Extended flange plumbing for deep-sea oil containment

• US 20110304138A1
• Filed: 06/01/2011
• Published: 12/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Frederic G. Commoner
• Original Assignee: Frederic G. Commoner
• Inventors: Commoner, Frederic G.
• Application Number:
  US13/134,221
• Publication Number:
  US 20110304138A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 285/368
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/0122 Collecting oil or the like from a submerged leakage cleaning or keeping clear the surface of open water from oil or the like E02B15/04
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 23/032 characterised by the shape or composition of the flanges
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 55/115 Caps F16L55/1286 takes precedence

Abstract

An emergency redundant mounting flange is provided for incorporation into an oil-well blow-out-preventer (BOP), enabling rapid, tight-fitting attachment of an oil containment cap over a BOP outflow port in an emergency. This flange extends radially outward from the protected port, and includes an annular region with a connection feature, such as a ring of bolt-holes, permitting cap attachment. The cap, also provided, is a barrel-shaped diameter-reduction pipe which can be connected onto the emergency mounting flange at its bottom end, and onto a standard riser pipe at its top end, thus containing or stopping the flow of oil. After installation, the cap fully encloses the protected port, while creating a tight seal with the emergency mounting flange. Extension of these methods to bell-and-spigot plumbing fixtures, including reinforced concrete pipe, is also provided.

Claims

1. An extended-flange plumbing fixture kit, for use with standard bolted-flange plumbing fixtures, and with pipe-like objects to which they may be connected, this kit comprising:

i. an extended-flange plumbing fixture, said fixture comprising

a. a plumbing flange connector, with its usual flange plate for connecting to another such flange device,

b. an extended annular ring of material, included as part of said plumbing fixture by means of one of the following two methods of construction;

1. said ring shall be co-extensive with, and continuously extending the material of the flange plate of said plumbing flange connector, the resulting connector, so extended, being here referred to as an “

extended flange connector”

, or

2. said ring shall be the outer portion of a separate disk of material, here referred to as an “

extended adaptor plate”

, placed on top of the flange plate of said plumbing flange connector, said disk also being equipped with an inner ring of holes matching the holes in said flange plate, so that said disk may be sandwiched and fastened with bolts between said plumbing flange connector and a matching plumbing flange connector so as to produce a 3-part installed configuration,

c. an extended connection feature, such as an outer ring of holes, in said extended annular ring, these holes being suited for joining with a pipe flange connector similar to that of the standard flange, but possibly of a larger diameter, and

d. a clearance space, here referred to as the “

adaptor space”

between the outer ring of holes and the outer boundary of the standard flange, this space being of an extent sufficient to provide adequate clearance so that a suitable pipe-like device can be properly mounted on the extended connection feature,

and

ii. a matching containment cap, here referred to as the “

transition adaptor”

, equipped with a flange which matches said extended connection feature, so that said cap may in the event of an emergency be attached to said connection feature in a fluid-tight way,

such that, in consequence of such composition, said extended-flange plumbing fixture provides a reserve or back-up connection capacity by which, as part of a protective procedure, an installed plumbing joint including said extended-flange plumbing fixture may be fitted with said containment cap, such attachment serving to seal or contain a leak resulting from damage to one of the two pipe-like devices attached to said installed plumbing joint.

2. The extended-flange plumbing fixture kit of claim 1, wherein the matching containment cap of that claim is a device manufactured so as to fit onto the extended connection feature of that claim, in the context of an installed plumbing joint which includes the extended-flange plumbing fixture of that claim, said installed plumbing joint being here referred to as the “

target joint”

, and said cap comprising the following elements;

a. a containment device connection feature matching the extended connection feature of said target joint, in such a way that the two connection features can be joined in a fluid-tight manner, this extended connection feature being provided by said target joint'"'"'s included extended-flange plumbing fixture,

b. an enclosure structure which, except for intentionally provided ports and openings, allows no fluid to escape from the enclosure region which it envelopes, and

c. an optional extraction port, and an optional plurality of other accessory ports, allowing for the extraction of fluids from or the insertion of fluids into the enclosure region enclosed by said enclosure structure, and also allowing for measuring devices or other equipment to be inserted into or removed from the enclosure region,

such that, in consequence of the inclusion of such elements, it is possible, in the event of an emergency in which a pipe-like object connected to said target joint is damaged, to perform attachment of said cap to said extended-flange plumbing fixture, provided that said damaged pipe-like object has been previously cut to a sufficiently short length, such attachment providing the capacity to block or extract fluid which may be leaking from said pipe-like object, and to achieve such blockage or extraction without taking apart said target joint.

3. The extended-flange plumbing fixture kit of claim 1, wherein the protective procedure mentioned in that claim is here further described as a method or process whereby a plumbing joint may be provided with a form of redundant connection capacity so that, in the event that a break or leak occurs downstream from said joint, the flow from this break or leak may be contained without the need to disassemble said joint, said method having the following steps:

a. said joint, either when first assembled, or as a result of disassembly and later reassembly, is built and configured by one of the two methods of construction described in claim 1, so as to include an extended-flange plumbing fixture as described in claim 1,

b. a cap is manufactured or obtained, with a connection feature matching the connection feature of the extended-flange plumbing fixture included in said joint, this cap then being placed in storage for use in the event of an emergency,

c. if and when an emergency does occur, and in such emergency the outflow pipe-like device of said joint breaks or leaks, said device here being referred to as the “

outflow carrier”

, then, at such time, a fluid containment response will be undertaken, having the following steps;

i. a portion of the outflow carrier shall be cut off, or otherwise removed, so that the remaining length of said carrier will fit inside of said cap, leaving adequate clearance between the end of said carrier and the various ports of said cap so as to allow those ports to fulfill their intended functions, and

ii. said cap, or another suitable cap, shall be retrieved from storage, or otherwise obtained, and installed over said joint in the manner described in claim 1,

and

d. once a cap has been so installed, other fluid containment, control, or measurement devices may then be optionally attached to the various ports of the installed cap,

such that, in consequence of these steps, a result is obtained whereby standard fixtures or devices may be attached to the resulting assembled fixture, and used to capture, block, or extract the leaking fluid, without the need to disassemble said plumbing joint in order to obtain this result.

4. The extended flange plumbing fixture kit of claim 1, further including a protective device here referred to as the “

extended flange protection unit”

, said device comprising;

a. a protective cage similar to one or more roll-bars, these roll-bars possibly being interconnected, this cage being placed over and also possibly around the extended annular ring described in claim 1, and

b. an annular cushion ring, possibly divided into a plurality of separate portions, these portions being placed within said protective cage, these portions also being placed over and possibly around said annular ring,

so that said extended annular ring will, as a result of the presence of said cage and said cushion ring, be protected from damaging impacts in the event of an accident or emergency.

5. The extended flange plumbing fixture kit of claim 1, wherein the extended annular ring of that claim, being part of an extended flange plumbing fixture also described in that claim, is constructed according to method 2 of that claim, said ring being the outer portion of an extended adaptor plate, with this plate having the following features:

a. a central flow opening of approximately the same diameter as the inner diameter of the pipe-like objects to be connected to said extended flange plumbing fixture,

b. an inner ring of holes, arranged with their centers approximately along a circle, these centers having regular angular spacing around the center of that circle, these holes being of such a diameter and pattern of placement as to align with the holes in a standard bolted-flange plumbing fixture of comparable size, and

c. an outer ring of holes, arranged with their centers approximately along a larger circle, these centers having regular angular spacing around the center of that larger circle, with this larger circle also being approximately concentric with the smaller circle whose circumference passes approximately through the centers of said inner ring of holes, said outer ring of holes being of such a diameter and pattern of placement as to align with the holes in a standard bolted-flange plumbing fixture of comparable size, such as the attachment flange of a containment cap,

so that, in consequence of such features, said extended adaptor plate may be sandwiched in a 3-part joint between two plumbing flanges with holes matching the inner ring of holes of said plate, said joint then being fastened with bolts of suitable length passing through the holes of said inner ring of holes, the result being that, in the event of a leak from one of the pipe-like objects attached to said joint, a suitable containment cap may be attached in a fluid-tight manner to the outer ring of holes of said plate.

6. The extended flange plumbing fixture kit of claim 1, wherein the extended annular ring of that claim, being part of an extended flange plumbing fixture also described in that claim, is constructed according to method 1 of that claim, said ring being the outer portion of the flange plate of an extended flange connector, with this extended flange connector having the following features:

a. a central flow opening of approximately the same diameter as the inner diameter of the pipe-like objects to be connected to said extended flange plumbing fixture,

b. an inner ring of holes, arranged with their centers approximately along a circle, these centers having regular angular spacing around the center of that circle, these holes being of such a diameter and pattern of placement as to align with the holes in a standard bolted-flange plumbing fixture of comparable size, and

c. an outer ring of holes, arranged with their centers approximately along a larger circle, those centers having regular angular spacing around the center of that larger circle, with this larger circle also being approximately concentric with the smaller circle whose circumference passes approximately through the centers of said inner ring of holes, said outer ring of holes being of such a diameter and pattern of placement as to align with the holes in a standard bolted-flange plumbing fixture of comparable size, such as the attachment flange of a containment cap,

so that, in consequence of such features, said extended flange connector may be combined with a plumbing flange, this plumbing flange having holes matching the inner ring of holes of said extended flange connector, such combination producing a 2-part plumbing joint, said joint then being fastened with bolts of suitable length passing through the holes of said inner ring of holes, the result being that, in the event of a leak from one of the pipe-like objects attached to said joint, a suitable containment cap may be attached in a fluid-tight manner to the outer ring of holes of said extended flange connector.

7. A redundant adaptor ring for use within a particular predetermined and selected member of a class of plumbing families, this class including, but not limited to, the class of bolted-flange plumbing families and the class of bell-and-spigot plumbing families, said redundant adaptor ring, in its respective embodiments within the two here-named classes of plumbing families being referred to as an “

extended adaptor plate”

or an “

extended adaptor ring”

, respectively, and said redundant adaptor ring being equipped with the following elements;

a. one or more inner valence features on one or two of the sides of said ring, said valence features allowing said ring to be connected in a 3-part fixture between two pipe-like devices from the selected plumbing family,

b. a continuous annular body of material extending outward from the outer boundary of the inner valence features of said ring, this body including, on one or both sides of itself, one or more outer valence features, these features being so arranged that a pipe-like device can be attached to one of said outer valence features, said pipe-like device being of a larger diameter than one which would fit the inner valence features of said ring,

such that, in consequence of its shape, said redundant adaptor ring provides a reserve or back-up connection capability by which, as part of a risk-management procedure, an installed plumbing joint including said ring may be fitted with a containment cap which attaches, using a pipe-like fitting, to one of the outer valence features of said ring, facilitating the sealing, extraction, or containment of a leak from one of the two pipe-like objects connected by said joint, without the need to disassemble said joint in order to obtain this result.

8. The redundant adaptor ring of claim 7, wherein each of the valence features is optionally arranged geometrically along a simple closed curve, such as a circle, square, or oval, with such curves, if present for both the inner and outer valence features, being optionally concentric.

9. The redundant adaptor ring of claim 7, further including a pipe-like object joined to one of the inner valence features of said ring, such joining being either by attachment or by union, and such joining optionally also further including a support base, the effect of such joining being that this included pipe-like object, by virtue of its joining to said adaptor ring, now has similar redundant connection properties to those provided by said ring, as described in claim 7.