BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates generally to blowout preventer control systems, and more specifically, but not by way of limitation, to blowout preventer control systems including distributed prognostics and/or diagnostics capabilities.

2. Description of Related Art

A blowout preventer (BOP) is a mechanical device, usually installed redundantly in stacks, used to seal, control, and/or monitor oil and gas wells. Typically, a blowout preventer includes a number of devices, such as, for example, rams, annulars, accumulators, test valves, failsafe valves, kill and/or choke lines and/or valves, riser joints, hydraulic connectors, and/or the like, many of which may be hydraulically actuated.

BOP operational events may account for approximately 50% of equipment-related non-productive downtime (NTT) for deep-water drilling rigs. Among such BOP operational events, approximately 55% may be directly linked to malfunctions in a BOP control system.

Typically, BOPs and BOP control systems (“BOP systems”) are operated and maintained on a largely trial-and-error basis. For example, in a typical BOP system, an operator may have to exercise some degree of subjective judgment as to when a particular BOP system component should be undergo maintenance, be replaced, and/or the like. While maintenance plans and other system requirements may exist for particular components, these plans and requirements are typically developed after the components have been designed and/or implemented. Thus, in some instances, components may be under-maintained and/or implemented beyond their useful life, leading to component failure, and in other instances, components may be unnecessarily maintained and/or replaced, increasing operating costs and/or presenting a risk of self-induced and/or premature component failure. Additionally, in the event of a BOP system component failure, such existing BOP systems typically require costly NPT to adequately identify the failed component in a process of elimination approach—sometimes necessitating extraction of the BOP to the surface.

Recently, some BOP systems have incorporated limited component monitoring and reporting capability. However, such incremental improvements fail to address the importance of BOP system availability, reliability, and fault-tolerance, particularly when dealing with safety-critical BOP functions.

Existing BOP systems, including those with limited component monitoring and reporting capability, may also fail to account for the operational condition of the BOP system (e.g., whether the system is under construction, is drilling, is producing, and/or the like). Such operational conditions may play a crucial role in making proper operational and/or maintenance choices with respect to BOP system components.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments of the present BOP control systems are configured, through prognostic and/or diagnostic capability distributed to one or more nodes, each including a BOP system component, to maximize system availability (e.g., by monitoring for degradation of one or more BOP system components, anticipating failure of the one or more BOP system components, and/or the like). Some embodiments of the present BOP control systems are configured, through prognostic and/or diagnostic capability distributed to one or more nodes, each including a BOP system component, redundant hardware (e.g., two or more redundant BOP system components and/or two or more redundant BOP functions for accomplishing a same or a similar outcome, such as, for example, two or more ram-type BOPs, each with a close function configured to seal a same well bore), two or more redundant functional pathways for actuating a same BOP function, and/or the like, to maximize system reliability and/or system fault tolerance.

Some embodiments of the present BOP control systems comprise: a system controller configured to actuate a first BOP function by communicating one or more commands to one or more nodes of a functional pathway selected from one or more available functional pathways associated with the first BOP function, each node comprising an actuatable component configured to actuate in response to a command received from the system controller, each node having one or more sensors configured to capture a first data set corresponding to actuation of the component and a processor.

Some embodiments of the present BOP control systems comprise: a system controller configured to actuate a first BOP function by communicating one or more commands to one or more nodes of a functional pathway selected from at least two functional pathways associated with the first BOP function; each node comprising an actuatable component configured to actuate in response to a command received from the system controller, each node having one or more sensors configured to capture a first data set corresponding to actuation of the component; and a processor configured to analyze the first data set to determine a useful life remaining of the component; and communicate the useful life remaining of the component to the system controller; where the system controller is configured to assign a risk level to each of the at least two functional pathways based, at least in part, on the useful life remaining of at least one of the one or more nodes of the functional pathway; and identify at least one of the at least two functional pathways for actuating the first BOP function based, at least in part, on the risk levels of each of the at least two functional pathways.

Some embodiments of the present BOP control systems comprise a system controller configured to actuate a first BOP function by communicating one or more commands to one or more nodes of a functional pathway selected from one or more functional pathways associated with the first BOP function; each node comprising an actuatable component configured to actuate in response to a command received from the system controller, each node having one or more sensors configured to capture at least two sensed values during actuation of the component and a processor configured to receive the at least two sensed valves from at least one of the one or more nodes; to obtain an expected value of a model based on at least one of the at least two sensed values, to compare the expected value to the other of the at least two sensed values to obtain a difference between the two values; and to communicate to the system controller one or more of the following: (i) a fault if the difference between the two values exceeds a threshold; (ii) a useful life remaining of the actuatable component based at least on the difference between the two values; (iii) a risk level based at least on the difference between the two values; or (iv) the difference between the two values.

Some embodiments of the present BOP control systems comprise: a system controller configured to actuate a first BOP function by communicating one or more commands to one or more nodes of a functional pathway selected from one or more available functional pathways associated with the first BOP function; each node comprising an actuatable component configured to actuate in response to a command received from the system controller, each node having one or more sensors configured to capture a first data set during an actuation of the component and a processor configured to adjust one or more coefficients of a model such that the adjusted model approximates one or more values from the first data set; and communicate to the system controller data based at least on at least one of the one or more coefficients of the adjusted model.

In some embodiments, the component of at least one node comprises a hydraulic manifold including one or more actuatable valves. In some embodiments, the component of at least one node comprises a hydraulic pump. In some embodiments, the hydraulic pump is battery powered.

In some embodiments, at least one node comprises a virtual sensor.

In some embodiments, the processor of each node is configured to analyze the first data set to determine a useful life remaining of the component. In some embodiments, the processor of each node is configured to communicate the useful life remaining of the component to the system controller. In some embodiments, the system controller is configured to communicate the useful life remaining of the component of each node to a user. In some embodiments, the processor of each node is configured to communicate a fault to the system controller if the useful life remaining of the component is below a threshold.

In some embodiments, the processor of each node is configured to analyze the first data set to identify an abnormal actuation of the component and communicate a fault to the system controller if an abnormal actuation of the component is identified.

In some embodiments, the first data set includes data indicative of a number of actuation cycles of the component. In some embodiments, the first data set includes data indicative of a response time of the component.

In some embodiments, the processor of each node is configured to compare the first data set to a second data set corresponding to a simulation of actuation of the component and communicate a fault to the system controller if differences between the first data set and the second data set exceed a threshold.

In some embodiments, at least one node comprises a memory configured to store at least a portion of the first data set. In some embodiments, at least one node comprises a memory configured to store at least a portion of the second data set. Some embodiments comprise a memory in communication with each node of a functional pathway.

In some embodiments, at least one node is configured to communicate with the system controller wirelessly. In some embodiments, at least one node is configured to communicate with the system controller through a wired connection. In some embodiments, at least one node is configured to communicate with at least one controller outside of the BOP control system.

In some embodiments, the system controller is configured to scan the BOP control system for available functional pathways for actuating the first BOP function. In some embodiments, the system controller is configured to communicate to a user a number of available functional pathways for actuating the first BOP function.

In some embodiments, the system controller is configured to remove a first functional pathway from the one or more available functional pathways if one or more nodes of the first functional pathway communicates a fault to the system controller. In some embodiments, the system controller is configured to remove a second functional pathway from one or more available functional pathways associated with a second BOP function if the second functional pathway includes one or more of the one or more nodes of the first functional pathway that communicates a fault to the system controller. In some embodiments, the system controller is configured to select a second BOP function if one or more nodes of the first functional pathway associated with the first BOP function communicates a fault to the system controller.

In some embodiments, the system controller is configured to assign a risk level to the first BOP function. In some embodiments, the risk level is assigned based, at least in part, on a number of available functional pathways for actuating the first BOP function. In some embodiments, the risk level is assigned, based, at least in part, on a harm associated with a failure to actuate the first BOP function. In some embodiments, the risk level is assigned based, at least in part, on a type of fault communicated by one or more nodes of a functional pathway.

In some embodiments, the one or more available functional pathways comprises a first functional pathway and a second functional pathway, and the system controller is configured to actuate the first BOP function by communicating one or more commands to one or more nodes of the second functional pathway if one or more nodes of the first functional pathway communicates a fault to the system controller.

Some embodiments of the present methods for actuating a BOP function comprise: selecting a first functional pathway from two or more available functional pathways associated with the first BOP function, communicating one or more commands to an actuatable component of each of one or more nodes of the first functional pathway to actuate the component, where actuation of the component of each of the one or more nodes of the first functional pathway actuates the first BOP function, and receiving, from at least one of the one or more nodes of the first functional pathway, information associated with actuation of the component. Some embodiments comprise storing the received information in a memory.

Some embodiments comprise scanning a BOP control network for available functional pathways for actuating the first BOP function. Some embodiments comprise communicating to a user a number of available functional pathways for actuating the first BOP function

In some embodiments, the received information includes a useful life remaining of the component. In some embodiments, the received information indicates a fault if the useful life remaining of the component is below a threshold. In some embodiments, the received information includes an identification of abnormal actuation of the component. In some embodiments, the received information indicates a fault if an abnormal actuation of the component is identified. In some embodiments, the received information includes differences between a first data set corresponding to actuation of the component and a second data set corresponding to a simulation of actuation of the component. In some embodiments, the received information indicates a fault if differences between the first data set and the second data set exceed a threshold.

Some embodiments comprise selecting a second functional pathway from the two or more available functional pathways associated with the first BOP function if the received information indicates a fault. Some embodiments comprise removing the first functional pathway from the two or more available functional pathways if the received information indicates a fault. Some embodiments comprise removing a second functional pathway from two or more available functional pathways associated with a second BOP function if the received information indicates a fault of a node common to the first functional pathway and the second functional pathway. Some embodiments comprise selecting a second BOP function if the received information indicates a fault.

Some embodiments comprise assigning a risk level to the first BOP function. In some embodiments, the risk level is assigned based, at least in part, on a number of available functional pathways for actuating the first BOP function. In some embodiments, the risk level is assigned based, at least in part, on a harm associated with a failure to actuate the first BOP function. In some embodiments, the risk level is assigned based, at least in part, on a type of a fault indicated by the received information.

The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless this disclosure explicitly requires otherwise.

Further, a device or system (or a component of either) that is configured in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but can also be configured in other ways than those specifically described.

The terms “comprise” (and any form of comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any form of have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form of include, such as “includes” and “including”), and “contain” (and any form of contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linking verbs. As a result, an apparatus or system that “comprises,” “has,” “includes,” or “contains” one or more elements possesses those one or more elements, but is not limited to possessing only those elements. Likewise, a method that “comprises,” “has,” “includes,” or “contains” one or more steps possesses those one or more steps, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more steps.

Any embodiment of any of the apparatuses, systems, and methods can consist of or consist essentially of—rather than comprise/include/contain/have—any of the described steps, elements, and/or features. Thus, in any of the claims, the term “consisting of” or “consisting essentially of” can be substituted for any of the open-ended linking verbs recited above, in order to change the scope of a given claim from what it would otherwise be using the open-ended linking verb.

The feature or features of one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments, even though not described or illustrated, unless expressly prohibited by this disclosure or the nature of the embodiments.

Some details associated with the embodiments are described above and others are described below.

