Drill string safety valve reliability: experimental measurements of actuating torque

Lyndon S. Stephens, Elliot D. Coleman, Mark A. Casemore, Thomas T. Core

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

Drill String Safety Valves (DSSV's) are used to prevent blowouts through the drill pipe during underground events in drilling. Several case history reviews of well control events have recently shown evidence of poor reliability with DSSV's. Of the problems reported, valve lock up was most significant, resulting in failure to open or close due to high actuation torque. This paper describes an experimental apparatus and experimental procedures used to quantify the actuating torque of DSSV's under a variety of common operating conditions. Experimentally obtained torque curves are presented for both commercially available and prototype DSSV's, and the results are discussed. Results show the benefit of using special low torque DSSV designs under certain operating conditions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages6
Number of pages6
StatePublished - 1998
EventProceedings of the 1998 ASME Energy Sources Technology Conference - Houston, TX, USA
Duration: Feb 2 1998Feb 4 1998

Conference

ConferenceProceedings of the 1998 ASME Energy Sources Technology Conference
CityHouston, TX, USA
Period2/2/982/4/98

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Geology
  • Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology

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