Bj Services Company

Revolve Technologies, Inc.

Robert S Evenson

Clayton Bear

Robert A Peterson

Donald M Macaulay

Scott K Jacobs

A pipeline pigging device including a vehicle movable within a pipeline having shape deformations is provided. The vehicle provides a predetermined axial length and outside diameter to define an exterior surface. A plurality of floating backing bar systems are circumferentially mounted on the external surface along the axial length of the vehicle. The floating backing bar system radially extends by a compression force away from the vehicle to contact and introduce a consistent force on the inside pipeline wall as the device moves through the pipeline.

Consistent drag floating backing bar system for pipeline pigs and method for using the same

This invention relates to a lubricating film type gas seal having a stationary sealing ring (stator) with a radially extending sealing face and a rotating mating seal component (mating rotor) with a radially extending sealing face. The present seal has a reduced number of components and is greatly simplified from working seals described in prior art. The mating rotor is deliberately flexible, and hence it may distort (tilt) throughout an angular range during hydrostatic and hydrodynamic operation and is dependent on rotational speed, pressure, temperature and is also a function of its material and geometric properties. The stationary ring sealing face complies to and follows the angular distortion (tilting) of the mating rotor sealing face in a converging or diverging manner throughout the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic operational range. The flexibility of the stator is a function of its geometric and material properties. Mating rotor and stator flexibility is preferably matched (e.g. using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) techniques) to provide a system flexibility which produces optimum sealing performance. The mating rotor may possess multiple radial sealing surfaces as well as one or more cylindrical sealing surfaces. Initial mating rotor and/or stator seal face angular deflection may be introduced by applying stress and producing subsequent deformation of the structure by a mechanical means.

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Calgary, Canada

Robert S Evenson