with a simpler hydrodynamic system. The high-pressure fluid jet system requires less sophisticated machinery compared to traditional pipe removal equipment, reducing both equipment cost and the need for highly skilled operators.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows less skilled workers to operate the pipe removal process by utilizing the self-eroding capability of high-pressure fluid jets. The hydraulic system performs the complex work of soil removal and pipe separation automatically, reducing the skill level required for operation.
3Reliability
If drilling rods or pipe become stuck during Horizontal Directional Drilling, then the drilling process is disrupted, but traditional removal methods are extremely burdensome leading to abandonment of the rods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces difficult mechanical extraction operations with hydrodynamic erosion. High-pressure fluid jets are directed at the stuck drilling rods to erode the surrounding soil and free the rods without requiring complex mechanical extraction equipment or extensive excavation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses hydraulic technology to retrieve stuck drilling rods. The high-pressure fluid system penetrates the soil and erodes around the stuck rods, providing a less burdensome retrieval method compared to traditional mechanical extraction techniques.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional pipe removal methods are used, then pipe extraction can be achieved, but dangerous conditions are created for workers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces dangerous mechanical excavation and cutting operations with a hydrodynamic system. The high-pressure fluid jets perform the removal work from a distance, reducing worker exposure to hazardous conditions such as heavy equipment operation, manual digging, and flying debris from cutting operations.
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 approach significantly reduces the time and cost associated with pipe removal, allows for the retrieval of stuck pipes, and enhances safety by minimizing the need for skilled labor and costly equipment, while enabling efficient removal of pipes in various orientations.
Implementation Method 1
a pressurized fluid system in communication with the annulus and configured to supply pressurized fluid to the washover tool; and a plurality of openings formed in the washover tool through which a high-pressure fluid is ejected
Data Source
AI summary
A washover tool including an inner housing and an outer housing forming an enclosed annulus. The washover tool includes a rod member coupled to the outer housing, the rod member configured to supply a fluid to the annulus. The washover tool includes a front face plate having a plurality of openings in fluid communication with the annulus. The annulus of the washover tool is configured to receive a fluid through the rod member and configured to eject the fluid through the plurality of openings of the front face plate to washover a pipe embedded in a ground.