Back to results
US 2021/0277770 A1Published application
Method and Apparatus for Testing the Blowout Preventer (BOP) on a Drilling Rig
AssigneeVista Precision Solutions, Inc.
InventorJoseph W. Maresca, JR.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatuses for testing the blowout preventer (BOP) piping system on a drilling rig for leaks. The method and apparatuses can be used in conjunction with a pressure or volumetric method to more accurately test the BOP for integrity and to shorten the total time of testing.
Claims21
(canceled)
A method for a valve flow test to determine whether a valve that needs to close completely to pressurize a piping system containing a liquid and to hold pressure during a blowout preventer (BOP) system or subsystem test is completely closed, comprising the steps of:
- (a) mounting at least one acoustic sensor on the valve of the piping system or on one side of said valve, or mounting at least two acoustic sensors that bracket said valve;
- (b) opening said valve so that the pressure is the same on both sides of the valve;
- (c) measuring background acoustic noise present at the valve when the pressure is the same on both sides of the valve to obtain a background acoustic noise measurement;
- (d) closing said valve and pressurizing that portion of the BOP system or subsea system being tested to the pressure needed to test the system;
- (e) measuring the acoustic valve flow signal plus background noise at the valve when the valve is intended to be fully closed to obtain an acoustic test result;
- and
- (f) determining if the valve is actually fully closed by detecting whether a difference exists between said acoustic valve flow signal plus background noise measurement and the background acoustic noise measurement, wherein no detected difference indicates the valve is fully closed, and a detected difference indicates the valve is not fully closed.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.