Coating system for tubular gripping components

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019136362-A1
Application number	US-201816237199-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 31, 2018
Priority date	May 30, 2013
Publication date	May 9, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

A gripping tool for gripping oilfield tubulars includes a gripping element having a substrate, and at least one gripping surface configured to engage an oilfield tubular, the at least one gripping surface being formed on the gripping element. The at least one gripping surface includes a coating on an outer surface of the substrate, the coating includes a carrier and a plurality of particles at least partially embedded in the carrier. The particles each have a hardness that is greater than a hardness of the carrier and a base metal of the gripping element, and the particles extend outward from the carrier and are configured to engage a structure that is gripped by the gripping tool.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A gripping tool for gripping oilfield tubulars, comprising:
a gripping element comprising a substrate; and at least one gripping surface configured to engage an oilfield tubular, the at least one gripping surface being formed on the gripping element, wherein the at least one gripping surface comprises a coating on an outer surface of the substrate, the coating comprising a carrier and a plurality of particles at least partially embedded in the carrier,
wherein the particles each have a hardness that is greater than a hardness of the carrier and a base metal of the gripping element, and
wherein the particles extend outward from the carrier and are configured to engage a structure that is gripped by the gripping tool.

2 . The gripping tool of claim 1 , wherein the base metal of the substrate comprises a steel alloy.

3 . The gripping tool of claim 1 , wherein the carrier includes one or more materials selected from the group consisting of: nickel alloy, copper alloy, cobalt alloy, tungsten, tungsten alloy, molybdenum alloy, titanium alloy, polymer, and nickel phosphorous.

4 . The gripping tool of claim 1 , wherein the carrier has a thickness ranging from about 10 nm to about 1.5 mm.

5 . The gripping tool of claim 1 , wherein the carrier comprises a nickel phosphorus layer, and wherein the carrier is formed by an electroless chemical deposition, such that a thickness of the coating ranges from about 14 μm to about 20 μm.

6 . The gripping tool of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of particles comprise one or more materials selected from the following: diamond, cubic boron nitride, polycrystalline cubic boron nitride, and silicon carbide.

7 . The gripping tool of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of particles each have a size ranging from about 1 μm to about 100 μm.

8 . The gripping tool of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of particles have an average particle size ranging from about 14 μm to about 20 μm.

9 . The gripping tool of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of particles have a surface density on the gripping surface ranging from about 10% to about 50%.

10 . The gripping tool of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises a carburized layer extending a depth inward from the outer surface thereof.

11 . The gripping tool of claim 1 , wherein the gripping tool is an insert or a die for a spider on a drilling rig and is configured to engage an exterior of the oilfield tubular.

12 . The gripping tool of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises a steel alloy, wherein the carrier of the coating comprises a nickel-phosphorous, wherein the plurality of particles comprise diamond particles, and wherein the diamond particles have a surface density on the gripping surface ranging from about 10% to about 50%.

13 . The gripping tool of claim 1 , wherein the carrier comprises nickel-phosphorous, wherein the plurality of particles comprises silicon carbide particles, and wherein the silicon carbide particles have a surface density on the gripping surface ranging from about 10% to about 50%.

14 . A method for manufacturing a gripping tool, comprising:
forming a gripping surface on at least a portion of a substrate without creating a heat-affected zone in the substrate by applying a coating comprising a carrier and a plurality of particles onto the substrate, wherein the plurality of particles have a hardness that is greater than a hardness of a base metal of the substrate and greater than a hardness of the carrier, and wherein the plurality of particles extend at least partially outward from the carrier and are configured to at least partially embed into a material that is at least as hard as the base metal of the substrate.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein forming the gripping surface comprises applying the coating to the outer surface of the substrate using at least one of: electro-deposition, laser-metal deposition, laser sintering, physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, plasma-assisted processing, ion implantation, powder metallurgy processing, or electroless deposition.

16 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising surface treating an outer layer of the base metal of the substrate to produce a hardened layer extending a depth inward from the outer surface of the substrate, wherein the coating is formed at least partially on the hardened layer.

17 . The method of claim 14 , wherein forming the gripping surface comprises:
at least partially immersing, for a predetermined amount of time, the substrate in a bath of the carrier with the plurality of particles suspended in the carrier; and after the predetermined amount of time, removing the substrate from the bath.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein at least partially immersing the substrate in the bath for the predetermined amount of time causes the coating to have a thickness of about 30% to about 60% of an average diameter of the plurality of particles.

19 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising applying a sealant onto the coating after forming the coating on the at least a portion of the substrate.

20 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the carrier includes one or more materials selected from the group consisting of: nickel alloy, copper alloy, cobalt alloy, tungsten, tungsten alloy, molybdenum alloy, titanium alloy, polymer, and nickel phosphorous.

21 . A method for manufacturing a gripping tool, comprising:
using electroless deposition, forming a coating on a gripping surface comprising at least a portion of the outer surface of the substrate, without creating a heat-affected zone in the substrate, wherein:
the coating comprises a carrier comprising nickel-phosphorous and having a thickness of between about 14 μm and about 20 μm; and
the coating further comprises a plurality of particles at least partially embedded in the carrier and having an average particle size of about 10 μm to about 60 μm, and having a surface density on the gripping surface ranging from about 10% to about 50%, wherein the plurality of particles are configured to at least partially embed into a material that is at least as hard as a base metal of the substrate such that the gripping tool grips the material.

22 . The method of claim 20 , further comprising surface treating the substrate to form a hardened layer onto the outer surface of the substrate, prior to forming the coating.

23 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the plurality of particles comprise diamond particles.

24 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the plurality of particles comprise silicon carbide particles.

Assignees

• Franks Int Llc

Inventors

• Domec Brennan S
• Angelle Jeremy R

Classifications

• C23C28/042

  including a refractory ceramic layer, e.g. refractory metal oxides, ZrO2, rare earth oxides · CPC title

• C23C8/34 Primary

  more than one element being applied in more than one step · CPC title

• E21B19/07

  Slip-type elevators · CPC title

• C23C8/02

  Pretreatment of the material to be coated (C23C8/04 takes precedence) · CPC title

• C23C8/36

  using ionised gases, e.g. ionitriding · CPC title