Search Results (11)

The double-connection structure of bionic joints of mining drill pipes has solved the problem of drill drop caused by fatigue cracks. However, with low-melting-point elastic–ductile alloy filling in the bionic joint, the thread on the joint cannot be hardened by high-temperature surface hardening treatments such as quenching and nitriding, making it prone to thread gluing or excessive wear. In this paper, the feasibility of diamond-like film deposition on the surface of a bionic drill pipe thread was studied. A tungsten transition film was used to improve the thickness of the film and the interfacial bond strength between the film and the substrate. The test results show that the total thickness of the DLC film is about 3~5 μm, the roughness is less than 2 μm, the hardness of the film reaches 24.4 GPa, the friction coefficient is 0.04, and the critical load is 56 N. SEM and EDS analyses show that the tungsten film and the bionic joint thread form a metallurgical structure. The morphology of the diamond-like carbon film is uniform and dense, and there is no obvious stratification between the substrate material. The joint with a diamond-like coating treatment has a longer service life than joints receiving conventional high-temperature nitriding treatment. Full article

Thermosetting resins have good temperature resistance and high strength and have been widely used as plugging agents in oil fields. However, the current resin materials have high costs, and unmodified thermosetting resins are brittle or have deteriorated properties such as flame retardancy after curing to form a crosslinked network structure. In this study, the resin was modified via physical blending. The curing strength and temperature resistance were used as the main indicators. The resin matrix, curing agent, rheology modifier, and filling materials were modified and formulated optimally to form a high-strength resin gel plugging system. The resin gel system exhibited good fluidity and pumpability. When the shear rate was 200 s⁻¹ at 25 °C, the initial viscosity was 300–400 mPa·s. The viscosity gradually decreased with increasing shear rate, and the apparent viscosity had good long-term stability at room temperature. A contamination test of different types of drilling fluids on the resin gel system showed that this system had good anti-contamination capability and could maintain a high curing strength even after being contaminated. At the same time, the system exhibited good plugging capability. A wedge-shaped fracture with an inlet size of 7 mm and an outlet size of 5 mm was plugged at 12.84 MPa for 10 min without leakage. A sand-filling pipe (with a diameter of 3.8 cm and pipe length of 30 cm) connected to the pipeline with a 6 mm outlet was subjected to a constant pressure of 11.29 MPa and plugged for 8 min before breaking through. Therefore, it exhibited good capability for plugging fissures and cavities. The resin gel leakage-plugging system has significant potential to realize effective plugging of the deep large-fracture leakage layer. Full article

Pipe racks are steel structures that support various pipes transporting materials in industrial complexes. The pipes on pipe racks may transport hazardous substances, which imposes limitations on their structural reinforcement. Therefore, this study aimed to propose methods for reinforcing the joints of pipe rack structures through non-welding and non-drilling techniques. The joints of pipe rack structures were connected by end plates. Initially, this study evaluated the capacity of existing end plates in a real-world experiment and conducted cyclic loading tests with two additional reinforcement methods to validate their performance. Finally, finite element analysis was conducted to explore additional variables that were not covered in the experiments, and the optimal reinforcement method that demonstrated the best performance was proposed. Full article

To address the challenge of dust control during dry drilling of underground coal seams, a novel dust-collecting device for micron-size dust was designed and tested. To determine the optimal structural parameters of the dust collector, numerical simulations were employed to investigate the influence of the positions of the dust extraction pipe, slag discharge pipe angle, and cavity diameter on the distributions of the airflow velocity field and the pressure field inside the device. The findings revealed that the best performance was achieved when the dust extraction pipe was positioned in the lower part of the cavity, the angle between the slag discharge pipe and the cavity was 45°, and the cavity diameter was 300 mm. Under these conditions, the average airflow velocity in the dust extraction pipe reached 8.32 m/s, the maximum negative pressure at the pipe’s mouth was recorded at 1012.38 Pa, and the velocity of the dusty airflow in the cavity remained below 4.38 m/s. Dust capture performance was evaluated through on-site testing in the Taoyuan Coal Mine. The results demonstrated that using the novel device, the dust suppression rates at the slag discharge port, the connection between the device and the drill pipe, and 6 m from the drill hole on the downwind side increased by 92.5%, 88.5%, and 89.1%, respectively. Full article

In this study, a resonant bending fatigue test rig, designed and implemented by the University of Pisa, is presented, providing a detailed description of the set-up of the machine, the strain gauges calibrations, and the control system used with the main electronic devices. Several geometries of drill pipe connections and pipe samples made of different materials were tested, and all the obtained experimental fatigue results are presented in the paper and compared to previous experimental data. Fractographic images are provided to clearly show that, in two kinds of drill pipe connections, the crack initiation was found at the connection zone, whereas for another connection geometry, it was found at the pipe body. In order to interpret these latter results, a discussion about the section modulus of bending of the various sections of the drill pipes was provided, along with an FE model of a specific zone of one of these connections. Full article

The aluminum alloy drill pipe suffers long-term high-temperature conditions during ultra-deep well drilling. In this paper, the samples were prepared by vacuum hot pressing, followed by hot extrusion and T6 heat treatment. The mechanical properties of short carbon fiber reinforced 2024 aluminum alloy composites (SCFs/2024 Al) and the microstructure evolution at the interface region thermal exposure at 160 °C for 500 h are discussed. The experimental results showed that the effect of short carbon fiber on 2024 aluminum alloy remained steady throughout the whole process of the heat exposure experiment. The distribution and volume of interface products (Al₄C₃) changed with the prolonging of heat exposure time, and connected after coarsening. The evolution of the morphology of Al₄C₃ relieved the stress of the interface between carbon fiber and aluminum alloy matrix and enhanced the mechanical properties of the composite. Full article

In order to boost shale gas drilling efficiency, oil and gas exploration and drilling distances have risen along with the number of horizontal definitions and directions. As a result, the joints of oil wells and core gas pipes are under continual stress and compression, internal and external pressures, and extreme bending stresses. This will negatively impact the drilling system’s sustainability and the performance requirements are therefore reinforced. Good thread design is crucial because premium threaded connections are typically employed in joints, and the construction of reliable premium connections to external limitations is closely related to the choice of pertinent parameters as optimal values. In this article, new premium connection systems will be created and constructed that can show good vibration and durability under such stressful conditions. The amount of von Mises stress that is received from the threaded connection depends on how each parameter is changed. In particular, the values of the “upper stabbing flank corner radius” were used to examine the von Mises stress variations in the entire structure. An optimized design for the premium connection system is proposed with the best value of upper stabbing flank corner radius according to minimized stress on the teeth of the premium connection against compressive forces. The study’s findings suggest that it is feasible to create a premium connection that can lower stress following the genuine demand of the industry. Full article

Because of their low flexibility, traditional vibration sensors cannot perform arbitrary bending adjustments when facing curved surfaces and other complex working conditions during the drilling process; therefore, this research proposes a ring-shaped vibration sensor (RSV−TENG) that can deform freely in the bending direction, and which can be used in working conditions where the inner bending angle of the drill pipe changes greatly. Test results show that the vibration frequency measurement range is from 4 Hz to 16 Hz, with a measurement error less than 4%, the vibration amplitude measurement range is less than 20 mm, with a measurement error less than 5%, the output voltage and current signal are 120 V and 60 nA, respectively, when three RSV−TENGs are connected in parallel, and the maximum output power is 6 × 10⁻⁷ W when the external resistance is 10⁶ Ω. Compared with traditional downhole sensors, this sensor has self-powered and self-sensing functions, eliminating the shortcomings of battery and cable power supply; in addition, this sensor can be installed in the drill pipe space with different curvature radii, so it is more suited to complex and changeable downhole working conditions. Full article

The connection between the steel joint and aluminum alloy pipe is the weak part of the aluminum alloy drill pipe. Practically, the interference connection between the aluminum alloy rod and the steel joint is usually realized by thermal assembly. In this paper, the relationship between the cooling water flow rate, initial heating temperature and the thermal deformation of the steel joint in interference thermal assembly was studied and predicted. Firstly, the temperature data of each measuring point of the steel joint were obtained by a thermal assembly experiment. Based on the theory of thermoelasticity, the analytical solution of the thermal deformation of the steel joint was studied. The temperature function was fitted by the least square method, and the calculated value of radial thermal deformation of the section was finally obtained. Based on the BP neural network algorithm, the thermal deformation of steel joint section was predicted. Besides, a prediction model was established, which was about the relationship between cooling water flow rate, initial heating temperature and interference. The magnitude of interference fit of steel joint was predicted. The magnitude of the interference fit of the steel joint was predicted. A polynomial model, exponential model and Gaussian model were adopted to predict the sectional deformation so as to compare and analyze the predictive performance of a BP neural network, among which the polynomial model was used to predict the magnitude of the interference fit. Through a comparative analysis of the fitting residual (RE) and sum of squares of the error (SSE), it can be known that a BP neural network has good prediction accuracy. The predicted results showed that the error of the prediction model increases with the increase of the heating temperature in the prediction model of the steel node interference and related factors. When the cooling water velocity hit 0.038 m/s, the prediction accuracy was the highest. The prediction error increases with the increase or decrease of the velocity. Especially when the velocity increases, the trend of error increasing became more obvious. The analysis shows that this method has better prediction accuracy. Full article

As a result of the severe natural environment with oxygen deficit in the Antarctic, using conventional manual work to screw and unscrew the drill pipe increases the labor intensity tremendously and causes an efficiency reduction. Therefore, it would be useful to design a clamper inside the drilling shelter, which could help to assemble and disassemble the ice core barrel with screw connection. This paper describes the design of and experiments with the clamper inside the movable drilling shelter. A related testing stand was also designed and built to experiment on relationships between the clamper motor current versus clamping torque and force. Through experimental data collation and calculation analysis, the following conclusions could be drawn: (1) according to the rotary ability of the Ice and Bedrock Electromechanical Drill (IBED) to calculate and determine the torque of clamper, the clamping torque required to provide by the clamper is 100 N·m; (2) finite element simulation and analysis of the non-standard transmission chain showed that the mechanical reliability of the subparts; (3) the experimental results showed the range of the clamping force and clamping torque of the clamper. The clamping force and clamping torque increased with the increase of clamper DC motor current, presenting proportional linear relationships. The clamper can meet the clamping requirements of IBED for screwing, unscrewing, and clamping, which will be greatly helpful when it is tested in the field. Full article

Threaded pipe connections are commonly used in the oil and gas industry in particular to connect casting strings, drill pipe strings, production and transportation risers, and pipelines. As the most critical components in the entire chain, maintaining a sealed and secure connection while being subjected to environmental loads and pollution is very important and necessary to reduce potential leakage risk and guarantee the safety of the entire chain. In this paper, an effective approach using time reversal technique and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) transducer was developed to monitor the looseness of the threaded pipe connection. Two threaded pipeline segments connected with a metal coupling were assembled to simulate the threaded connection in the pipeline system. Two PZT patches were mounted on the surface of one pipeline segment and the pipe coupling, respectively. By loosening the threaded connection with different rotation angles, several looseness scenarios were experimentally investigated. For each looseness condition, the developed time reversal-based approach was performed and the corresponding response signal was acquired and analyzed. The experimental results demonstrate that the peak value of the focused signal detected by the PZT sensor decreases with the increase of the looseness degree. The entire test conducted from tightened connection to loosened connection was repeated eight times to validate the repeatability of the developed method and the consistency of the detection results. In addition, the reliability of the developed method was studied by involving high disturbances when the signal was measured. All the test results show that the developed method has a great potential to be employed in practical applications for monitoring the looseness condition of the threaded pipe connection, especially in an environment with severe noises and disturbances. Full article