5th Annual Sucker Rod Pumping Workshop

Wyndham Hotel, Dallas, Texas September 15 18, 18 2009

Sucker Rod Characteristics and Factors Affecting Sucker Rod Coupling Make-Up
Erik Tietz, Tietz P.E. PE Arun Sriraman

Why y did UPCO p perform this p project? j

Marketing research has revealed the fact that there has been a lot of make-up failures in this industry industry. Some of the questions which were raised and led us into this project are as follows: What factors/concepts go into choosing sucker rods? Are the current displacement values adequate for a proper make up? What are some recommended practices for sucker rodcoupling make up?
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Brief History y

60-70% of failures in this industry are directly related to pin failures. A good understanding of sucker rod characteristics & behavior and knowledge of sound recommended practices will reduce / eliminate the majority of the failures failures.
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Goals of this Presentation

Segment 1: Sucker rod characteristics (Toughness studies and their results) Segment 2: - Circumferential Displacement & What is it? - What are its capabilities? p - Need to change it. - Updated displacement values. Segment 3: Good recommended practices derived from scientific studies. - Dry Vs Wet face make up - New Vs re-run displacement - Torque Variation in the make-up process - Life of a sucker rod
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Key y Sucker Rod Concepts p

Key K S Sucker k R Rod d Ch Characteristics t i ti - Stress and strain related to sucker rods - Yield Yi ld and d Tensile T il strengths t th of f sucker k rods d - Concept of Toughness for different grades of sucker rods - Toughness as a parameter in choosing the sucker rod grade for a particular application - Normal and Shear Forces

Stress and Strain

Stress and Strain

Two Key characteristics from the Graph: - Load carrying capability (Vertical axis) - Amount of stretching ability (Elongation) of sucker rod. - The load carrying capability and Elongation are two key parameters which needs to be used in combination (Toughness) in selecting a sucker rod. - Using load carrying capability alone as a factor will lead to wrong choice of sucker rod grades.

Stress Strain Curves for Sucker Rod Grades

Grade C, K - Low Strength and high toughness Grade CD CD, AD AD, KD - Medium strength and medium to high toughness. Grade HS - High Strength and Low toughness

Novel illustration
A graph h which hi h shows h the th relationship l ti hi between b t load carrying capability and elongation is called a toughness curve. The vertical height g of the bars indicates the relative load carrying capability. The horizontal width represents the capability of the sucker rod to elongate.

Results from Toughness g Studies

No sucker rod with high strength and toughness. Practical consequences include overloading KD rods and using HS S rods in harsh environments. A grade in between KD and HS having good load carrying capabilities and toughness. g

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Segment g 2- Circumferential Displacement p

Circumferential displacement: API states that circumferential displacement is the distance measured after make-up, between the displaced parts of a vertical line scribed across the external surfaces of the box and pin when they are in a shouldered hand tight g relationship pp prior to makeup p.

Hand tight level (No displacement) Minimum Displacement value Maximum Displacement value 11

Verify y and Re-establish of CD values

Goal: Step 1: Study and analyze the achievable load carrying capabilities (design rating) of current displacement p values. Step p 2: What circumferential displacement p values need to be changed (Analysis) to truly reflect the technological advances made in this industry? y Step p 3: Re-establish displacement p based on data
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Step p 1 Strain Gauge g Testing g

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Design Rating / Effectiveness of CD values

Conduct Test (Make up sucker rod and coupling to the respective displacement values) Calculate the preload stress (clamping force) in the undercut OD

Compare the preload stress (PSI) with the design yield of the sucker rod Compute the values in % ( ff ti (effectiveness of f the th design strength ratings of sucker rod).
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Average g design g rating g for all sizes of sucker rods

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Results based on design g y yield

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Some Practical Aspects p

Need to change displacement values which have lower design rating (loss of displacement). displacement) p 60-65% of p pin failures in this Loss of displacement industry. Changed Ch d most t of f 1 and d 3/4 and d some 7/8 CD values. l gained, it was Through experimental data and experiences gained inferred that CD values of 85-90% of design yield would give maximum load carrying capability from a sucker rod.

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Updated p 3/4 Displacement p Values

3/4" CD Values - Old Vs New Updated Displacement Values
0.6000

Old CD New CD

0.4000

0.2000

0.0000
Rerun New Rerun Rerun Rerun Rerun SD New New New SD

CD

CD

KD

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Updated p 1 Displacement p Values

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Updated p CD Cards

Found enough variations between Class D sucker rods. Same can be inferred between C & K grade of sucker rods. MOE between different grades of materials. So same displacement cards cannot be used for family of sucker rods (eg. Class D) This is very essential for optimized run / life of sucker rods
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Segment g 3- Applications pp
Normal and Shear Strain

A B
A - Normal strain (straight pull) acting in a direction parallel to the axis of the rod body. Normal forces are a very desirable attribute in a sucker rod rod- coupling make up process. process B - Shear strain (twist) acting on the pin which is a detrimental attribute in a sucker rod-coupling rod coupling make up process.
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Segment g 3 - Applications pp
Dry Face: The thread lubricant was applied only on the threads of the sucker rods Wet Face: The thread lubricant was applied on the threads and faces of sucker rod and coupling. The torque, normal and shear strain were measured during various stages of displacement and studied between the two scenarios.
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Graph p of dry y vs wet face

Dry face Wet face Shear Normal

Torque

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Results
Torque Dry face is 41% more efficient in handling torque. torque Shear Stain 23 % more in wet face (Very detrimental) A As a result, lt the th sucker k rod d pin i yields i ld in i shear h during d i its make up with a wet face make-up. From the experimental studies, it can be inferred that dry y face is the only y and best option p for the application pp for rod coupling make up.
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New vs Re-run Displacement p

Normal strain represents the load carrying capability of a sucker rod A decrease in Normal Strain (load carrying capability of the sucker rod) by 14.06% (7.22 % - 20.90 %) after ft repeated t d make k ups. Due to the inherent decrease in the load carrying capability of a sucker rod, there are two different cards. ( (one for new and one for re-run).
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Torque q variation in the make up p process p

70% variation in torque values based upon p the choice of thread lubricant selected. An average inherent variation of 22.98% in torque values based upon the usage of sucker rods. Due to this, it is recommended that toque should not be used as a p parameter. Circumferential Displacement must be used as a parameter in setting torque providing devices.
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Torque q variation in the make up p process p

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Life of a Sucker Rod

What is the optimal number of make-ups on a sucker rod?

Size 3/4 7/8 7/8 1

No of make ups or runs 16 15 11

There was extreme face deformation and thread g galling g after 10 and 11th make up on all samples. Considering all the facts and phenomena, the optimal number of make k ups on a sucker k rod d was experimentally i t ll determined d t i d to t be b 9. 9 From a practical standpoint, the load carrying capability of the rod string will be enhanced if there are processes and procedures to keep track on the usage of sucker rods in the field.
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Conclusion

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Copyright py g
Rights to this presentation are owned by the company(ies) and/or author(s) listed on the title page page. By submitting this presentation to the Sucker Rod Pumping Workshop, they grant to the Workshop, the Artificial Lift Research and Development Council (ALRDC), and the Southwestern Petroleum Short Course (SWPSC), rights to:
Display the presentation at the Workshop. Place it on the www.alrdc.com web site, with access to the site to be as directed by the Workshop Steering Committee. Pl Place it on a CD for f distribution di t ib ti and/or d/ sale l as directed di t d by b the th Workshop W k h Steering Committee.

Other use of this presentation is prohibited without the expressed written permission of the author(s). The owner company(ies) and/or author(s) may publish this material in other journals or magazines if they refer to the Sucker Rod Pumping Workshop where it was first presented.

Sept. 15 - 18, 2009

2009 Sucker Rod Pumping Workshop

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Disclaimer
The following disclaimer shall be included as the last page of a Technical Presentation or Continuing Education Course. A similar disclaimer is included on the front page of the Sucker Rod g Web Site. Pumping The Artificial Lift Research and Development Council and its officers and trustees, and the Sucker Rod Pumping Workshop Steering Committee members, and their supporting organizations and companies (here-in-after referred to as the Sponsoring Organizations), and the author(s) of this Technical Presentation or Continuing Education Training Course and their company(ies), provide g material at the Sucker Rod Pumping g Workshop "as is" without any y this presentation and/or training warranty of any kind, express or implied, as to the accuracy of the information or the products or services referred to by any presenter (in so far as such warranties may be excluded under any relevant law) and these members and their companies will not be liable for unlawful actions and any losses or damage that may result from use of any presentation as a consequence of any inaccuracies in, or any omission from, the information which therein may be contained. The views, opinions, and conclusions expressed in these presentations and/or training materials are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Sponsoring Organizations. The author is solely responsible for the content of the materials. The Sponsoring Organizations cannot and do not warrant the accuracy of these documents beyond g we do make every y attempt p to work from authoritative sources. the source documents, although The Sponsoring Organizations provide these presentations and/or training materials as a service. The Sponsoring Organizations make no representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect to the presentations and/or training materials, or any part thereof, including any warrantees of title, non-infringement of copyright or patent rights of others, merchantability, or fitness or suitability for any purpose.

Sept. 15 - 18, 2009

2009 Sucker Rod Pumping Workshop

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