Device for determining the connection quality of a threaded tubular connection

1. A device for determining a connection quality of threaded tubular components, comprising:

a case comprising a cylindrical internal space having an axis and configured to be mounted on an external surface portion of one of the threaded tubular components;

at least one measuring means between the case and the internal space, comprising a contact layer comprising a plurality of temperature sensors arranged in order to generate signals representative of temperatures at a plurality of locations E(i,j) of the external surface of an end of the tubular component;

first acquisition electronics connected to the plurality of temperature sensors and configured to process at least a portion of the signals generated by the temperature sensors in order to determine the connection quality.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least one measuring means comprises a plurality of measuring strips distributed about the axis of the device.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the device is a stabbing guide for tubular components for oil operations.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the temperature sensors are selected from thermocouples, thermistors and microbolometers.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the temperature sensors are distributed in arrays of temperature sensors on a flexible substrate.

6. The device as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the temperature sensors are thermistors and the flexible substrate is formed from polyimide.

7. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the contact layer comprises a thermally conductive and electrically insulating layer disposed at least in part between the temperature sensors and the internal space.

8. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the contact layer comprises a protective layer disposed so as to protect the temperature sensors.

9. The device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the protective layer is a sheet of steel shaped to provide a rounded profile.

10. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the device comprises a cushioning layer between the case and the contact layer.

11. The device as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the cushioning layer comprises elastic means selected from garter springs, Clover Dome spring rings, corrugated rings, a domed spring, an elastic material, and a neoprene or silicone foam.

12. The device as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the cushioning layer comprises a rigid profiled element.

13. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the case comprises a positioning abutment.

14. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first acquisition electronics comprises a plurality of acquisition electronics units connected to collection electronics of the FPGA programmable electronic circuit type.

15. The device as claimed in claim 14 , comprising second processing electronics capable of determining the appearance of galling or the deterioration of at least a portion of an element of a tubular connection during makeup of two threaded tubular components in accordance with at least one time-based detection function.

16. The device as claimed in the claim 15 , wherein the first acquisition electronics and the second processing electronics are connected via a wireless wifi or Bluetooth link or a wired Ethernet type link.

17. The device as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the second processing electronics comprise software for processing and storing the measurements.

18. A method using the device as claimed in claim 1 , comprising the steps of:

determining a set of values T 0 (i,j) which are representative of temperatures at a plurality of locations E(i,j) of the external surface of one end of a tubular component at the start of making it up with another corresponding tubular component;

determining another set of values T(i,j) representative of temperatures at a plurality of locations E(i,j) of the external surface of one end during makeup;

calculating the difference between the temperature during makeup T(i,j) and the temperature at the start of makeup T 0 (i,j) for each location E(i,j);

issuing a diagnosis of galling when the difference T 0 (i,j)-T 0 (i,j) exceeds a predefined threshold ΔT threshold (i,j) for at least one location E(i,j).

19. The method as claimed in claim 18 , comprising the step of:

computing the rate of variation of temperature V T (i,j) for at least one set of locations ΣE(i,j);

issuing a diagnosis of galling when the variation in temperature V T (i,j) exceeds a predefined threshold of variation ΔV T (i,j).