Composite sandwich panels for oilfield valve

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10337627-B2
Application number	US-201515321356-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 4, 2015
Priority date	Sep 5, 2014
Publication date	Jul 2, 2019
Grant date	Jul 2, 2019

Abstract

An oilfield valve having a body defining a throughbore and configured for controlling flow through the throughbore, wherein the valve has a disc connected to the body and movable between an open position and a closed position, and further wherein the disc has a top surface and a bottom surface, and defines a perimeter, wherein the disc is composed of a composite material having a facesheet and a core material adhered to the facesheet.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An oilfield valve having a body defining a throughbore and configured for controlling flow through the throughbore, comprising:
a disc connected to the body and movable between an open position and a closed position, wherein the disc has a top surface and a bottom surface and defines a perimeter, and further wherein the disc is composed of a composite material;
wherein the composite material comprises a facesheet and a core material adjacent to the facesheet; and
wherein the facesheet comprises a matrix phase and a reinforcement phase.

2. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the facesheet comprises a top facesheet forming the top surface of the disc; and
a bottom facesheet forming the bottom surface of the disc.

3. The valve according to claim 2 , wherein the core material is located between the top facesheet and the bottom facesheet and wherein the core material is adhered to the top facesheet and the bottom facesheet with a layer of adhesive.

4. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the bottom surface and the perimeter of the disc is covered in a coating.

5. The valve according to claim 4 , wherein the coating is selected from the group consisting of an elastomeric, a plastic, and a composite material.

6. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the body has a seating surface adjacent to the disc when the disc is in the closed position.

7. The valve according to claim 6 , wherein the seating surface houses a seal configured for sealing against the disc in the closed position.

8. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the matrix phase comprises a thermoplastic material.

9. The valve according to claim 8 , wherein the thermoplastic material is selected from the group consisting of PEEK, PTFE, PEK, PEKK, HDPE, PEI, nylon, polypropylene, LDPE, polycarbonate, PVC and ABS.

10. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the matrix phase comprises a thermoset material.

11. The valve according to claim 10 , wherein the thermoset material is selected from the group consisting of epoxy, vinylester, polyester, phenolic, polyamide, bismaleimide, polyurethane, polyimide, cyanate ester and polyamidimide.

12. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement phase comprises fibers.

13. The valve according to claim 12 , wherein the type of fibers are selected from the group consisting of ceramic, metal, carbon, aramid and synthetic fibers.

14. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the core material comprises a foam.

15. The valve according to claim 14 , wherein the foam is selected from a group consisting of polyvinylchloride, polyurethane, polyethylene, polystyrene, syntactic foams, wood; and aramids.

16. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the core material is selected from a group consisting of metal, ceramic, natural polymer, synthetic polymer, fibers, plastic and elastomer.

17. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the core material has a honeycomb shaped structure.

18. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the core material further comprises fibers.

19. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the body of the oilfield valve comprises a second composite material.

20. The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the top surface of the disc is covered in a coating.

21. The valve according to claim 20 , wherein the coating is selected from the group consisting of an elastomeric, a plastic and a composite material.

22. A method of making a disc for an oilfield valve, comprising the steps of:
adhering a top facesheet to a surface of a core material, wherein the top facesheet defines a top surface of the disc;
adhering a bottom facesheet to a second surface of the core material, wherein the bottom facesheet defines the bottom surface of the disc; and
constructing each of the top facesheet and the bottom facesheet with a matrix phase and a reinforcement phase.

23. The method according to claim 22 , further comprising the step of covering a bottom surface of the disc with an elastomeric coating.

24. The method according to claim 22 , further comprising the step of reinforcing the core material with fibers.

25. The method according to claim 22 , further comprising the step of embedding an RFID tag within the disc.

26. The method according to claim 22 , wherein the steps of adhering the top facesheet to the core material, and adhering the bottom facesheet to the core material comprises the step of curing the top facesheet and the bottom facesheet simultaneously with the core material.

Assignees

• Weatherford Tech Holdings Llc

Inventors

• Sabo Stosch
• Stage Matthew

Classifications

• F16K15/03 Primary

  with a hinged closure member {or with a pivoted closure member} · CPC title

• B23P15/002

  poppet valves · CPC title