Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA Application
Blakes Ref: 15072/00006
1 INTEGRAL TUBULAR MEMBER AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME
2
3 FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
4 [0001] The present application relates generally to an integral tubular
member and
methods of manufacturing an integral tubular member, more specifically an
integral tubular
6 member with at least one wear pad and methods of manufacturing an
integral tubular member
7 with at least one wear pad.
8 BACKGROUND
9 [0002] This section provides background information to facilitate a
better understanding
of the various aspects of the invention. It should be understood that the
statements in this
11 section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as
admissions of prior art.
12 [0003] Standard drill pipe, used in oil and gas drilling operations,
consists of a thin
13 walled tube with ends that have been upset and thickened in a forging-
like process allowing for
14 two non-integral connector ends to be friction welded on to these ends.
These connector ends
are typically known as tool joints and are machined to provide threaded. This
current
16 manufacturing method of drill pipe requires friction welding and heat
treatment technology that
17 does not lend itself to adding features to the tube region of the pipe.
In addition, friction welding
18 is a very specialized and expensive process which would be desirable to
avoid.
19 [0004] When deployed for use in oil and gas drilling, drill pipes often
wear in multiple
areas including the tube body and tool joint portions. Therefore, during
drilling operations, it is
21 desirable to protect the drill pipe from wear or to slow the rate of
wear to prevent premature
22 failure of the drill pipe. Tool joints are generally thick walled
elements and thus wear more
23 slowly than the drill pipe and they may be further protected from wear
through a hardbanding
24 application. The thin walled tube body, on the other hand, typically
cannot be easily protected
from wear and, as a result, the tube wall thickness will eventually become too
thin and result in
26 the drill pipe being downgraded to a lower class of drill pipe which
prevents its further use in
27 many drilling operations.
28 [0005] Previous attempts at preventing drill pipe tube wear include
additional
29 components or features being added to the drill pipe after it is
manufactured. For example,
clamp style centralizers and wear pads have been developed such as that
disclosed in US
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1 3999811; however, these types of devices may loosen and be displaced
along the length of the
2 drill pipe, or may even separate during drilling operations. Adhesive or
molded centralizers and
3 wear pads have been developed, such as those disclosed in US 3697141 or
US 8119047;
4 however, these devices invite small regions of corrosion to develop on
the pipe wall immediately
underneath the devices. This may be due to the presence of small voids in the
bonds between
6 the tube and the wear pad feature, which may be filled by wellbore fluid
via capillary action, and
7 resulting in corrosion of the metal drill pipe. In addition, it becomes
difficult or impossible to
8 properly inspect the thickness or integrity of the tube body itself as
these adhesive or molded
9 features are generally immovable.
[0006] Thus, it is desirable that the centralizer or wear pad features be
integral to the
11 tube body and added or incorporated during manufacturing. One method of
accomplishing this
12 is to create a tool joint-like feature in the center of the tube body
through upsetting and friction
13 welding a pair of short drill pipe tubes together or friction welding
two short drill pipe tubes to a
14 third tool joint-like component between them. Such a method is disclosed
in US 8783344, which
describes utilizing redistributed and upset substrate material and a friction
welding process to
16 create a wear pad feature on the drill pipe tube. This method is,
however, extremely cost
17 intensive and cumbersome to manufacture as friction welding is a very
specialized and
18 expensive process, which would be desirable to avoid. In addition, this
method involves the
19 application of a heat treatment step, which results in changes to the
material properties of the
drill pipe material. In the result, this method would necessitate additional
material testing and
21 process validation steps to ensure that the drill pipe meets the
required specifications.
22 BRIEF SUMMARY
23 [0007] In one aspect of the present description, there is provided an
integral tubular
24 member formed from a unitary tubular blank, the integral tubular member
comprising:
- a first end, a second end opposite the first end, and a tube body extending
between the
26 first and second ends;
27 - the first and second ends being adapted for connection to other
tubular members;
28 - at least one wear pad formed on the tube body, the at least one wear
pad comprising a
29 region of increased wall thickness.
[0008] In another aspect, there is provided a method of manufacturing an
integral
31 tubular member having at least one wear pad, the method comprising:
2
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1 - providing a tubular blank having a first end, a second end and a tube
body extending
2 between the first and second ends;
3 - forming the at least one wear pad by processing at least one region of
the tube body to
4 provide a wall thickness greater than the wall thickness of the tube
body.
- processing the first and second ends to form, respectively, first and second
connectors,
6 the first and second connectors comprising means for connecting the
integral tubular
7 member to other tubular members.
8 [0009] In one aspect of this disclosure, there is provided an integral
tubular member
9 formed from a one piece blank having a longitudinal axis. The integral
tubular member includes
an external longitudinal cross sectional profile, an internal longitudinal
cross sectional profile,
11 the internal and external cross sectional profiles defining a wall there-
between. The wall has
12 varied wall thickness along the integral tubular member with at least
three bulges where the wall
13 is thicker than the nominal wall thickness of the tubular member. These
bulges may be internal
14 bulges, external bulges, or a combination of both.
[0010] In one aspect, there is provided an integral tubular member with at
least one
16 integral wear pad formed from a one piece blank having a longitudinal
axis, a first end, a second
17 end, a first portion, a central portion, a second portion, an external
longitudinal cross sectional
18 profile, an internal longitudinal cross sectional profile, and the
internal and external cross
19 sectional profiles defining a wall there-between. The wall has varied
wall thickness along the
integral tubular member. The first portion of the integral tubular member has
at least one
21 internal or external bulge where the wall is thicker than the nominal
wall of the integral tubular
22 member, forming an integral connector end with increased strength. The
first end of the integral
23 tubular member has a connection feature, the connection feature allowing
for the integral
24 tubular member to be coupled to another tubular member. The second
portion of the integral
tubular member has at least one internal or external bulge where the wall is
thicker than the
26 nominal wall of the integral tubular member, forming an integral
connector end with increased
27 strength. The second end of the integral tubular member is provided to
have a connection
28 feature, the connection feature allowing for the integral tubular member
to be coupled to another
29 tubular member. The central portion of the integral tubular member has
at least one localized
region where the wall is thicker than the nominal wall of the central portion
of the integral tubular
31 member, forming at least one integral wear pad.
3
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1 [0011] In one aspect, the at least one wear pad has a metallurgical grain
structure and
2 grain direction substantially uniform and unaltered from the one-piece
blank substrate.
3 [0012] In one aspect, the at least one integral wear pad has a wall
thickness that is
4 between 50-100% greater than the nominal central portion wall thickness.
[0013] In a more specific aspect, the at least one integral wear pad has a
nominal wall
6 thickness that is between 70-80% greater than the nominal central portion
wall thickness.
7 [0014] In one aspect, the ratio of the nominal tube body outside diameter
circumference
8 to the tube body transverse cross sectional area is less than or equal to
.450 in/sq.in and the
9 ratio of the at least one integral wear pad outside diameter
circumference to the wear pad
transverse cross sectional area is greater than .450 in/sq. in.
11 [0015] In one aspect, the nominal integral tubular member tube body wall
is equivalent
12 to standard drill pipe tube wall thickness.
13 [0016] In a further aspect, surface hardening or a surface coating is
applied to at least
14 one of the at least one wear pads to increase wear resistance.
[0017] There is provided a method of manufacturing an integral tubular member.
A tube
16 is provided that has an outer wall, a hollow interior, a first end, a
second end, a first portion, a
17 central portion and a second portion. The first portion is adjacent the
first end, the second
18 portion is adjacent the second end and the central portion is positioned
between the first portion
19 and the second portion. The first portion of the tube and the second
portion of the tube are
upset to form an upset tubular. The upset tubular has an outer wall, a hollow
interior, a first end,
21 a second end, a first portion, a central portion, and a second portion.
The length of the first
22 portion of the upset tubular has a length of between 25-75% the length
of the first portion of the
23 tube. The length of the second portion of the upset tubular has a length
of between 25-75% the
24 length of the second portion of the tube. The first portion and the
second portion of the upset
tubular are processed to form integral connector ends, and the outer wall of
the central portion
26 of the upset tubular is processed to form a predetermined outer profile
creating an integral
27 tubular member.
28 [0018] In one aspect, the first integral connector end is processed to
have a box
29 connection.
4
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1 [0019] In one aspect, the second integral connector end is processed to
have a pin
2 connection.
3 [0020] In one aspect, the second integral connector end is processed to
have a box
4 connection.
[0021] In one aspect, the first integral connector end is processed to have a
pin
6 connection.
7 [0022] In one aspect, the predetermined outer profile is substantially
cylindrical and
8 uniform
9 [0023] In one aspect, the predetermined outer profile has at least one
integral wear pad.
The integral wear pad has a wall with increased wall thickness. The integral
wear pad may be
11 centrally located on the integral tubular member. The integral wear pad
may be a fluted wear
12 pad, a bladed wear pad, a ribbed wear pad or any other type of wear pad
known in the art.
13 [0024] In one aspect, the tube is made of steel or aluminum alloy.
14 [0025] There is also provided an additional method of manufacturing an
integral tubular
member with at least one wear pad. A tube is provided that has an outer wall,
a hollow interior,
16 a first end, a second end, a first portion, a central portion and a
second portion. The first portion
17 is adjacent the first end, the second portion is adjacent the second end
and the central portion is
18 positioned between the first portion and the second portion. The first
portion of the tube and the
19 second portion of the tube are upset to form an upset tubular. The upset
tubular has an outer
wall, a hollow interior, a first end, a second end, a first portion, a central
portion, and a second
21 portion. The length of the first portion of the upset tubular has a
length of between 25-75% the
22 length of the first portion of the tube. The length of the second
portion of the upset tubular has a
23 length of between 25-75% the length of the second portion of the tube.
The first portion and the
24 second portion of the upset tubular are processed to form integral
connector ends and the outer
wall of the central portion of the upset tubular is processed to form a
predetermined outer
26 profile. At least one of the first portion, the central portion and the
second portion of the upset
27 tubular are processed to have at least one integral wear pad forming an
integral tubular member
28 with at least one wear pad.
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1 [0026] In one aspect, the first integral connector end is processed to
have a box
2 connection.
3 [0027] In one aspect, the second integral connector end is processed to
have a pin
4 connection.
[0028] In one aspect, the second integral connector end is processed to have a
box
6 connection.
7 [0029] In one aspect, the first integral connector end is processed to
have a pin
8 connection.
9 [0030] In one aspect, the predetermined outer profile is substantially
cylindrical and
uniform.
11 [0031] In one aspect, the predetermined outer profile has at least one
integral wear pad.
12 The integral wear pad has a wall with increased wall thickness. The
integral wear pad may be
13 centrally located on the integral tubular member. The integral wear pad
may be a fluted wear
14 pad, a bladed wear pad, a ribbed wear pad or any other type of wear pad
known in the art.
[0032] In one aspect, the tube is made of steel or aluminum alloy.
16 [0033] There is also provided a method of manufacturing a drill pipe
with at least one
17 integral wear pad having a longitudinal axis. A tube is provided that
has an outer wall, a hollow
18 interior, a first end, a second end, a first portion, a central portion
and a second portion. The first
19 portion is adjacent the first end, the second portion is adjacent the
second end and the central
portion is positioned between the first portion and the second portion. The
first portion of the
21 tube and the second portion of the tube are upset to form an upset
tubular. The upset tubular
22 has an outer wall, a hollow interior, a first end, a second end, a first
portion, a central portion
23 and a second portion. The length of the first portion of the upset
tubular has a length of between
24 25-75% the length of the first portion of the tube. The length of the
second portion of the upset
tubular has a length of between 25-75% the length of the second portion of the
tube. The outer
26 wall of the central portion of the upset tubular is processed to form a
predetermined outer profile
27 having at least one integral wear pad. A tool joint is attached to the
first end of the upset tubular
28 and a tool joint is attached to the second end of the upset tubular
forming a drill pipe with at
29 least one integral wear pad.
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1 [0034] In one aspect, the predetermined outer profile of the outer wall
is substantially
2 cylindrical and uniform.
3 [0035] In one aspect, the predetermined outer profile has at least one
integral wear pad.
4 The integral wear pad has a wall with increased wall thickness. The
integral wear pad may be
centrally located on the upset tubular. The integral wear pad may be a fluted
wear pad, a bladed
6 wear pad, a ribbed wear pad or any other type of wear pad known in the
art.
7 [0036] In one aspect, the tube is made of steel or aluminum alloy.
8 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
9 [0037] These and other features will become more apparent from the
following
description in which references are made to the following drawings, in which
numerical
11 references denote like parts. The drawings are for the purpose of
illustration only and are not
12 intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the
particular aspects shown.
13 [0038] FIG. 1 is a side view of an integral tubular member according one
aspect of the
14 description, with at least one wear pad.
[0039] FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the integral tubular member of
FIG.1.
16 [0040] FIG. 3 is an end view of the tubular member of FIG. 2 taken along
section A-A.
17 [0041] FIG. 4 is an end view of the wear pad of FIG.2 taken along
section B-B.
18 [0042] FIG. 5a, 5b and 5c are end views of wear pads according to
different aspects,
19 showing different wear pad cross section shapes.
[0043] FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of a tube blank.
21 [0044] FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the tube blank of FIG. 5
following an
22 upsetting step.
23 [0045] FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view of the upset tubular of
FIG. 7 after a forming
24 step to provide connector ends.
[0046] FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional view of a tubular member according to
one
26 aspect, provided with a central integral wear pad.
7
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1 [0047] FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view of a tubular member
according to one
2 aspect, provided with three integral wear pads.
3 [0048] FIG. 11 is a side view of an integral tubular member according one
aspect,
4 having a central integral wear pad.
[0049] FIG. 12 is a side view of an integral tubular member according to one
aspect,
6 provided with three integral wear pads.
7 [0050] FIG. 13 is a side view of an integral tubular member according to
one aspect,
8 provided with five integral wear pads.
9 [0051] FIG. 14 is a side view of an integral tubular member according to
one aspect,
provided with five integral wear pads of different sizes.
11 [0052] FIG. 15 is a side view of an integral tubular member according to
one aspect,
12 provided with three integral wear pads of different sizes.
13 [0053] FIG. 16 is a side view of an integral tubular member according to
one aspect,
14 provided with three integral wear pads with different external profiles.
[0054] FIG. 17 is a side cross-sectional view of a tube blank, according to
one aspect,
16 used to form a tubular member.
17 [0055] FIG. 18 is a side cross-sectional view of tubular member formed
from the tube
18 blank of FIG. 16, following an upsetting step.
19 [0056] FIG. 19 is a side cross-sectional view of the upset tubular
member of FIG. 18
provided with a central integral wear pad.
21 [0057] FIG. 20 is a side cross-sectional view of the tubular member of
FIG. 19 prior to
22 being provided with tool joints at the ends thereof.
23 [0058] FIG. 21 is a side cross-sectional view of a drill pipe with a
central integral wear
24 pad formed from the tubular member and tool joints of FIG. 20.
8
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1 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED ASPECTS
2 [0059] In the following discussion and in the claims regarding the
integral tubular
3 member with at least one wear pad, the term "one piece blank" generally
refers to the single
4 piece semi-finished tubular member immediately prior to the creation of
the at least one integral
wear pad. It will be understood that the sequence of manufacturing processes
required to create
6 the desired one piece blank may be varied without limiting the scope of
the invention. For
7 example, the one piece blank may take the form of a raw unprocessed tube
or a pre-processed
8 tube that has been put through upsetting, forming, heat treatment,
machining, welding or any
9 other process known in the art to produce the desired geometry of the one
piece blank.
Reference to "one piece blank substrate" in regards to metallurgical
properties and metallurgical
11 grains should be interpreted as the metallurgical properties and grains
of the one piece blank
12 immediately prior to creating the at least one wear pad feature. It
should not be interpreted to
13 indicate the metallurgical substrate properties during any sequence of
manufacturing processes
14 which may occur to create the desired one piece blank. Also, the term
"wear pad" should be
interpreted in the broadest sense possible to describe features which act
sacrificially in slowing,
16 delaying, or otherwise preventing the downgrading of a tubular member
due to thinning of wall
17 thickness drilling operations. Such wear pad features are substantially
cylindrical in nature and
18 may include features such as flutes, blades, ribs, external bulges,
internal bulges, a combination
19 of any such features or any other drilling operations wear features
known in the art. Any
description of features utilizing sequencing as "first", "second", "third"
etc. is done for the
21 purpose of clarity in describing relative locations and relationships
between features and should
22 not be interpreted to imply any ordering, capability, priority or
physical location of features
23 relative to a borehole or other external frames of reference.
24 [0060] The term "tubular member" generically refers to the components
which make up
a typical drill string such as the Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA), Heavy Weight
Drill Pipe (HWDP),
26 drill pipe, or any similar components which can replace such components
in form and/or
27 function. When describing a specific feature or aspect of the invention
the term "integral" refers
28 to the feature or aspect being present on, or, in particular, created
from, a substantially one
29 piece blank without attachment methods employed. It will be understood
that specific features
and aspects such as wear pads may be integral while other features such as
tool joints may not
31 be integral without affecting the scope of the invention.
9
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1 [0061] The term "integral tubular member" refers to a component which can
be utilized
2 to form a drill string and which is created from a one piece blank. A
"drill pipe" or similar tubular
3 member would typically be created from multiple components.
4 [0062] The term "connector end" refers to and end region of a tubular
member having
increased wall thickness to allow for connection features such as threads to
be manufactured
6 thereon. Further, the term "tool joint" generally refers to a non-
integral connector end but which
7 are attached or secured thereto. Tool joints are typical components of a
finished drill pipe
8 assembly.
9 [0063] An integral tubular member with wear pad will now be described
with reference to
FIG. Ito FIG. 5.
11 [0064] With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an integral tubular member
100 with at least
12 one wear pad 24 is formed from a one piece blank having a longitudinal
axis. As will be
13 understood from the present description, although one wear pad 24 is
shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
14 2, the description is not limited to such single wear pad and the
tubular member 100 may be
provided with any number of wear pads. The integral tubular member 100
includes an external
16 longitudinal cross sectional profile 102 and an internal longitudinal
cross sectional profile 104
17 which together define a wall 106 there-between. The wall 106 has a
varied thickness along the
18 length of the tubular member. The internal cross-sectional profile 104
also defines a bore or
19 hollow interior 14 extending along the length of the integral tubular
member. The integral tubular
member 100 with at least one wear pad 24 is generally cylindrical in shape,
its transverse cross
21 section along its length being generally circular in nature as shown in
FIG. 3. As also shown, the
22 inner diameter of the integral tubular member varies along its length.
It will be understood that
23 other transverse cross section shapes and any combination of transverse
cross section shapes
24 may be possible within the integral tubular member 100 without affecting
the scope of the
present description. The wall 106 of the integral tubular member 100 is varied
in thickness to
26 create localized wear resistance and structural enhancement. An increase
in thickness can
27 either be: a localized increase to the external diameter, resulting in
an exterior bulge; a localized
28 decrease to the internal diameter, resulting in an interior bulge; or a
combination of both. These
29 variations in wall thickness are shown in FIG. 2.
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1 [0065] Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG 2, the integral tubular member 100
with at least one
2 wear pad 24 has a first end 16, a second end 18, a first connector end
20, a second connector
3 end 22, a nominal tube body 110 and at least one wear pad 24. The nominal
tube body 110 has
4 an external diameter D1 and an internal diameter dl, forming a wall there-
between 106 with
thickness t1. The first connector end 20 has an external diameter D3, and
internal diameter d3,
6 forming a wall there-between 106 with an increased thickness t3 to allow
for adding a first
7 connection feature 108. As shown, the first connection feature 108
comprises a thread provided
8 on the internal wall thereof, resulting in a "box" end, as is known in
the art. The second
9 connector end 22 has an external diameter D4 and an internal diameter d4,
forming a wall 106
with an increased thickness t4 to allow for adding a second connection feature
110. The second
11 connection feature 110 comprises a thread provided on the external wall
thereof, resulting in a
12 "pin" end, as is known in the art. The first connector end 20 and second
connector end 22 may
13 be formed by an external diameter increase, an internal diameter
increase, or a combination of
14 both.
[0066] The connection features 108, 110 allow for one tubular member to be
coupled to
16 another similar or dissimilar drilling tubular member. The first
connection feature 108 is shown
17 as a box thread rotary shouldered connection. The second connection
feature 110 is shown as
18 a pin thread rotary shouldered connection. It will be understood by a
person skilled in the art
19 that other designs and configurations of connection features may be
possible without affecting
the scope of the present description.
21 [0067] The nominal tube body 110 is provided with at least one integral
wear pad 24
22 having an external diameter D2 and an internal diameter d2, there-
between forming a wall 106
23 of increased thickness t2. As discussed herein, the wear pad 24 serves
to enhance wear
24 resistance of the tubular member. It will be understood that the at
least one wear pad 24 may be
formed by an external diameter increase, an internal diameter increase, or a
combination of
26 both. The integral wear pad 24 may be substantially cylindrical in
shape, having a transverse
27 cross section A2 along its length being generally circular as shown in
FIG. 4. It will be
28 understood that other transverse cross section shapes, and any
combination of transverse
29 cross section shapes, may be possible for one or more of the at least
one wear pads 24, with
each shape being independent of the other. Referring to FIG. 5, that is, FIGs.
5a to 5b, a variety
31 of transverse cross section shapes are shown which may be desirable in
any combination for
32 any one of at least one integral wear pads 24 depending on end-use
requirements. It will be
11
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1 understood by a person skilled in the art that the transverse cross
sections in FIG. 5 are
2 presented for illustrative purposes and are not to be construed to limit
the scope of the invention
3 to the shapes shown.
4 [0068] Referring to FIG. 2, in the aspect shown, the wall 106 varies such
that t1 <t2 <t3
= t4. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that it is only
necessary that t2 is greater
6 than t1 to form at least one wear pad in order to enhance wear resistance
and that the wall
7 thickness t3 and t4 may vary based on end-use requirements without
affecting the scope of the
8 present description.
9 [0069] Referring to FIG. 2, in the aspect shown, the external
longitudinal cross section
102 varies such that D1 <D2 < D3 = D4. It will be understood by a person
skilled in the art that,
11 for the purpose of the present description, D2 is preferably equal to or
greater than D1, and that
12 the external diameters D3 and D4 may vary based on end-use requirements
without affecting
13 the scope of the present description.
14 [0070] Referring to FIG. 2, in the aspect shown the at least one
integral wear pad 24 is
shown as a single integral wear pad located generally in the center of the
integral tubular
16 member 100. It will be understood that one or more wear pads 24 may be
integrally present in
17 any number of locations along the length of the nominal tube body 110,
each with an individual
18 external diameter D2, internal diameter d2, wall thickness t2, and
transverse cross section
19 shape A2, which may be the same or different.
[0071] In one aspect the at least one wear pad 24 has a wall thickness t2 that
is
21 between 50-100% greater than the nominal tube body 110 wall thickness
t1. In another aspect
22 the at least one wear pad 24 has a nominal wall thickness t2 that is
between 70-80% greater
23 than the nominal tube body 110 wall thickness t1.
24 [0072] In one aspect the ratio of the nominal tube body circumference
formed by outside
diameter D1 to the nominal tube body cross sectional area formed by D1 and
wall thickness t1
26 is less than or equal to .450 in/sq.in and the ratio of the at least one
wear pad circumference
27 formed by outside diameter D2 to the wear pad cross sectional area
formed by D2 and wall
28 thickness t2 is greater than .450 in/sq. in.
12
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1 [0073] In another aspect, the metallurgical grain structure and grain
direction of the at
2 least one wear pad 24 is substantially unaltered from the one piece blank
substrate.
3 [0074] In another aspect, the at least one wear pad 24 is not formed
through a
4 redistribution of the one piece blank substrate material.
[0075] In one aspect the tube body wall thickness t1 is equivalent to standard
drill pipe
6 tube thickness.
7 [0076] In one aspect, on or more of the wear pads 24 may be treated to
increase wear
8 resistance by means of a surface hardening treatment, including providing
a surface coating.
9 Various other surface treatments are known in the art to increase wear
resistance of the wear
pads.
11 [0077] A method of manufacturing integral tubular members of the present
description
12 will now be discussed. In this discussion, the term "tube" or "tube
blank" is used to describe an
13 initial tubular element having a longitudinal axis, external and
internal longitudinal cross-
14 sectional profiles defining a wall there-between and the tube wall
having a wall thickness which
is generally constant along its length. It will be understood that the tube
may, in one aspect, be
16 pre-processed, or "tuned", with regards to creating or forming the
desired material properties
17 and geometry. Further, the term "upset tubular" is used to describe a
semi-finished tubular with
18 a longitudinal axis having external and internal longitudinal cross
sectional profiles defining a
19 wall there-between and the upset tubular wall having a wall thickness
which is varied along the
upset tubular. It is typical that this varied wall thickness is predominantly
at the ends of the upset
21 tubular, resulting in the ends having thicker wall portions; however it
will be understood that the
22 varied wall may be present in any location of the upset tubular and may
exist as an increase or
23 decrease in wall thickness. The term "processing" is used generally to
describe manufacturing
24 methods known in the art which act to create dimensional features either
through the removal
of, addition to, or forming of substrate material. Such processes may include
but are not
26 intended to be limited to lathe machining, milling, grinding, welding,
cold working, forging,
27 burnishing, etc.
28 [0078] A method of manufacturing an integral tubular member 10 will now
be described
29 with reference to FIGs. 7 to 16.
13
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1 [0079] Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, manufacturing of integral tubular
member begins
2 with a tube 40 that has an outer wall 42, a hollow interior 44, first end
46, a second end 48, a
3 first portion 50, a central portion 52 and a second portion 54. First
portion 50 is adjacent first
4 end 46, second portion 54 is adjacent second end 48 and central portion
52 is positioned
between first portion 50 and second portion 54. As is common, tube 40 may, for
example, be
6 made of steel or an aluminum alloy. The present description is not
limited to any particular
7 material. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that tube
40 may be a raw
8 unprocessed tube or may be pre-processed through forming, heat treatment,
machining,
9 welding or any other process known in the art. Tube 40 may be made
thicker than a
conventional drill pipe tube body prior to processing to allow for excess
material to be removed
11 during later processing of upset tubular 60, as shown in FIG 2 and FIG.
7.
12 [0080] In one step of the present method, first portion 50 of tube 40
and second portion
13 54 of tube 40 are upset to form an upset tubular 60, shown in FIG. 7. As
used herein, the term
14 "upset" or "upsetting" generally refers to a method or process, as known
in the art, where the
wall thickness and thus transverse cross sectional area of a portion of a
tubular member is
16 increased beyond that of the initial nominal wall thickness and
transverse cross sectional area.
17 A person skilled in the art will understand how the upsetting process
works and the different
18 methods of achieving the upset tubular 60 shown in FIG. 7.
19 [0081] One method of upsetting tube 40, shown in FIG. 6, is to use a
controlled and
hydraulically driven upsetting method. First portion 50 of tube 40 is heated.
An inner diameter
21 mandrel is inserted into first end 46 and an outer diameter die is
positioned around the outside
22 of first portion 50. An annular forging head is used to force first end
46 to fill the annular volume
23 between the inner diameter mandrel and outer diameter die. This method
of upsetting is known
24 in the art and it is to be understood that different upsetting methods
may be used. Second
portion 54 would be upset in a similar manner. The upsetting process may be
achieved in one
26 or many cycles depending upon the final desired outer diameter, inner
diameter, overall portion
27 length change, final portion lengths of upset tubular and final desired
length of upset tubular.
28 [0082] Processing of tube 40 may involve the removal of material through
the use of a
29 lathe or milling process or may allow for additive or forming methods of
manufacture. For
example, a wear pad 24, shown in FIG. 9, could be built up with weld overlay
on tube 40, shown
31 in FIG. 6, or upset tubular 60, shown in FIG. 7, or on integral tubular
member 10 shown in FIG.
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1 8. Tube 40 may be formed, drawn, forged or burnished to reduce the outer
diameter and wall
2 thickness around one or more of the wear pads 24.
3 [0083] Referring to FIG. 7, first portion 62 of upset tubular 60 may have
a length of
4 between 25 ¨ 75% the length of first portion 50 of tube, or tube blank,
40, shown in FIG. 6.
Similarly, second portion 64 of upset tubular 60 may have a length of between
25 ¨ 75% the
6 length of second portion 54 of tube 40, shown in FIG. 6. Referring to
FIG. 7, upset tubular 60
7 has an outer wall 66, a hollow interior 68, a first end 70, a second end
72, a first portion 62, a
8 central portion 74 and a second portion 64. First portion 62 is adjacent
first end 70, second
9 portion 64 is adjacent second end 72 and central portion 74 is positioned
between first portion
62 and second portion 64. First portion 62 and second portion 64 of upset
tubular 60 are
11 processed to form integral connector ends 20 and 22 shown in FIG 8.
Processing of first portion
12 62 and second portion 64 of upset tubular 60 may include machining of
hollow interior 68 and
13 outer wall 66 to create appropriate connector ends 20 and 22, shown in
FIG. 8. Connector ends
14 20 and 22 are functionally tool joints and include the outer diameter,
inner diameter, taper, inner
diameter transitions, hardbanding features and any other feature known in the
art. Connector
16 ends 20 and 22 may include box or pin connections. Once connector ends
20 and 22, shown in
17 FIG. 8, have been formed, outer wall 66 of central portion 74 is
processed to form a
18 predetermined outer profile. A metal lathe or other machining tool may
be used to machine
19 outer wall 66. Outer wall 66 may be processed into a substantially
cylindrical and uniform wall or
may have integrally formed wear pads depending upon the needs of the user.
21 [0084] Referring to FIG. 8, an integral tubular member 10 has an outer
wall 12, hollow
22 interior 14 with a first end 16 and a second end 18. First end 16 has a
first connector end 20
23 and second end 18 has a second connector end 22. Connector end 20 and
connector end 22
24 are, in one aspect, integrally formed on integral tubular member 10. In
the aspect shown, first
connector end 20 has a "box" connection and second connector end 22 has a
"pin" connection
26 end. As discussed above, and as would be understood by persons skilled
in the art, first
27 connector end 20 and second connector end 22 are configured to allow for
connection of the
28 first or second connector end of an integral tubular member to the
corresponding connector end
29 of another drill string tubular. It will be understood by a person
skilled in the art that integral
tubular member 10 may have different types of connection ends depending on the
type of
31 connection required for any given drill string. For example, integral
tubular member 10 may
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1 have two box connections, two pin connections or may have one box
connection and one pin
2 connection.
3 [0085] As would be understood, with integral connector ends 20 and 22,
there is no
4 need to utilize friction welding and weld heat treatments to create a
drilling tubular.
[0086] Referring to FIG. 9, integral tubular member 10 may also have an
integral wear
6 pad 24. In the aspect shown, integral wear pad 24 is located generally
centrally along integral
7 tubular member 10; however, it will be understood by persons skilled in
the art that integral wear
8 pad 24 may be positioned anywhere along the length of the integral
tubular member 10.
9 Referring to FIG. 10 through FIG. 16, different aspects of integral wear
pads 24 are shown. As
can be seen, different sizes of wear pads 24 and different numbers of wear
pads 24 may be
11 used. Wear pads 24 may be fluted, bladed, ribbed, spiraled or any other
type of wear pad 24
12 known in the art.
13 [0087] Integral tubular member 10 is manufactured in a way that allows
connector ends
14 20 and 22 and wear pad 24 to be integrally created. This avoid the need
for expensive friction
welding and welding heat treatments to create a drilling tubular and allows
for a wear pad 24 to
16 be included integrally without attempting to incorporate a separate wear
pad onto a tubular
17 member.
18 [0088] Referring to FIG. 9 through FIG. 16, wear pads 24 may be
integrally formed and
19 may have different shapes. Wear pads 24 may be cylindrical, fluted,
bladed, ribbed or may have
any other suitable shape known in the art. It will be understood that outer
wall 66 of central
21 portion 74 may be processed to form a predetermined outer profile before
first portion 62 and
22 second portion 64 are processed to form connector ends 20 and 22. It may
be beneficial to
23 process central portion 74 prior to processing first portion 62 and
second portion 64 as an error
24 made to central portion 74 is less likely to be fixable than an error
made to first portion 62 or
second portion 64.
26 [0089] An alternative method of manufacturing a drilling tubular will
now be described
27 with reference to FIG. 17 through FIG. 21.
28 [0090] Referring to FIG. 17, manufacturing of drill pipe with at least
one integral wear
29 pad begins with a tube, or tube blank 40 that has an outer wall 42, a
hollow interior 44, first end
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1 46, a second end 48, a first portion 50, a central portion 52 and a
second portion 54. First
2 portion 50 is adjacent first end 46, second portion 54 is adjacent second
end 48 and central
3 portion 52 is positioned between first portion 50 and second portion 54.
As discussed above,
4 tube 40 may be made of any material, such as steel or an aluminum alloy.
It will be understood
by a person skilled in the art that tube 40 may be a raw unprocessed tube or
may be pre-
6 processed through forming, heat treatment, machining, welding or any
other process known in
7 the art.
8 [0091] In a first step, first portion 50 of tube 40 and second portion 54
of tube 40 are
9 upset to form an upset tubular 80, as shown in FIG. 18. A person of skill
in the art will
understand how the upsetting process works and different methods of achieving
the upset
11 tubular 80 shown in FIG. 18. Such methods were also discussed above.
12 [0092] Referring to FIG. 18, first portion 82 of upset tubular 80 may,
in one aspect, have
13 a length of between 25-75% the length of first portion 50 of tube 40,
shown in FIG. 17. Similarly,
14 second portion 84 of upset tubular 80 may have a length of between 25-
75% the length of
second portion 54 of tube 40, shown in FIG. 17. Referring to FIG. 18, upset
tubular 80 has an
16 outer wall 86, a hollow interior 88, a first end 90, a second end 92, a
first portion 82, a central
17 portion 94 and a second portion 84. First portion 82 is adjacent first
end 90, second portion 84 is
18 adjacent second end 92 and central portion 94 is positioned between
first portion 82 and second
19 portion 84. Outer wall 86 is processed to form a predetermined outer
profile. In the aspect
shown in FIG. 19, the outer profile includes an integrally formed wear pad
100. It will be
21 understood that outer profile may be substantially cylindrical or may
have a number of integral
22 wear pads 100 with different features as shown in FIG. 11 through 16. A
metal lathe or other
23 machining tool may be used to machine outer wall 86 of first portion 82,
central portion 94 or
24 second portion 84. First portion 82 and second portion 84 may be
processed to prepare first end
90 and second end 92, respectively, for attachment of tool joints.
26 [0093] Referring to FIG. 20, in the aspect shown, a box connection tool
joint 102 and a
27 pin connection tool joint 104 are provided for attachment to first end
90 and second end 92 of
28 upset tubular 80 to create a finished drill pipe with integral wear pad
10, shown in FIG. 21. It will
29 be understood by a person of skill in the art that different types of
tool joints with any type of
connection features may be used depending upon the requirements of the user
without altering
31 the scope of the invention. The term "attach" should be interpreted in a
general sense to refer to
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1 the permanent or semi-permanent affixing of tool joints to the upset
tubular. Attachment of box
2 connection tool joint 102 and pin connection tool joint 104 may be
performed through welding,
3 threading, press/shrink fitting, gluing/bonding/adhesive or any
combination of these, or any
4 other attachment methods known in the art without affecting the scope of
the invention being
disclosed. Referring to FIG. 21, in the aspect shown, drilling tubular 10 has
an outer wall 12, a
6 hollow interior 14, a first end 16 and a second end 18. A box connection
tool joint 102 is
7 positioned at first end 16 and a pin connection tool joint 104 is
positioned at second end 18.
8 Drilling tubular 10 has an integral wear pad 100.
9 [0094] Any use herein of any terms describing an interaction between
elements is not
meant to limit the interaction to direct interaction between the subject
elements, and may also
11 include indirect interaction between the elements such as through
secondary or intermediary
12 structure unless specifically stated otherwise.
13 [0095] In this patent document, the word "comprising" is used in its non-
limiting sense to
14 mean that items following the word are included, but items not
specifically mentioned are not
excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article "a" does not
exclude the possibility
16 that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly
requires that there be
17 one and only one of the elements.
18 [0096] It will be apparent that changes may be made to the illustrative
aspects, while
19 falling within the scope of the invention. As such, the scope of the
following claims should not be
limited by the preferred aspects set forth in the examples and drawings
described above, but
21 should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the
description as a whole.
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