A rotary pipe is a crucial tool in oil well drilling, connecting the standpipe and swivel, allowing for raising and lowering of the kelly and drill bit, and pumping drilling fluid. It is made of flexible, strong rubberized polymer and typically ranges from 3 to 5 inches in diameter. Two standpipes are often used to reduce downtime.
A rotary pipe is used in oil well drilling. It acts as the crucial tool in the connection that is made between the standpipe and the swivel. A rotating tube is also used as a means of allowing the kelly to be raised or lowered during the drilling process, while also allowing the drill bit to be raised with the drill string. For this reason, it is also often referred to as the “kelly tube”.
The rotating pipes also operate during the process which allows drilling fluid to be pumped through the pipe as the bit and drill string are raised and lowered. This process is indispensable in completing the drilling process. The drilling portion of the drill line and the connection to the rotary pipe are therefore crucial.
The typical diameter of a rotary pipe ranges from 3 to 5 inches (7.62 to 12.7 cm) inside the pipe. Its size helps keep the drilling fluid moving through the flexible hole while the drill is doing its job. These high-pressure hoses are connected to the standpipe, which is the stiff, stiffened metal tube used as the head of the drill unit.
The sandpipe is also an essential tool in the process of digging into the ground and removing large amounts of mud with the drill bit. This pushes the drilled mud through the standpipe and into the rotary tube. As a result of the intense work that the standpipe has to do, most derricks or three-part drilling rigs use two standpipes at once. This way, if one malfunctions, the other can be replaced immediately with it to significantly reduce downtime.
Because the rotary tubes connect the standpipe to the swivel, which is a moving part inside the tower, the material used to manufacture the rotary tubes must be flexible, yet strong enough to withstand high amounts of fluid pressure. As a result, the rotary tube is usually made of a strong rubberized polymer strong enough to hold the drilling fluid being pumped at high speeds while still allowing for the necessary slack in the system. Having some elasticity is important so that pressurized fluids do not create instability within the system. The rotating tube moves together with the swivel at one end, while the end connected to the standpipe remains stationary so that the drilling fluid can be properly circulated throughout the tower.
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