Hydril Company

Baker Hughes Corporation

Other

Thread Technology International, Inc.

Charles A Bollfrass

K Darrel Chelette

George E Lewis

L Steven Landriault

Donald J Ortloff

Patrick E McDonald

Henry Van Acker, Jr

Kenneth D Chelette

Leonard S Landriault

A method for allowing underwater escape from a submarine includes attaching a lower escape tower connector of an escape tower to a hatch connector of a submerged submarine to sealingly attach a lower end of the escape tower to the submarine. A first riser tube is attached to an upper escape tower connector of the escape tower and second riser tube is attached to the first riser tube to form an escape tunnel. Water is replaced in an interior of the escape tower and a tunnel interior of the escape tunnel by air. An exterior hatch of the submarine is opened and a person passes through the hatch. The person is raised to the water surface through the tunnel.

Systems and methods for allowing underwater escape from a submarine

A deformable sealing member is disposed between two surfaces such that a space is provided to at least one side of such sealing member. A smaller space may be provided to a second side of the sealing member. The sealing member is conformed to contact both surfaces. A pressure coming from the direction of the greater space between the two surfaces will cause the sealing member to deform into greater compliance with the two surfaces. However, should pressure reverse and approach the seal from the opposite direction the seal will distort into the area of greater space thereby causing the seal to break contact with one of the surfaces and for such pressure to vent past the seal.

Method and apparatus for forming a ventable seal

A tubular connection comprising a pin end and a box end of adjacent joints having a conical metal-to-metal seal located with respect to the pin end forward thread set and its nose, the improvement of a circumferential groove in the pin end forward of the metal-to-metal seal which carries an elastomeric sealing ring radially extending beyond the limits of the groove. The metal-to-metal makeup of the connection causes by conical deformation a slight wedge shape opening to form forward of the metal-to-metal seal. The elastomeric material extrudes to fill this wedge shape opening to thereby form a compound seal forward of the metal-to-metal seal.

Elastomeric guard seal for tubular connections

Tubular coupling with ventable seal

In the preferred embodiment, this invention provides a threaded pipe coupling for connection with a conventional threaded pipe end so as to effect improved sealing against internal fluid pressure and against external fluid pressure as may be required in an oil or gas well. The coupling form causes the thread contact pressure to be greater at the maximum and minimum thread contact diameters than exists at intermediate points along the length of thread contact. An auxiliary plastic seal that will undergo thermal cycling is also provided.

Threaded pipe connection

A new and improved threaded connector having one or more non-tapered threads on separate diametral steps with at least one flank 'hooked' so as to achieve a tensile strength approximately that of the tubular body, is disclosed. The wall thickness of the female member is controlled to improve thread loading and enable inwardly radial movement with the male member to prevent 'pulling out' under axial tensile loading. The outer thread step on the male member may only partially engage the threads on the female member such that the critical reduction of the tube wall thickness at the thread roots is a minimum. The resulting threaded connection formed on tubular members has a tensile efficiency in excess of the tube body yield strength and approaching that of the tube body ultimate tensile strength.

Threaded connector

Treatment of a steel well pipe connection involves use of an electrical coil and a cylindrical sleeve carrying the coil, and includes the steps:

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Charles A Bollfrass