Expanding Gate Valves

X-mas Tree Caps

A valve is equipment that is utilized in a household as well as in a large industry; the types of valves obviously differ as per requirement. The basic function of a valve is to either check or control the flow of a fluid. There is also pressure-check valve which has a different function altogether. One may wonder why different types of valves are designed for such an incomplex task. It is because different types of flows like partial flow, full flow or no flow are required by industries. Valve types like the gate valve are suitable only where full or no flow is needed, for throttle purposes a gate valve is of no use. Gate valves are best suited for industrial usage where high flow, for a prolonged time is required.

A gate valve is generally classified according to its parts. Valve trim is the main part of any gate valve. Stem, discs and seat are the sub-parts of a valve trim. Rising stem and non-rising stem are the two types of discs used in a gate valve. Expanding gate valve is available in both types. The mechanism of both rising stem and non-rising stem is easy to understand. In case of a rising stem, the stem (shaft) rises above the handwheel of the gate, when the valve is opened. In case of a non-rising stem design, the stem does not move upward, only the disk moves upward while the stem remains still. Sometimes, two padlocks are needed to lock the expanding gate valve. The advantage of rising stem over non-rising stem is that it is possible to tell the open or close position of the valve with a rising stem. Non-rising stem valve is suited for equipment which do not have enough space for the stem (shaft) to rise. Also, only one padlock is needed to lock a non-rising stem gate valve.

Expanding gate valves manufactured by Integrated Equipment have close machining tolerance which provides a valve that can seal under almost all conditions. Some of the other features provided by our design of expanded gate valves include F-1 seats, valves that provide positive sealing and conform to API 6A. Our expanding gate valves are forged/cast in alloy or stainless steel. We also provide bolted bonnet for easy change out of internal parts.

Along with Expanding gate valve, we, Integrated Equipment also manufacture FC style gate valve. Other wellhead equipment like tubing head and spools, studded tees and crosses, tubing head adapter, X-mas tree components and so on are also manufactured at Integrated Equipment. We can also build custom products for our clients, after all client satisfaction and quality products are our two principle priorities.

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Wellhead equipment – Backbone of Oil Extraction Industry

Wellhead Equipment

Wellhead is the equipment that is mainly used to connect casing to an oil pipeline. Casing strings are a type of oil field pipe. Wellhead equipment provides pressure seals to these pipes. There are several other functions of wellhead equipment such as providing tubing suspension, giving space for tubing, acting as an attachment for blowout preventers and so on. These equipment are generally installed during the first phase. However, it functions even after the wellbore is shut down. As aforementioned, wellhead equipment consists of various components.

Some of the Components of Wellhead Equipment:

a)  Tubing Heads and Spools: Tubing is nothing but a pipe that is used for oil to pass. Unlike casing, it can be removed if required. Tubing spool is that component that is used to hang tubing and also to seal the circular space between the pipe and casing. Integrated Equipment designs standard range of tubing seals in sizes ranging from 9-11 inches.

b) Casing and Tubing Hanger: In lay man’s term, casing hanger is that device which is used to suspend casing from the casing head. Similarly, tubing hanger is the component used to hang tubing from tubing head. There are two main types of casing hangers, i.e. Automatic Casing Hanger (PCHA) and Unitised Casing Hanger (PCHU). Various specifications are available for both. At Integrated Equipment, C22 Casing Hangers are manufactured. These casing hangers can fit any C-22 and C-29 casing head and spool. TC-1W Tubing Hangers, TC-1A Tubing Hangers and TC-1A EN Tubing Hangers are the type of tube hangers designed by Integrated.

c)  Tubing Head Adapter: Tubing head adapter is installed to support the tubing and for connecting Christmas tree to the tubing head flange. B-1 Adapter, B-2 Adapter and B2P-S Adapter are some of the common types of tubing adapters. Integrated manufactures all three types, specifications vary.

d) Expanding Gate Valve: Gate valve is one of the valves that is unlocks and gives way to oil. Some gate valves operate either completely open or completely close. Expanding Gate valve is one of the popular models of gate valves. At Integrated Expanding gate valves ranging from 1-13/16 - 4-1/16 are manufactured.

Very few manufacturers like Integrated Equipment manufacture all these components under one roof. It is convenient to buy all components from the same manufacturer as one can approach them in case of any query or problem.

It is crucial to follow regular maintenance schedules for all wellhead equipment as ignorance can lead to unwanted disasters. Manufacturers like Integrated provide only quality equipment, putting safety as their top most priority. Scheduled maintenance, field repairs and trouble shooting are all part and parcel of their services. Also, unlike any other manufacturer, Integrated Equipment also provides emergency maintenance. So for quality equipment and services, Integrated is the place.

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Common Types of Valves

FC gate valve

 The device that has control over the flow and regulation of any fluid is known as valve. The function of re-direction or/and controlling fluid is done by closing, opening or partially opening/closing the passageway. Most of the valves function this way, however there are few others that function differently, like the thermostatic re-circulating valve. Following are some of the commonly used valves in today’s industry.

Categories of Valves

They basic type of valves fall into two categories;

*      Check valves and

*      Close valves.

As the name suggests, they have only two functions, to open and close the flow of the fluid. Though it may seem like an easy task, the designs are quite complicated. This is why you have to depend on models like FC gate valves for long lasting and quality products.  The list of such valves is comprised below.

Choke Valve: This type of valve is used where high pressure is required, like that in oil wellheads. The function of a choke valve is to control the flow of fluid; the flow depends on how wide the valve is opened. In oil industries, choke valves are generally made of tungsten carbide or inconel.

Gate Valve: Gate valve is used in almost every industry. As the name suggests, gate valve is closed either by a gate or a rectangular wedge. This type of valve is useful only where flow in a straight line is expected. For throttling purposes this gate valve is not the type. FC gate valve is the most common model of gate valves used now a days. Though FC is a model, wellhead equipment manufacturers design different variations of FC style gate valves. Like for example, renowned manufacturers like Integrated Equipment design FC style gate valves that are made with forged body and slab-gate.

Diaphragm Valve: Diaphragm valves, also known as membrane valves are made up of a diaphragm, ports and saddle. Diaphragm valve is used in bio-pharmaceutical companies, for the corrosive and dirty service purposes.

Knife Valve: Knife valve is often confused with FC gate valve; however both are different, as knife valve is denser than gate valve. The purpose of both valves is also different. Knife valve is used for slurry handling whereas gate valve is used for straight flow purpose.

Poppet Valve: Poppet or mushroom valve is used generally in automobile industry, in internal-combustion engines to be precise. Mushroom valve can also be used for controlling the flow of fluids like milk.

The above mentioned were some of the most common types of valves, there are many more. Whichever type of valve you use or modify, make sure to buy it from reliable manufacturers like Integrated Equipment which designs all components of Wellhead equipment ranging from FC gate valves to tubing heads and spools.

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Elastomer Products – Pipe Wipers

Elastomer product

Pipe wiper is one of the many elastomer products. Pipe wipers are mainly used in oil and gas drilling rigs. Every equipment used in a drilling rig has its own importance, so has the pipe wiper. Let us take a look at the description and applications of a pipe wiper.

There is a huge range of elastomer products that are put to use in different industries. Like for example, in the automobile industry, elastomer products like ball joints and anti-vibration mounts are used. Annular blowout preventer packing unit, annular blowout seal kits, ram blowout spare parts, pipe wipers, wiper cutter assembly, drill pipe protector, tong and elevator straps and aero union tubes are some of the Elastomer products used in the oil drilling industry.

To begin with, pipe wiper is not a pipe or has nothing to do with a pipe. It is in fact a device shaped like disk, which is generally made of rubber and has a hole in the center. The function of a pipe wiper is quite easy to understand. A pipe wiper is used for getting rid of oil or any other liquid, when the fluid is being extracted from the wellbore. A pipe wiper is generally used during the regular maintenance repair process.

Different types of rubber are used to make pipe wipers. Drill pipe wiper has to be made of specially designed rubber, as it has to have the capacity to sustain the tremendous pressure, abrasion and tearing. The kind of rubber to be used depends on the purpose of the pipe wiper. At Integrated Equipment, we use proprietary engineered rubber compound to make pipe wipers. The material we use for making the pipe wipers is resistant to both oil-based drilling and water. The wear and tear properties of this compound, makes it resistant to tearing, abrasion and cutting.

The three types of pipe wipers that are manufactured by Integrated Equipment are regular dual wipers, type F wipers and split dual wipers. The regular dual wipers are quite easy to install. They provide flexible and double wiping action on drill strings where oversize tool joint and pipe protectors are used. We make use of steel reinforcing rings to prevent collapse.

Split dual wipers manufactured by us are used on the drills which have a solid master bushing. Our split dual wipers are installed in tear-proof sloths which can easily cut through the outer edge of the wiper, so that it becomes easy to install.  The type F wipers are designed for drilling and workover rigs which do not have much room below the master bushing.

All types of pipe wipers manufactured by Integrated Equipment are resistant to water and oil-based mud, so you don’t have to worry about replacing the Pipe wipers for a long time. Integrated Equipment not only manufactures oil drilling equipment, it also provides quality after-service including emergency servicing. Under field services we also do onsite inspections and re-certifications.  Every kind of technical need that can be needed in case of any of Integrated Equipment’s products will be provided at any hour.

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Pulsation Dampeners For Oil and Gas Industry

Pulsation dampeners can be used for the following cases:

• It can be used for leakages in a hydraulic system. Also it can be used for any pressure changes due to thermal expansion.
• It can be used as an energy storage device (Accumulator) in a hydraulic system. It supplies hydraulic power for a short period of time. This property is crucial for lube oil system which has to supply lube oil to critical rotating equipment wherein slightest delay may result in a costly failure to the equipment.
• Pulsation Dampeners installed close to the valves is used to absorb the surge which is risen from the sudden pump shut-downs when the fluid flows back slamming into the pump or check valve.
• It can be used in absorbing the surges like water hammer results from the sudden change of kinetic energy (of the flowing fluid) to pressure energy and thus saves costly equipment failures or replacements
• Pulsations dampeners can be used in dampening the pressure surges/pulses on the discharge side of the pump, thus prolonging the life of the pump fluid end components.
    
  Expanding gate valves are used in various industrial areas like isolation valves in power plants, ESD valves in production, block valves in process systems, high temperature valves in refineries, and pipeline valves in critical areas. These expanding gate valves manufactured by various manufacturers are available in all the sizes, pressure ranges, and trims used in piping systems requiring the positive shut off of liquid or gas.
  The expanding gate valves are full bore through conduit valves with rising stem and parallel expanding gate and segment for tight mechanical seal and positive shut-off, both upstream and downstream, and under both low and high differential pressure.
  An API 6A expanding gate valve should have the following features:
• Parallel expanding gate design creates positive mechanical seal across both seats, both upstream and downstream, with or without line pressure.
• Non-rising stem permits valve installation in pressure drop.
• A double row roller thrust bearing on the stem makes operation easy, even under full pressure.
• Upper and lower roller thrust bearings are used to minimize torque and are isolated from well-bore fluid.
  So this is all about  Pulsations dampeners and Expanding gate valves.

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Wellhead Equipment

Wellhead equipment are used in connecting the casing and  tubing  to an oil or gas pipeline. These are useful in suspending the casing strings and help seal the well. The casing is a permanently-installed pipe for lining the well hole to provide pressure containment and prevent collapse. The wellhead equipments are known as the flanged devices that are attached to the casing.

Wellhead equipments include a number of other components such as casing heads, casing spools, tubing head spools, tees, and crosses. The casing head is part of the connection between the casing and the wellhead equipment itself. Usually, many pieces of wellhead equipments are assembled together into one wellhead equipment that is called a "Christmas tree". These wellhead equipments are important for the tubes to be placed into the well while valves and chokes are used to control the flow of oil and/or gas at the surface. Wellheads and wellhead equipment may be located on offshore platforms, in sub-sea locations, or onshore.

A typical Wellhead Equipment -X-mas Tree Caps is shown below.

Casing Head Spool-Bottom Slip Connection characteristics:
(1) Connect surface casing by type WD slip.
(2) Adopt type BT secondary seal structure.
(3) Accurately calculate casing string's length is not necessary.
(4) Can not be affected by surrounding environment, climate, etc.
(5) Easy, rapid, safe and reliable in installation that can be applied to different sizes casing, such as: 30",20",13-3/8",12-1/4",9-5/8",7",5-1/2". It can also be applied to different sizes casing as: 13-3/8",9-5/8",7",5-1/2"etc.
A variety of bottom thread such as CSG, LCSG, BCSG, TM, for the connection between casing head and surface casing can be manufactured.

Casing Head Spool-Bottom thread connection
(1) Bottom of the casing head connects surface casing by various types of threads, such as CSG,LCSG,BCSG,TM,ETC.
(2) Convenience and rapid in installation, safe and reliable in operation.

Casing Head Spool-Bottom welded connection
(1)Bottom of the casing head connects surface casing by welding.
(2)There’s pressure test hole, which can test welding effect, in welding annular space.
Bottom can be connected to surface casing by the method of sleeve welding. Pressure testing holes are designed for the test of welding effect.

Applied Casing Program: 20", 13-3/8",9-5/8",7",5-1/2", etc.

Casing hanger is classified into two kinds,

• The threaded (mandrel) and
• The slipped; slip casing hanger consists of G, W, WD, WE and other types. WD hanger is applicable for connection of casing head and surface casing and keeps the slip closing the casing fast in use of outer force, W hanger adopts self-weight energized sealing structure and WE & G hanger is manual-energized sealing structure.

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