CONTINUOUS FLUID CIRCULATION VALVE FOR WELL DRILLING
Fluid circulation valve (10) is provided for use with a well drilling operation, so that a drill joint may be added to or removed from the drill string while circulating fluid into the well. Valve housing (16, 12) has a central flow path therein, a housing side port (87), and upper and lower threaded connectors for engagement with the drill joint and the drill string, respectively. A rotatable ball (24) is positioned within the flow path in the valve housing and a ball side port (15) in fluid communication with the housing side port (87) when the ball is closed. A tool (80) is provided for engaging the valve housing and sealing between an interior of the valve housing and the radially external flow line, which passes fluid into the well when a drill joint is being connecting to the upper end of the valve.
The present invention relates to a method and equipment for drilling a well. More particularly, a circulation valve is provided for interconnection with a drill string joint, such that during conventional drilling the fluids pass through the drill string joint, the valve, and the drill string in the well. When the drill string connection is made up or broken apart, fluid is diverted through a side port in the valve, thereby maintaining substantially continuous fluid circulation.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONWhen drilling a hydrocarbon recovery well, the drill string is conventionally rotated to drive the drill bit. When a mud motor is used along the drill string to rotate the bit, the drill string is frequently rotated at a speed less than the bit to keep solids desirably suspended in the well fluids. Drilling mud is thus circulated through the drill string and to the bit, and up the annulus between the drill string and the wellbore. As one or more joints are added to the string, the drilling process is briefly stopped to make up the threaded interconnection of the joint to the drill string. Although the drill string is normally full of fluid, the pressure supplied by the mud pumps is lost when the pumps are shut off as the threaded connection is made up. Restarting circulation can be difficult, and may lead to numerous drilling problems.
The prior art includes methods designed to allow a drill joint to be added to or removed from a drill string while circulation of mud continues. This prior art process utilizes a coupler for substantially surrounding the threaded connection. Various rams, preventers, slips, and other closing devices substantially seal fluid within the coupler as the connection is made up. Devices of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,119,772, 6,591,916, 6,739,397, 7,028,586, and 7,252,151. Publication WO98/16716 also discloses a continuous circulation drilling method.
There are significant disadvantages to the above approach. First, the mechanism for accomplishing continuous circulation involves an expensive coupler, and numerous sealing devices are provided to minimize leakage of mud from the encircling coupler. The device is also expensive, and at least in some applications slows down the makeup or breakout process, thereby contributing to higher drilling costs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,244 discloses a mud saver valve which may be threaded to a drill string to reduce mud spills. U.S. application Ser. No. 11/786,495 discloses a safety valve with a ball rotatable engaging an actuator sleeve.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, in an improved technique for continuously circulating drilling mud in a drill string is hereinafter disclosed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn one embodiment, a fluid circulation valve is provided for use with a well drilling operation, wherein a drill joint may be added to or removed from a drill string which extends into a well. The fluid circulation valve includes a valve housing having a central flow path therein, a housing side port, an upper threaded connector for threaded engagement with the lower end of the drill joint, and a lower threaded connector for threaded engagement with an upper end of the drill string. A rotatable ball is positioned within the flow path in the valve housing has a throughbore. The ball throughbore is in fluid communication with the housing central flow path when the ball is open, and a ball side port is in fluid communication with the housing side port when the ball is closed. The valve housing side port is in fluid communication with a line radially exterior of the valve housing, and typically extending to a mud pump. The fluid circulation valve includes an upper valve seat for sealing between the ball and the housing, and a lower valve seat for sealing between the ball and the housing. Fluid may be continuously circulated through the drill string even when adding or deleting a drill joint, since fluid may flow either through the ball throughbore or though the ball side port. The valve remains connected to the drill string as joints are added and the string is run in the well. The housing side port is closed when the ball throughbore is in fluid communication with the valve housing central flow path. The upper side of valve throughbore is closed when the ball is positioned to open the side port into the interior of the housing.
These and further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, wherein reference is made to the figures in the accompanying drawings.
The circulation valve preferably includes an upper valve seat 28 which has a seal 32 for sealing engagement with the housing 12, and another seal 32 for sealing engagement with the ball 24. The assembly further includes a lower ball seat 26 similarly having a seal 32 for sealing engagement with the housing 16, and another seal 32 for sealing with the ball 24. One or more biasing members, such as a wave spring or a Beliville spring 27, may be included to bias upper seat 28 axially downward for sealing engagement with the ball, or to bias the lower seat 26 upward into sealing engagement with the ball. Each seat thus may include a Beliville spring or a wave spring to exert a desired biasing force to press the seat into engagement with the ball.
Referring now to
In other embodiments, one of the rotating sleeve 72 and the ball rotating member may include one or more projections which each fit within a corresponding helical slot in the other of the rotating sleeve and the ball rotating member, so that rotation of the sleeve moves the ball rotating member axially in the same manner as the threads discussed above. Threads are preferred for most applications since they provide a large surface area for transmitting axial forces to the ball to open or close the ball.
The term “ball” as used herein is intended in its broad sense to refer to a rotatable closing member in a valve, with at least a portion of the outer surface of the ball being similar in configuration to a portion of a sphere. While the ball as disclosed herein obviously need not be a sphere, the ball does rotate about a ball center.
The fluid circulation valve as disclosed herein may be used in well drilling operations wherein fluid passes through a drill joint, through the valve, and into the drill string while the valve is in the open position, and fluid passes from an external flow line, downward through a lower end of the valve body, and into the drill string when the valve is closed. During the valve closed cycle, the drill joint may be fluidly connected with the top of the valve, and once this connection is complete, the valve may be opened so that the external flow line is blocked and fluid can be pumped into the well through the drill joint, which is now part of the drill string.
Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein in some detail, this has been done solely for the purposes of explaining the various aspects of the invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention as defined in the claims which follow. Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment shown and described is exemplary, and various other substitutions, alterations and modifications, including but not limited to those design alternatives specifically discussed herein, may be made in the practice of the invention without departing from its scope.
Claims
1. A fluid circulation valve for use in well drilling with a drill joint and a drill string extending into the well, comprising:
- a valve housing having a central flow path therein, an upper threaded connector for threaded engagement with a lower end of a drill joint, a lower threaded connector for threaded engagement with the upper end of a drill string, and a housing side port for fluid communication a flow line radially exterior of the valve housing;
- a ball rotatably positioned within the flow path and having a throughbore, the ball throughbore being in fluid communication with the housing central flow path when the ball is open, and the ball including a ball side port in fluid communication with the housing side port when the ball is closed;
- an upper valve seat for sealing between the ball and the housing; and
- a lower valve seat for sealing between the ball and the housing.
2. A fluid circulation valve as defined in claim 1, wherein a biasing member biases the upper valve seat toward the ball.
3. A circulation valve as defined in claim 1, further comprising:
- a tool removably engagable with the valve housing to seal between an interior of the valve housing and the flow line radially exterior of the valve housing.
4. A circulation valve as defined in claim 3, wherein the tool engages the housing side port for sealing with the exterior flow line.
5. A circulation valve as defined in claim 1, further comprising:
- a rotatable operating stem positioned within the valve body for engaging the ball and rotating the ball to move between open and closed positions.
6. A circulation valve as defined in claim 7, wherein the operating stem comprises a pair of circumferentially opposing operating stems.
7. A circulation valve as defined in claim 1, wherein a minimum cross sectional flow area of the valve housing central flow path is substantially the minimum cross section flow area of the ball throughbore.
8. A circulation valve as defined in claim 1, wherein the valve housing comprises an upper valve body and an interconnected lower valve body.
9. A circulation valve as defined in claim 1, further comprising:
- a ball rotator spaced axially from the ball, the ball rotator rotatable with respect to the housing to rotate the ball between open and closed positions.
10. A fluid circulation valve for use in well drilling with a drill joint and a drill string extending into the well, comprising:
- a valve housing having a central flow path therein, an upper threaded connector for threaded engagement with a lower end of a drill joint, a lower threaded connector for threaded engagement with the upper end of a drill string, and a housing side port for fluid communication a flow line radially exterior of the valve housing;
- a ball rotatably positioned within the flow path and having a throughbore, the ball throughbore being in fluid communication with the housing central flow path when the ball is open, and the ball including a ball side port in fluid communication with the housing side port when the ball is closed; and
- a tool removably engagable with the valve housing to seal between an interior of the valve housing and a flow line radially exterior of the valve housing.
11. A circulation valve as defined in claim 10, further comprising:
- an upper valve seat for sealing between the ball and the housing.
12. A fluid circulation valve as defined in claim 11, further comprising:
- a biasing member biases the upper valve seat toward the ball.
13. A circulation valve as defined in claim 10, wherein the tool engages the housing side port for sealing with the exterior flow line.
14. A circulation valve as defined in claim 10, wherein a minimum cross sectional flow area of the valve housing central flow path is substantially the minimum cross section flow area of the ball throughbore.
15. A circulation valve as defined in claim 10, wherein the valve housing comprises an upper valve body and an interconnected lower valve body.
16. A circulation valve as defined in claim 10, further comprising:
- an operating stem positioned within the valve body for engaging the ball and rotating the ball to move between open and closed positions.
17. A fluid circulation valve for use in well drilling with a drill joint and a drill string extending into the well, comprising:
- a valve housing having a central flow path therein, an upper threaded connector for threaded engagement with a lower end of a drill joint, a lower threaded connector for threaded engagement with the upper end of a drill string, and a housing side port for fluid communication a flow line radially exterior of the valve housing;
- a ball rotatably positioned within the flow path and having a throughbore, the ball throughbore being in fluid communication with the housing central flow path when the ball is open, and the ball including a ball side port in fluid communication with the housing side port when the ball is closed;
- an operating stem positioned within the valve housing for engaging the ball and rotating the ball between open and closed positions; and
- a tool removably engagable with the valve housing to seal between an interior of the valve housing and a line radially exterior of the valve housing.
18. A fluid circulation valve as defined in claim 17, further composing:
- an upper valve seat for sealing between the ball and the housing; and
- a biasing member biases the upper valve seat toward the ball.
19. A circulation valve as defined in claim 17, wherein the guide block comprises a pair of circumferentially opposing guide blocks.
20. A circulation valve as defined in claim 17, further comprising:
- a ball rotator spaced axially from the ball, the ball rotator rotatable with respect to the housing to rotate the ball between open and closed positions.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 24, 2008
Publication Date: Jun 24, 2010
Inventor: Britt O. Braddick (Houston, TX)
Application Number: 12/343,530
International Classification: E21B 34/00 (20060101); E21B 7/00 (20060101);