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NO-20260259-A1 - BLOWOUT PREVENTER SYSTEM AND METHOD UTILIZING SHEAR RAM BUTTRESS

NO20260259A1NO 20260259 A1NO20260259 A1NO 20260259A1NO-20260259-A1

Inventors

  • URRUTIA MIGUEL

Assignees

  • SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY BV

Dates

Publication Date
20260224
Application Date
20260224
Priority Date
20230824

Claims (13)

  1. 1. CLAIMS What is claimed is: 1. A system for use with a blowout preventer (BOP) assembly, comprising: a BOP shear ram assembly having a ram for shearing a tubular member, the ram comprising: a main body; a blade extending from the main body, the blade comprising a shearing edge; and a ramp buttress secured to the blade to strengthen the blade, the ramp buttress having an angled ramp established by a thickness of the ramp buttress increasing from a thinner end to a thicker end in a direction moving away from the shearing edge toward the main body, wherein the angled ramp is formed with a plurality of different angles.
  2. 2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the BOP shear ram assembly comprises a corresponding ram positioned to cooperate with the ram when shearing the tubular member.
  3. 3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the ram is connected to a piston slidably mounted in a cylinder such that movement of the piston causes corresponding movement of the ram.
  4. 4. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein the ram is connected to a piston slidably mounted in a cylinder such that movement of the piston causes movement of the ram and wherein the corresponding ram is connected to a corresponding piston slidably mounted in a corresponding cylinder such that movement of the corresponding piston causes movement of the corresponding ram, the piston and the corresponding piston being actuatable to move the ram and the corresponding ram toward each other during shearing of the tubular member.
  5. 5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the ramp buttress also is secured to the main body.
  6. 6. The system as recited in claim 5, wherein the ramp buttress is secured by integrally forming the ramp buttress with the blade and the main body.
  7. 7. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the ramp buttress is positioned to lift the tubular member away from the shearing edge during a shearing operation.
  8. 8. A system for use with a blowout preventer (BOP) assembly, comprising: a BOP shear ram assembly having a ram for shearing a tubular member, the ram comprising: a main body; a blade extending from the main body, the blade comprising a shearing edge; and a ramp buttress secured to the blade to strengthen the blade, the ramp buttress having an angled ramp established by a thickness of the ramp buttress increasing from a thinner end to a thicker end in a direction moving away from the shearing edge toward the main body, wherein the ramp buttress comprises a plurality of angled ramps.
  9. 9. A system, comprising: a BOP stack having a BOP shear ram assembly constructed with opposing rams oriented to shear a tubular member, at least one of the opposing rams comprising: a main body; a blade extending from the main body, the blade comprising a shearing edge; and a ramp buttress secured to the blade to strengthen the blade, the ramp buttress having a ramp established by a thickness of the ramp buttress increasing from a thinner end to a thicker end in a direction moving away from the shearing edge toward the main body, wherein the ramp is formed with a plurality of differently angled surfaces.
  10. 10. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein the ramp is formed with a flat surface.
  11. 11. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein the ramp buttress is positioned to lift the tubular member away from the shearing edge during a shearing operation, and wherein the at least one opposing ram comprises a seal positioned along the blade, the ramp buttress being located to lift the tubular member away from the seal before the entire tubular member crosses the seal during the shearing operation.
  12. 12. A method, comprising: providing a BOP shear ram assembly with a ram having a main body and a blade extending from the main body; securing a ramp buttress to the blade to strengthen the blade; and locating a ramp on the ramp buttress so as to lift a tubular member away from a shear region during shearing of the tubular member, wherein the ramp comprises a non-linear incline.
  13. 13. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising assembling the BOP shear ram assembly into a BOP stack; mounting the BOP stack above a wellhead; and utilizing the BOP stack in a drilling operation.

Description

[0001] PATENT APPLICATION [0003] BLOWOUT PREVENTER SYSTEM AND METHOD UTILIZING SHEAR RAM [0004] BUTTRESS [0007] CROSS REFERENCE PARAGRAPH [0009] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 18/455,153, entitled "BLOWOUT PREVENTER SYSTEM AND METHOD UTILIZING SHEAR RAM BUTTRESS," filed August 24, 2023, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. [0012] BACKGROUND [0014] In many oil and gas well applications, various types of equipment may be used to contain and isolate pressure in the wellbore. For example, a blowout preventer system may be installed on a wellhead to protect against blowouts. The blowout preventer has a longitudinal interior passage which allows passage of pipe, e.g. drill pipe, and other well components. Additionally, the blowout preventer has a variety of features including rams, e.g. shear rams and pipe rams, which facilitate rapid well sealing operations. Control over operation of the blowout preventer generally is achieved with various types of hydraulic controls although other methods of control may be used. [0016] [0002] When the blowout preventer shear rams are actuated to cut drill pipe they experience high forces and stress loads which can damage the rams and the seals associated with the rams. The potential for damage can be reduced by making the ram larger or thicker to provide greater strength. However, this approach causes the shearing action of the rams to be less efficient while requiring higher actuation pressures and placing limits on the upper size of the pipe that can be sheared. [0017] SUMMARY [0019] In general, a system and method facilitate reliable operation of a blowout preventer (BOP) system. The reliable operation is achieved by utilizing a ram with improved strength, thus making it better able to resist the stresses from shearing without increasing the thickness of the ram blade. As a result, a high level of efficiency is maintained during a shearing action. According to an embodiment, a blowout preventer system comprises a blowout preventer shear ram assembly having a ram for shearing a tubular member. The ram comprises a main body and a blade extending from the main body. Additionally, a ramp buttress is secured to the blade to strengthen the blade. The ramp buttress comprises a ramp constructed to increase in thickness from a thinner end to a thicker end in a direction moving away from a shearing edge of the blade toward the main body. By utilizing this ramp buttress, the ram is strengthened without adding substantial thickness to the ram blade while also providing a ramp that lifts the cut tubular member up out of the way of the shearing region. [0021] However, many modifications are possible without materially departing from the teachings of this disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the claims. [0024] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0026] Certain embodiments of the disclosure will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements. It should be understood, however, that the accompanying figures illustrate the various implementations described herein and are not meant to limit the scope of various technologies described herein, and: [0028] [0006] Figure 1 is an illustration of an example of an overall well blowout preventer (BOP) system mounted on a wellhead above a borehole, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; [0029] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional illustration of an example of a BOP shear ram assembly which may be used in the overall BOP system, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; [0031] Figure 3 is an orthogonal illustration of an example of a shear ram which may be used in the BOP shear ram assembly, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; [0033] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional illustration of the shear ram illustrated in Figure 3, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; [0035] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional illustration of an example of the shear ram illustrated in Figure 4 being used with a corresponding shear ram to shear a tubular member, e.g. drill pipe, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and [0037] Figure 6 is an orthogonal illustration of another example of a shear ram which may be used in the BOP shear ram assembly, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. [0040] DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0042] In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of some embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the system and/or methodology may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments may be possible. [0044] [0013] The disclosure herein generally involves a system and method whi