Blowout preventer monitoring system and method of using same
A blowout preventer for sealing a tubular of a wellbore is provided. The blowout preventer has a housing having a bore therethrough for receiving the tubular, at least one ram slidably positionable in the housing (each of the rams having a ram block for sealing engagement about the tubular), an actuator for selectively driving the ram block (the actuator comprising a piston slidably positionable in a cylinder), and a monitor for detecting the piston therein. The monitor has a visual indicator on an exterior of the cylinder. The visual indicator is operatively coupled to the piston for displaying a position of the piston as the piston travels within the cylinder whereby a position of the ram may be determined.
1. A blowout preventer for sealing a tubular of a wellbore, the wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation, the blowout preventer comprising:
a housing having a bore therethrough to receive the tubular;
at least one ram slidably positionable in the housing, each of the at least one rams having a ram block positionable in sealing engagement about the tubular;
an actuator to selectively drive the ram block, the actuator comprising a piston slidably positionable in a cylinder; and
a monitor to detect the piston therein, the monitor comprising a visual indicator mechanically detached from the piston, and an electrical indicator comprising at least one proximity sensor, at least a portion of the visual indicator operatively connectable to the cylinder external to the cylinder, the visual indicator operatively coupled to the piston to display a position of the piston as the piston travels within the cylinder whereby a position of the ram may be determined.
2. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein the monitor comprises a cable operatively connected to the piston, the cable operatively connectable to a dial via a pulley and rotatable thereby as the piston moves within the cylinder.
3. The blowout preventer of claim 2 , wherein the visual indicator further comprises at least one gear to operatively couple the pulley to the dial.
4. The blowout preventer of claim 2 , wherein the visual indicator further comprises a magnetic coupler to operatively couple the dial to the pulley.
5. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein the visual indicator comprises a housing integral with the cylinder.
6. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein the visual indicator comprises a plurality of flags positioned on a flag rod, the plurality of flags being selectively raisable as the piston passes adjacent thereto.
7. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein the visual indicator comprises a magnet slidably positionable on a guide in response to a magnet on the piston passing adjacent thereto.
8. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein the visual indicator comprises a transparent case with a plurality of metal filings movably positionable therein in response to a magnet on the piston passing adjacent thereto.
9. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein the visual indicator comprises a transparent case with a magnetic indicator movably positionable therein in response to a magnet on the piston passing adjacent thereto.
10. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , further comprising a visual indicator sensor to detect the visual indicator.
11. The blowout preventer of claim 10 , wherein the visual indicator sensor is positionable exterior to the cylinder.
12. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein the electrical indicator comprises a magnet slidably positionable on a guide in response to a magnet on the piston passing adjacent thereto, and at least one Hall Effect sensor to detect a position of the magnet on the guide.
13. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein the electrical indicator comprises an inductive resistance sensor comprising a coil disposed about the cylinder.
14. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein the electrical indicator comprises a top end ultrasonic sensor at a top end of the cylinder and a bottom end ultrasonic sensor at a bottom end of the cylinder to detect the piston when adjacent thereto.
15. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein the electrical indicator comprises an ultrasonic limit sensor.
16. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein the electrical indicator comprises a laser sensor.
17. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein the electrical indicator comprises a capacitive displacement sensor.
18. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein the electrical indicator comprises a sonar sensor to emit sonar waves and sensing the waves rebounded by the piston.
19. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein the electrical indicator comprises a flow sensor to detect the flow of fluid through a chamber of the cylinder as the piston passes therein.
20. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the visual indicator is positionable on outer surface of the cylinder.
21. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the visual indicator is positionable a distance from an outer surface of the cylinder.
22. The blowout preventer of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the visual indicator extends into the cylinder.
23. A system for sealing a tubular of a wellbore, the wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation, the system comprising:
a blowout preventer comprising: a housing having a bore therethrough to receive the tubular; at least one ram slidably positionable in the housing, each of the at least one ram having a ram block positionable in sealing engagement about the tubular;
an actuator to selectively drive the ram block, the actuator comprising a piston slidably positionable in a cylinder; and
a monitor to detect the piston therein, the monitor comprising a visual indicator mechanically detached from the piston, and an electrical indicator comprising at least one proximity sensor, at least a portion of the visual indicator operatively connectable to the cylinder external to the cylinder, the visual indicator operatively coupled to the piston to display a position of the piston as the piston travels within the cylinder whereby a position of the ram may be determined; and an inspector to inspect the visual indicator.
24. The system of claim 23 , wherein the inspector is a human.
25. The system of claim 23 , wherein the inspector is a remote operated vehicle (ROV).
26. The system of claim 23 , further comprising a surface unit to receive data from the monitor.
27. The system of claim 23 , further comprising an electrical indicator to detect a position of the piston.
28. The system of claim 27 , further comprising a receiver to communicate signals with the electrical indicator.
29. The system of claim 27 , further comprising at least one sensor to detect wellsite parameters.
30. A method of monitoring a blowout preventer, the method comprising:
positioning the blowout preventer about a tubular, the blowout preventer comprising:
a housing having a bore therethrough to receive the tubular;
at least one ram slidably positionable in the housing, each of the at least one rams having a ram block positionable in sealing engagement about the tubular;
an actuator to selectively drive the ram block, the actuator comprising a piston slidably positionable in a cylinder; and
a monitor to detect the piston therein, the monitor comprising a visual indicator mechanically detached from the piston, and an electrical indicator comprising at least one proximity sensor, at least a portion of the visual indicator operatively connectable to the cylinder external to the cylinder, the visual indicator operatively coupled to the piston to display a position of the piston as the piston travels within the cylinder whereby a position of the ram may be determined;
activating at least one of the visual indicators of the monitor as the piston passes adjacent thereto; and
inspecting the visual indicators.
31. The method of claim 30 , further comprising sensing a position of the piston with an electrical indicator.
32. The method of claim 30 , wherein the step of inspecting comprises manually viewing the visual indicators.
33. The method of claim 30 , wherein the step of inspecting comprises sensing the visual indicator for activation.
34. The method of claim 30 , further comprising passing data from the monitor to a surface unit.
35. A blowout preventer for sealing a tubular of a wellbore, the wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation, the blowout preventer comprising:
a blowout preventer housing having a bore therethrough to receive the tubular;
at least one ram slidably positionable in the blowout preventer housing, each of the at least one rams having a ram block positionable in sealing engagement about the tubular;
an actuator to selectively drive the ram block, the actuator comprising a piston slidably positionable in a cylinder; and
a monitor to detect the piston therein, the monitor comprising a monitor housing with a cable therein and an indicator mechanically detached from the piston, the cable operatively connectable to the piston and movable therewith, the cable detectable by the indicator whereby a position of the ram may be determined.
36. The blowout preventer of claim 35 , wherein the indicator comprises a sensor operatively connected to detect movement of the cable.
37. The blow out preventer of claim 36 , wherein the monitor further comprises a communication link to pass data from the sensor to a surface unit.
38. The blowout preventer of claim 35 , wherein the monitor further comprises at least one gear.
39. The blowout preventer of claim 35 , wherein the monitor further comprises at least one pulley.
40. The blowout preventer of claim 35 , wherein the monitor housing is integral with the cylinder.
41. The blowout preventer of claim 35 , wherein the indicator comprises a visual indicator on an exterior of the monitor housing, the visual indicator operatively coupled to the cable and movable thereby to visually indicate a position of the piston as the piston travels within the cylinder.
42. The blowout preventer of claim 41 , wherein the monitor further comprises a magnetic coupler inside of the monitor housing to couple the cable to the visual indicator.
43. The blowout preventer of claim 41 , wherein the visual indicator comprises a dial activatable by the cable.
44. A blowout preventer for sealing a tubular of a wellbore, the wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation, the blowout preventer comprising:
a blowout preventer housing having a bore therethrough to receive the tubular;
at least one ram slidably positionable in the housing, each of the at least one rams having a ram block positionable in sealing engagement about the tubular;
an actuator to selectively drive the ram block, the actuator comprising a piston slidably positionable in a cylinder; and
a monitor to detect the piston therein, the monitor comprising a visual indicator on an exterior of the cylinder, the visual indicator comprising a cable operatively connected to the piston and operatively connectable to a dial via a pulley and rotatable thereby as the piston moves within the cylinder to display a position of the piston as the piston travels within the cylinder whereby a position of the ram may be determined.
45. The blowout preventer of claim 44 , wherein the visual indicator further comprises at least one gear to operatively couple the pulley to the dial.
46. The blowout preventer of claim 44 , wherein the visual indicator further comprises a magnetic coupler to couple the dial to the pulley.
47. The blow out preventer of claim 44 , wherein the monitor further comprises a communication link to pass data from the sensor to a surface unit.
48. The blowout preventer of claim 44 , wherein the monitor further comprises a magnetic coupler inside of a monitor housing to couple the cable to the visual indicator.
49. A blowout preventer for sealing a tubular of a wellbore, the wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation, the blowout preventer comprising:
a housing having a bore therethrough to receive the tubular;
at least one ram slidably positionable in the housing, each of the at least one rams having a ram block positionable in sealing engagement about the tubular;
an actuator to selectively drive the ram block, the actuator comprising a piston slidably positionable in a cylinder; and
a monitor to detect the piston therein, the monitor comprising a visual indicator mechanically detached from the piston, at least a portion of the visual indicator operatively connectable to the cylinder external to the cylinder, the monitor comprising a cable operatively connected to the piston, the cable operatively connectable to a dial via a pulley and rotatable thereby as the piston moves within the cylinder the visual indicator operatively coupled to the piston to display a position of the piston as the piston travels within the cylinder whereby a position of the ram may be determined.
50. The blowout preventer of claim 49 , wherein the visual indicator further comprises at least one gear to operatively couple the pulley to the dial.
51. The blowout preventer of claim 49 , wherein the visual indicator further comprises a magnetic coupler to operatively couple the dial to the pulley.