Tubular threaded joint which is impervious to the external environment
AssigneesVallourec Mannesmann Oil & Gas France, Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.
InventorGabriel Roussie
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A tubular joint including a conical male thread and a conical female thread. An annular housing is disposed close to a free end of the female element and is used to house a deformable sealing ring. The sealing ring is in sealed contact with the peripheral surface of the housing and with diminishing threads of the male thread and bears axially against a shoulder that faces the free end, thereby limiting the housing.
Claims22
A method of producing a tubular threaded joint including a male tubular element having a conical male thread, a female tubular element having a conical female thread that interacts by screwing with the male thread, and a deformable sealing ring interposed between the male and female elements so to oppose communication of fluid between an outside of the tubular joint and a zone of interaction of the male and female threads, the sealing ring being in sealed contact with the male thread, and the female element having an annular housing to receive the sealing ring, disposed axially between its free end and the female thread and limited axially by a first shoulder facing the free end, the sealing ring bearing axially against the first shoulder and being in sealed contact with a peripheral surface of the housing, the method comprising:
- placing a deformable sealing ring around the male thread;
- thereafter engaging the free end of the male element;
- and
- screwing the male thread into the female thread, the sealing ring, during the screwing, being pushed along the male element by the first shoulder, rotated by the female element and compressed radially between the male thread, into which it is pressed, and the peripheral surface of the housing.
A tubular threaded joint comprising:
- a male tubular element having a conical male thread;
- a female tubular element having a conical female thread which interacts by screwing with the male thread;
- and
- a deformable sealing ring which interposes after tightening between the male and female elements in such a way as to oppose the communication of fluid between the outside of the tubular joint and the zone of interaction of said threads,
- the female element having an annular housing disposed axially between its free end and the female thread and axially limited by a first shoulder facing said free end,
- wherein the deformable sealing ring is fixed on the male element to be in sealed contact with the male thread, in that the external diameter before insertion of the ring is slightly less than the internal diameter of the housing, so that during tightening, the housing receives the sealing ring which bears axially against the first shoulder and comes into sealed contact with the peripheral surface of the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.