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Water hydraulic systems a commercial proposition
Water hydraulic systems a commercial proposition Britain claims a world lead in developing a revolutionary new technology using water instead of oil to power hydraulic systems - which opens up a multi-million pound international market. -
A team from one of the UK's leading mechanical engineering research establishment, the Department of Trade and Industry's National Engineering Laboratory at East Kilbride, near Glasgow, feels that it has taken the lead over competitors from the USA, Japan and Sweden in a drive to develop the technology. It happened because a contract placed with the NEL by Shell and Esso to develop tools for divers made it possible to develop the principles of water hydraulic systems to the point of commercial application. A new research and development company, Scot-Tech Limited, has been formed in Scotland to exploit the extensive interest shown in the contract, which pinpointed an international market for the new technology. It is a unique venture between the NEL and an industrial company in the private sector, the Fenner Group of Hull, which has achieved international status as a manufacturer of high quality precision products in many industrial fields. The market for water hydraulic systems is spread over a wide range of industries and has a considerable potential value in the UK and abroad. Because water hydraulic systems are free of the risk of pollution or hazard, they are of value for many industrial processes. They can be used in the nuclear industry, coal and gold mining, drug manufacture, injection moulding of plastics, die casting, robotics, underwater and sea-bed systems, food processing and in tankers which carry highly flammable products. The British lead is the result of a £400,000 contract placed with the NEL in 1985 by Shell U.K. Exploration and Production, the operator for the joinl venture in the North Sea between Shell and Esso. It is the North Sea's biggest operator and its
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total spending since 1965 of nearly £16 billion has made it Britain's largest private investor. The contract was for the development of hydraulic tools powered by sea water which could be used by divers in water depths of up to 1,312 feet (400 metres). The purpose was to ensure that the NEL's research would lead to wider applications and give Britain a world lead in a new technology. Now that the objective has been achieved, Shell and Esso are to assign their rights from the successful research to Fenner for a nominal sum to assist it to make the most of its lead. They will continue to encourage the development of the technology. Shell U.K. Exploration and Production, Shell-Mex ttouse, Strand, London Wc2R ODX, UK.
Fluoropolymer coatings for safety valves and expansion joints Camco Ltd., the Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland subsidiary of Houston, USA based Camco Inc., is using Xylan fluoropolymer coatings to prevent galling of threaded components and to reduce surface friction of expansion joint spacers and valve collets used in oil and gas extraction. On their all-metal tubing retrievable safety valve employing metal to metal seal, the threads of the stainless steel body joints are all Xylan coated. This ensures accurate tensioning of the crush ring which plastically deforms to form the seal. All their safety valves are designed, they say, for efficient redress, the coating facilitating disassembly. Suitable for operation in extremely hostile environments with working pressures of up to 20,000 psi and down-hole temperatures of up to 150°C, these valves are also designed to withstand severely corrosive conditions. This, in turn, requires a high performance specification for the coating materials used.
Another of the company's valves which employs the coating in its construction is the WRDP-2, a wireline retrievable safety valve designed to operate to 6,000 psi. This valve is operated by an hydraulic control line from the well head. The valve collet uses the coating to reduce friction and to aid quick and smooth operation. The one piece expansion joint is used where extreme length variation of the production tubing takes place because of temperature fluctuation. The coating is applied to the spacer which acts as a bearing surface between the inner fixed and outer sliding component of the joint. The very low friction coefficient (0.06) of the 25/J thick coating enables the expansion components easily to slide to the required length as conditions dictate. The fluoropolymer coatirig is manufactured by Whitford Plastics of Runcorn, UK. It is corrosion resistant with controlled friction properties. Torque/tension ratios can be selected through choice of formula and the coating provides an effective alternative to metal plating. Camco uses a tough PTFE formula which has particularly low friction characteristics for maximum wear resistance. A coating incorporating Molybdenum di-sulphide in its formulation is suitable for coating screw threads, ball bearings and similar applications. It is used for their all-metal tubing retrievable safety valve. Whitford Plastics Ltd., Brindley 86, Astmoor, Runcorn, Cheshire WA7 1PF, UK.
Camco all-metal tubing retrievable safety valve main body with threads coated with Whitford Plastics Xylan fluoropolymer
August 1987 Vol 20 No 4
A team from one of the UK's leading mechanical engineering research establishment, the Department of Trade and Industry's National Engineering Laboratory at East Kilbride, near Glasgow, feels that it has taken the lead over competitors from the USA, Japan and Sweden in a drive to develop the technology. It happened because a contract placed with the NEL by Shell and Esso to develop tools for divers made it possible to develop the principles of water hydraulic systems to the point of commercial application. A new research and development company, Scot-Tech Limited, has been formed in Scotland to exploit the extensive interest shown in the contract, which pinpointed an international market for the new technology. It is a unique venture between the NEL and an industrial company in the private sector, the Fenner Group of Hull, which has achieved international status as a manufacturer of high quality precision products in many industrial fields. The market for water hydraulic systems is spread over a wide range of industries and has a considerable potential value in the UK and abroad. Because water hydraulic systems are free of the risk of pollution or hazard, they are of value for many industrial processes. They can be used in the nuclear industry, coal and gold mining, drug manufacture, injection moulding of plastics, die casting, robotics, underwater and sea-bed systems, food processing and in tankers which carry highly flammable products. The British lead is the result of a £400,000 contract placed with the NEL in 1985 by Shell U.K. Exploration and Production, the operator for the joinl venture in the North Sea between Shell and Esso. It is the North Sea's biggest operator and its
230
total spending since 1965 of nearly £16 billion has made it Britain's largest private investor. The contract was for the development of hydraulic tools powered by sea water which could be used by divers in water depths of up to 1,312 feet (400 metres). The purpose was to ensure that the NEL's research would lead to wider applications and give Britain a world lead in a new technology. Now that the objective has been achieved, Shell and Esso are to assign their rights from the successful research to Fenner for a nominal sum to assist it to make the most of its lead. They will continue to encourage the development of the technology. Shell U.K. Exploration and Production, Shell-Mex ttouse, Strand, London Wc2R ODX, UK.
Fluoropolymer coatings for safety valves and expansion joints Camco Ltd., the Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland subsidiary of Houston, USA based Camco Inc., is using Xylan fluoropolymer coatings to prevent galling of threaded components and to reduce surface friction of expansion joint spacers and valve collets used in oil and gas extraction. On their all-metal tubing retrievable safety valve employing metal to metal seal, the threads of the stainless steel body joints are all Xylan coated. This ensures accurate tensioning of the crush ring which plastically deforms to form the seal. All their safety valves are designed, they say, for efficient redress, the coating facilitating disassembly. Suitable for operation in extremely hostile environments with working pressures of up to 20,000 psi and down-hole temperatures of up to 150°C, these valves are also designed to withstand severely corrosive conditions. This, in turn, requires a high performance specification for the coating materials used.
Another of the company's valves which employs the coating in its construction is the WRDP-2, a wireline retrievable safety valve designed to operate to 6,000 psi. This valve is operated by an hydraulic control line from the well head. The valve collet uses the coating to reduce friction and to aid quick and smooth operation. The one piece expansion joint is used where extreme length variation of the production tubing takes place because of temperature fluctuation. The coating is applied to the spacer which acts as a bearing surface between the inner fixed and outer sliding component of the joint. The very low friction coefficient (0.06) of the 25/J thick coating enables the expansion components easily to slide to the required length as conditions dictate. The fluoropolymer coatirig is manufactured by Whitford Plastics of Runcorn, UK. It is corrosion resistant with controlled friction properties. Torque/tension ratios can be selected through choice of formula and the coating provides an effective alternative to metal plating. Camco uses a tough PTFE formula which has particularly low friction characteristics for maximum wear resistance. A coating incorporating Molybdenum di-sulphide in its formulation is suitable for coating screw threads, ball bearings and similar applications. It is used for their all-metal tubing retrievable safety valve. Whitford Plastics Ltd., Brindley 86, Astmoor, Runcorn, Cheshire WA7 1PF, UK.
Camco all-metal tubing retrievable safety valve main body with threads coated with Whitford Plastics Xylan fluoropolymer
August 1987 Vol 20 No 4