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US 2006/0124361 A1Published application
Method of pumping drill cuttings and dual cylinder positive displacement pump for moving drill cuttings
AssigneeClarke UK, Ltd.
InventorsDavid Mundell, David Garrick
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dual cylinder positive displacement pump is used to move drill cuttings. The pump may include one or more of a self-sealing wear ring member/wear plate member interface, stainless steel pumping cylinders, and a hopper with an inclined surface.
Claims32
A method of moving drill cuttings, the method comprising placing drill cuttings in a hopper, said hopper including a swing tube member communicating between a discharge port and alternately with first and second pumping cylinders, the method comprising alternately reciprocating respective piston heads within said first and second cylinders in synchronization with movement and positioning of said swing tube member to repeatedly:
- (i) draw drill cuttings into said first cylinder while at the same time forcing drill cuttings from said second cylinder through said swing tube member to said discharge port, (ii) pause while said swing tube member is transitioned from alignment with an outlet from said second cylinder to alignment with an outlet from said first cylinder, (iii) subsequently draw drill cuttings into said second cylinder while at the same time forcing drill cuttings from said first cylinder through said swing tube member to said discharge port and (iv) pause while said swing tube member is transitioned from alignment with the outlet of said first cylinder to alignment with the outlet of said second cylinder.
A pump for moving drill cuttings, the pump comprising:
- a hopper for receiving drill cuttings;
- a swing tube member positioned within the hopper and having an outlet end in flow communication with a discharge port of the hopper, an inlet end movable between first and second openings that communicate respectively with first and second pumping cylinders, the inlet end including a wear ring member disposed thereabout for movement with the inlet end, the wear ring member abutting a stationary wear plate member adjacent a wall of the hopper, the stationary wear plate member defining the first and second openings;
- wherein an internal pressure gap is formed between the inlet end of the swing tube member and the wear ring member so that pressure within the swing tube member reaches the pressure gap and acts on a pressure surface of the wear ring member to push the wear ring member against the stationary wear plate member.
A pump for moving drill cuttings, the pump comprising:
- a hopper for receiving drill cuttings;
- a swing tube member positioned within the hopper and having an outlet end in flow communication with a discharge port of the hopper, an inlet end movable between first and second openings that communicate respectively with first and second pumping cylinders, the inlet end including a wear ring member disposed thereabout for movement with the inlet end, the wear ring member abutting a stationary wear plate member adjacent a wall of the hopper, the stationary wear plate member defining the first and second openings;
- wherein the inlet end of the swing tube member is disposed within the wear ring member, a sealing ring is located to provide a seal between the wear ring member and the swing tube member, a pressure ring is located to push the wear ring member against the stationary wear plate member so as to hold said wear ring member in abutment with the wear plate member while still permitting the wear ring member to slide relative to the wear plate member, with both the sealing ring and the pressure ring located outside a drill cuttings flow path defined by the wear ring member and swing tube member.
A pump for moving drill cuttings, the pump comprising:
- a hopper for receiving drill cuttings, the hopper including a front wall with a discharge port and a rear wall with first and second cylinder ports;
- a first pumping cylinder in communication with the first cylinder port;
- a second pumping cylinder in communication with the second cylinder port;
- a swing tube member positioned within the hopper and having an outlet end in communication with the discharge port, an inlet end movable between first and second openings respectively associated with the first and second cylinder ports, the cylinder ports at respective heights lower than a height of the discharge port,
- wherein the hopper includes an inclined surface positioned with its upper end toward the front wall and its lower end toward the rear wall to direct drill cuttings in the hopper toward the first and second openings.
2 more elements
A pump for moving drill cuttings, the pump comprising:
- a hopper for receiving drill cuttings, the hopper including a a discharge port and first and second cylinder ports;
- a first pumping cylinder in communication with the first cylinder port;
- a second pumping cylinder in communication with the second cylinder port;
- a swing tube member positioned within the hopper and having an outlet end in communication with the discharge port, an inlet end movable between first and second openings respectively associated with the first and second cylinder ports;
- wherein at least an internal surface of the first and second pumping cylinders is a stainless steel material that work hardens during pumping operations.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.