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EP-4739991-A1 - METHOD TO PREDICT SEALING ELEMENT AND BEARING ASSEMBLY REMAINING USEFUL LIFE USING REAL-TIME DRILLING PARAMETERS

EP4739991A1EP 4739991 A1EP4739991 A1EP 4739991A1EP-4739991-A1

Abstract

A method for overall monitoring of a sealing assembly wear and/or failure where there is a recorded log of all operational parameters in the operational history of said sealing assembly to which said sealing assembly was exposed, said operational parameters comprising: hookload; fluid temperature; wherein each one of said operational parameters comprised in said recorded log is processed in the algorithm to determine a wear value of said sealing element, and wherein said wear value is a determination of the remaining operating life of said sealing element.

Inventors

  • PALACIOS, JOSE
  • MEDINA, Leiro

Assignees

  • Beyond Energy Services and Technology Corp.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240704

Claims (10)

  1. 1. A method of determining the wear on a sealing element found on a bearing assembly used on a rig during an oil and gas operation, by using a hookload sensor on a drillstring, wherein said method comprises the steps of: o providing a rotating control device equipped with said sealing element, wherein said sealing element is made of an elastomeric material and having an aperture therethrough to adapted to allow said drillstring to travel therethrough; o providing an electronic data recorder connected to said hookload sensor and a to computer capable of performing an algorithm; o inputting in said algorithm said type of sealing element for which a value of tensile strength is pre-loaded; o obtaining hookload information from said hookload sensor and recording said hookload information on said electronic data recorder connected to said algorithm; o recording the number of tooljoints on said drillstring that go through said aperture over said operation on said electronic data recorder; o determining a force exerted on the sealing element by the drillstring during said operation; o inputting an information related to said force exerted on the sealing element by the drillstring during said operation into said electronic data recorder; o processing said information by implementing said algorithm on said computer and obtaining a processed information; o providing an output based on said processed information comprising a determination of a change of said force as a function of time; and o determining if said change of said force has reached a pre-determined threshold below which the sealing element is considered to require replacement.
  2. 2. The method according to claim 1, where said detector is given contextual info about the sealing element comprising the following: hours in operation; diameter; and RCD element model.
  3. 3. The method according to claim 1, where, after receiving a new frame from the electronic data recorder via WITS (hookload data channel), said method comprising the following steps: running a statistical inference on the data; where the hookload time series is taken from the rig and segment it to isolate a single tooljoint passing through the rubber element so a pair of data (tooljoint number and maximum force) can be collected, and where said statistical inference step comprises the sub-steps of: o segmentation (i.e. finding the tooljoint passing); o parsing (i.e. finding the max force value); o storing the pair of data; and o analyzing the result; optionally, determining if a tooljoint has passed through the RCD element; recording the hookload and direction of the pipe when a tool joint has passed through the RCD element; accumulating and recording a history of pair of data recorded, said pair of data consisting of: hookload, tooljoint count; plotting as a time series said history of pairs of data recorded where the tooljoint count serves as a stand-in for time; and computing a secondary trend detection on the detector.
  4. 4. A method for instantaneously detecting, whether the sealing assembly has reached, within a 95% confidence interval, a failure point based on an aggregate exposure over its operating life, of conditions, by using a hookload sensor on a drillstring, wherein said conditions comprises at least one of: hookload over time; RPM; fluids; pipe, and wherein said method comprises the steps of: o providing a rotating control device equipped with said sealing element, wherein said sealing element is made of a type of elastomeric material and having an aperture therethrough to adapted to allow said drillstring to travel therethrough; o providing an electronic data recorder connected to said hookload sensor and a to computer capable of performing an algorithm; o inputting in said algorithm said type of sealing element for which a value of tensile strength is pre-loaded; o obtaining hookload information from said hookload sensor and continuously recording the hookload information on said electronic data recorder connected to said algorithm; o recording the number of tooljoints on said drillstring that go through said sealing element over said operation on said electronic data recorder; o determining a force exerted by the sealing element on the drillstring during said operation; o inputting said force exerted on the sealing element by the drillstring during said operation into said electronic data recorder; o running a statistical inference step on the data; where the hookload time series is taken from the rig and segment it to isolate a single tooljoint passing through the rubber element so an additional pair (tooljoint #, max force) can be collected, where said statistical inference step comprises the sub-steps of: ■ segmentation (i.e. finding the tooljoint passing); ■ parsing (i.e. finding the max force value); ■ storing the new pair of data; and ■ analyzing the result; o processing the information comprising the result by implementing said algorithm on said computer and obtaining a processed information; o providing an output based on said processed information comprising a determination of a change of said force exerted by the sealing element as a function of time; and o determining if said change of said force exerted by the sealing element has reached a pre-determined threshold below which the sealing element is considered to have reached said failure point within said 95% confidence interval.
  5. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, where the history of pairs (hookload, tooljoint count) is combined with fluid temperature at the outlet: the temperature history of the RCD element in the algorithm to assess the wear of the sealing element.
  6. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, where the algorithm further takes into account the operational hours tallied for the sealing element.
  7. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, where the algorithm further computes into said algorithm an impact on the sealing assembly remaining useful life based on the physical state of said drillstring. (Old pipe vs premium pipe, hard banding (physical grooves in tooljoints that shave RCD elements).
  8. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, where the algorithm further computes surface rig parameters: RPM, tripping speed, casing pressure, etc.
  9. 9. A method for overall monitoring of a sealing assembly wear and/or failure where there is a recorded log of all operational parameters in the operational history of said sealing assembly to which said sealing assembly was exposed, said operational parameters comprising: hookload; fluid temperature; and other factors/parameters; wherein each one of said operational parameters comprised in said recorded log is processed in the algorithm to determine a wear value of said sealing element, and wherein said wear value is a determination of the remaining operating life of said sealing element.
  10. 10. The method according to claim 10, further comprising a step of comparing current wear value of said sealing assembly to an established trend obtained from the comparison to identical sealing assemblies whose own historical performance and exposure to various parameters during their operational history have been inputted into said algorithm to obtain said established trend.

Description

METHOD TO PREDICT SEALING ELEMENT AND BEARING ASSEMBLY REMAINING USEFUL LIFE USING REAL-TIME DRILLING PARAMETERS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a method of assessing the wear on the sealing element of a rotating control device used in oilfield operations, more specifically the method monitors various parameters to determine the remaining useful life of such sealing elements. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When drilling for oil and gas, one encounters geological formations that have a narrower tolerance for changes in bottom hole pressure. Constant improvements are being sought to reduce any downtime of equipment and expedite any repairs that become necessary. A widely adopted solution to this problem is the so called 'Managed Pressure Drilling' (MPD). In this method of drilling, the annular space is closed to the atmosphere by means of a Rotating Control Device (RCD). Rotating equipment requires maintenance as the drilling environment produces forces, elevated temperatures and abrasive cuttings detrimental to the longevity of seals, bearings, and packing elements. An RCD is a pressure- control device used during drilling for the purpose of making a seal around the drillstring during its rotation and/or tripping in and out of a well. The RCD is designed to contain or divert hydrocarbons or other wellbore fluids and pressure and prevent their release to the atmosphere. The RCD diverts the fluid into a manifold equipped with a specialized choke that allows manipulation of the well's bottom hole pressure. Right before breaking a connection to add a new stand, the pumps are ramped down. At the same time, the dynamic component of the bottom hole pressure drops and needs to be compensated for, in order to maintain a near-constant bottom hole pressure. In the oil and gas industry, it is paramount to ensure the safety of employees, a problem that may jeopardize employees' safety on a drilling rig is known as a "blowout". When a zone of high geopressure is encountered during a drilling operation and the pressure exceeds the hydrostatic pressure exerted by the drilling mud, and the formation has sufficient permeability to allow fluid flow, then the formation fluid will move into the wellbore and displace the drilling mud. This is referred to as a "kick"; and if unchecked it will result in a "blowout" which is an uncontrolled release of crude oil and/or natural gas from an oil well Through the use of an MPD system which includes an RCD a kick can be safely controlled. During drilling operations, the drill pipe or tubular is axially and slidably moved through the rotating control head. The axial movement of the drill pipe along with other forces experienced in the drilling operation, some of which are discussed below, causes wear and tear on the bearing and seal assembly and the assembly subsequently requires repair. Typically, the drill pipe or a portion thereof is pulled from the well and the bearing and seal assembly in the rotating control head is then released. The internal sealing elements may be either passive or active. Passive sealing elements, such as stripper rubber sealing elements, can be fabricated with a desired stretch- fit. On the other hand, an active sealing element typically requires a remote -to-the -tool source of hydraulic or other energy to open or close the sealing element around the outside diameter of the tubular. An active sealing element can be deactivated to reduce or eliminate the sealing forces of the sealing element with the tubular. Several types of RCDs have been proposed with combinations of active and passive seals or sealing element, usually combining a stripper rubber sealing element and an active sealing element. A tubular typically comprises sections with varying outer surface diameters. The passive and active sealing elements mentioned above must be designed to adapt to seal around all of the rough and irregular surfaces of the components of the tubular, drill pipe, tool joints, and drill collars. The continuous movement of the tubular through the sealing element while the sealing element is under pressure causes wear of the interior sealing surface of the sealing element. When drilling with a dual annular sealing element RCD, the lower of the two sealing elements is typically exposed to the majority of the pressurized fluid and cuttings returning from the wellbore, which communicate with the lower surface of the lower sealing element body. The upper sealing element is exposed to the fluid that is not blocked by the lower sealing element. When the lower sealing element blocks all of the pressurized fluid, the lower sealing element is exposed to a significant pressure differential across its body since its upper surface is essentially at atmospheric pressure when used on land or atop a riser. The highest demand on the RCD sealing elements occurs when tripping the tubular out of the wellbore under high pressure. Several components are used to control th