X-Y-Z Pipe Racker for Drilling Rig Offline Stand Building
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for manipulating tubulars in oil and gas drilling operations are inefficient and unsafe, particularly in land rigs, as they require manual handling and cannot perform offline stand building or simultaneous drilling and stand construction, posing safety risks and limiting efficiency due to the need for rig personnel on the drill floor.
Innovation Solution
A modular pipe racking system with a racker device that moves in x and y directions, expands manipulator arms, and rotates, allowing for automated tubular manipulation and stand building offline, using drive carriages and gripper heads to transfer and assemble tubulars without personnel on the rig floor, enabling simultaneous drilling and stand construction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automated rackers are used, then manipulation efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases and adaptability to land rigs is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The automated racker system is divided into modular components including drive carriages that travel along rails, manipulator arms with gripper heads, and offline standbuilding sections. Each module performs specific functions independently, allowing the complex system to be managed through functional segmentation while maintaining high automation efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from traditional 2D rig floor manipulation to 3D spatial manipulation by utilizing vertical rails, horizontal travel paths, and multi-axis manipulator arms. This dimensional expansion allows automated handling of tubulars in multiple directions simultaneously, improving efficiency while distributing system complexity across spatial dimensions.
2Reliability
If offline stand building is implemented, then safety is improved by removing personnel from rig floor, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The offline standbuilding capability allows the system to assemble complete stands autonomously using automated manipulator arms and gripper heads that can grasp, position, and connect tubulars without human intervention. This self-service automation eliminates personnel exposure to hazardous rig floor operations while consolidating safety functions into the automated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces automated manipulator arms and gripper heads as intermediary devices between the tubulars and the final assembly position. These intermediaries perform the dangerous manipulation tasks that would otherwise require human personnel on the rig floor, transferring the safety risk from operators to automated machinery.
3Productivity
If simultaneous drilling and stand construction are enabled, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges drilling operations and stand construction operations into a single integrated workflow. The automated racker can build stands offline while drilling continues, then automatically present completed stands to the drilling location, combining what were traditionally sequential operations into simultaneous parallel processes that multiply productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system ensures continuous productive action by eliminating idle time between drilling and stand preparation. While drilling operations proceed, the automated system continuously prepares stands offline, so that when a stand is needed, it is already assembled and ready for immediate deployment, maintaining uninterrupted workflow and maximizing equipment utilization.
4Reliability
If rig personnel are removed from rig floor, then safety is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual mechanical operations performed by rig personnel with automated mechanical systems including drive carriages, manipulator arms, and gripper heads. This substitution removes human operators from direct contact with hazardous mechanical processes while the automated systems handle all physical manipulation of tubulars with precision and control.
Solution Approach 2:
Automated manipulator arms and control systems serve as intermediaries between the operational commands and the physical tubulars. This intermediary layer allows operators to control complex manipulation tasks from a safe location, simplifying the operational interface while maintaining safety by keeping personnel off the rig floor during hazardous operations.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and methods include an x-direction support structure extending in the same direction as a line extending between a well center and a V-door on a drilling rig and include a y-direction support structure moveable along the x-direction support structure. The y-direction support structure extends on a drilling rig in a direction transverse to the line extending between the well center and the V-door on the drilling rig. A racker device is carried by the y-direction support structure and is configured to connect to and carry a tubular stand used in a well drilling process, the racker device being moveable along the y-direction support structure from a position inline with the line extending between the well center and the V-door on the drilling rig to a position offline from the line to provide space for additional drilling processes along the line extending between the well center and the V-door on the drilling rig.