MATERIALS

This section contains two (2) papers on materials, as follows.

''Recent Developments in Sasing Standards and Design"
By John Wais, Jr.,
Pittsburgh Steel Company, Los Angeles, Calif
(Presented a t Pacific Coast District Meeting, Los Angeles, Calif., May
1947)

"The Determination of Stresses in Oil-Well Casing in Place"

By C H. Oberg,
Standard Oil Company of California, Taft, Calif.
and
R W. Masters,
Standard Oil Company of California, Kettleman Hills, Calif.
(Presented a t Pacific Coast District Meeting, Los Angeles, Calif.,
May 1947)
 CASINGSTANDARDS
AND DESIGN
ABSTRACT
Important changes In caslng standards and design
have been proposed during the past five years, but held
111 abeyance d u r ~ n gthe war emergency. Discussions at
the 1946 fall nleetlng of the American Petroleun~Instl-
tute lndlcated an increased field denland for the revl-
s~ons,and prellmlrlary developments on several subjects
are drscussed In thls paper.
A proposal to Increase caslng thread standoff one
turn was acted on favorably, subject to letter ballot. T h ~ s
change permlts one more turn of makeup during the
assembly of the couplings by the manufacturer, as well
as In runnlrlg plpe in the field. Greater care w ~ l lbe re-
quired to develop this add~tionalmakeup so that the
plpe or coupllng will not be damaged either by thread
frrct~onor crush~ngw ~ t htongs. Flattening, comb~ned
INTRODUCTION
Dunng the p e r ~ o dfrom 1941 to the present almost
all proposals for revlslon of A P I plpe speclficatlons
have been held In abeyance due to the w a r emergency,
whlle demands for changes resulting from new field
requlrements have accumulated As a result, proposed
changes that are now In the exper~mentalstage or on
the agenda of the plpe committee undoubtedly wlll aid
In the solutlon of some of our more serlous caslng
problems
Intenswe work on thread speclficat~ons durlng the
past 10 years has resulted In b a s ~ cstandards which a r e
sufficient for normal requlrements However, in order
to r e s ~ s tloads and pressures lncldental to the drllllng
of wells to lncreaslng depths, ~t has become ev~dent
that the necessary improvements cannot be accomplished
by further changes In thread form or related spec~fica-
t ~ o n salone
The primary ob~ectives of the changes under con-
slderatlon are
1 More effectlve resistance to jolnt leakage a t h ~ g h
pressures
2 H ~ g h e jolnt
r strength
Considerable progress toward accompllsh~ngthese ob-
jectlves has already been made by laboratory develop-
ments and field tests on factors such a s lubricants,
makeup, and jolnt deslgn
These developments Involve des~gn,manufacturing,
and field a p p l ~ c a t ~ o nand
, some of them requlre add]-
tlonal ~ n f o r m a t ~ ofrom
n users to perlnlt final declslons
* P ~ t t s b o r g hSteel Co , Los Angeles, Calif
i Presented a t t h e sprlng meeting. Paclfic Coast Dlstrict Dlvi-
sion of Production, Lou Angeles, C a l l £ , hlay 16, 1 9 4 7 , preliding,
Trovers. J;, Rlchfield 011 Gorp , Los ~ n g e l e i ,Calif
.
R E Foss B a r n s d a l l 011 C o , Los Angeles Callf a n d W J
249
wlth notch~ng,may cause serlous reduction i n bursting
strength
Coupling stresses due to makeup and lnternal pres-
sure are addltrve accord~ngto analyt~calinvestigations,
and the added makeup c o n ~ b ~ n ew d ~ t hhlgh pressures
results 111 values which should not be disregarded in
d e s ~ g n ~ nfor
g ~ncreasedtensile and burst requlrements.
H~gherInternal test pressures are belng requested by
users, and more defin~tevalues for maslmum test re-
qulrements are required to pernut proper design of
H ~ g h e rstrength caslng joints, utll~zingupsettang and
varlous methods of treatlng to Increase strength, are be-
~ r developed.
~ g Jolnt-strength data for information pur-
poses were approved for publication by the main pipe
conlnllttee at the 1946 fall API meetrng.
Accordingly ~t 1s the purpose of thls paper to revlew
these proposals and developments and to dlscuss the
field requlrements that prompted then1 a s well a s field
problems relatlng to them full u t ~ l l z a t ~ o n
Thread Makeup
Thread makeup has long been recognized a s one of
the obv~ous factors affecting leakage However, ~ t s
~mportancebecame more evldent when hydrostat~ctest-
Ing of threaded jolnts a t internal pressures In excess of
5,000 psi was undertaken
The former pract~ceof uslng a nommal 2- or 25-turn
makeup from handtlght, depending on the slze, has
resulted in sat~sfactoryres~stanceto leakage a t routlne
internal hydrostatic-test pressures of 3,000 psi maxl-
mu111 However, supplementary t e s t ~ n gto pressures of
5,000 p s ~to 7,000 p s ~showed leakers on the order of
25 per cent, a s reported by Kettenburg and Schm~ederla
I t was found repeatedly by various esperlmenters that
greater makeup almost lnvar~ablyreduced thls leakage
or stopped ~t entlrely I t has been noted repeatedly
that joint effic~ency reaches a n opt~mum value a t
sllghtly more than three turns makeup, and rarely
shows any decrease due to excesswe makeup untll
considerably past three turns Thomas and Bartok'
showed deta~ledresults of numerous tests of the effect
of makeup on both leak res~stanceand j o ~ n teffic~ency,
and thew results have been checked very closely by
several observers
In recognltlon of these results the A P I plpe com-
mittee Increased the handtlght standoff by one turn a
The effect of t h ~ sactlon 1s to allow for one n o r e turn
P ~ g i i r e sr e f r r t o R E F E R E N C E S on p 252
 of makeup, and ~tIS u p to the manufacturer when h e
assenlbles couplings and u p t o t h e caslng crew when
~t runs pipe to make u p t h e joint the add~tionalt u r n
To accomplish t h ~ sw ~ l lrequlre considerably higher
torque and much greater precaut~onto a v o ~ ddamage
to the pipe o r coupllng
The problems ~ n c ~ d e to n t greater makeup relate prl-
marlly to prevention of damage to threads and crush-
Ing of pipe Greater care must be exercised 111 cleaning
- - threads- in p d e r to e l i m ~ n a t eall d ~ r and
t forelgn ma-
terial t h a t n l ~ g h tIncrease frictlon and the consequent
tendency to gall
Thread dope must have adequate lubricating proper-
ties to eliminate excessive f r i c t ~ o nunder the high sur-
face pressures Incident to t h e added makeup The de-
s ~ r a b l ep r o p e r t ~ e sof thread lubricants have been dis-
cussed a t length i n other papers, but it w ~ l lbear re-
peating t h a t such lubricants must contain a sealing
agent capable of closing the root and crest clearances
a s well a s the permissible ~mperfectlonsof the threads.'
Also it must offer protect~onf o r the threads against
corrosion before and a f t e r the plpe is r u n into the well
Tongs must have gripping surfaces of proper size
and shape to prevent flattening or notchlng the plpe
It h a s been recogmzed generally t h a t a n y damage t o
the surface of pipe IS detrimental, but ~ t real s signifi-
cance became e v ~ d e n tIn laboratory tests proinpted by
field-servlce burst fallures located about 1 f t t o 2 f t
above collars, where tonglng normally takes place
Effect of Notching and Flattenltlg
Internal hydrostatic-pressure tests were made on
grade N-80 casing wlth various c o m b ~ n a t ~ o nofs flatten-
ing and longltudlnal notching The theoretical effect
of ~ n t e r n a lpressure on a flattened tube IS to tend t o
round ~t out, causing a n exaggerated tensile stress at
the outside surface of the flattened area due t o b e n d ~ n g
This effect is further magnified by concentration a t t h e
root of a n y notch In t h e flattened area
Test specimens were prepared In a compression test-
ing machine to p e r l n ~ t accurate dimensional control
Notching w a s performed with a slngle d ~ 6e in In length
and ground to a sharp 60-deg edge The fully flattened
a r e a was approximately 6 In in length in all cases
It was found t h a t t h e crltical combination IS t h a t
of-a-longitudinal-notch located at. or near the center of
the flattened a r e a Notches alone u p to depths of 124
per cent of the wall thlckness o r flattemng alone u p to
3 per cent of the outslde dlameter had no perceptible
effect on b u r s t ~ n gstrength Notches alone, with depths
of 129 to 16 per cent of the wall thickness, had very
little effect on burstlng pressures, but failures dld b e g ~ n
to local~zea t the notches
The critical combiilation of notching a t the a s i s of
the flattened area reduced b u r s t ~ n gpressures as much
a s 70 per cent wlth notch depths of 15 to 17 per cent
of t h e wall thickness and ovality of 3 to 4 per cent
It is recognized t h a t these defornlations a r e in escess of
A P I allowablesP but thew p r a c t ~ c a lseriousness becomes
more apparent when it IS realized t h a t 17 per cent of
the wall thlckness w a s only 0 054 in and t h a t 4 p e r
cent of t h e outside diameter amounted to only 0 280 In.
Specimens wlth lower yield strengths resulted In some-
w h a t less sensitivity tq the same degree of notchlng
and ovality, but in all cases the reduction was serious
enough to be alarming and to justify precaut~onary
measures to avold comblned flat spots and notches i n
service
High-Pressure Testing
Other important proposals before t h e A P I pipe com-
mlttee a r e those pertalning to hydrostatic-pressure test-
ing Production from deeper zones h a s led t o a demand
f o r Internal hydrostatlc testlng to increasingly h ~ g h e r
pressures
A t t h e Chlcago m e e t ~ n g November
, 1946; t h e commit-
tee discussed the matter of routlne and supplementary
nnll testing of casing and tublng, and it differentiated
between these 2 types of t e s t ~ n g designating
, them "mill
production test" and "spec~almill test," respectively A
routine mill production test to produce a fiber stress
equal to 80 per cent of the specified minimum yleld
strenth was proposed by the Engineers Subcommittee.
The Pipe Manufacturers Subcommn~tteerecognized the
desirabil~tyof such a test, but called attention t o t h e
llinitat~ollsof eslsting production 11ne-testing equlpinent
whlch do not permit all of the lnills t o do routlne mill
testing a t pressures greater t h a n 3,000 psi
With reference to the time t h a t test pressures a r e t o
be held, it is agreed t h a t hydrostatlc testlng f o r only
5 sec, a s now specified by A P I Std 5-A, serves as a
test of the q u a l ~ t yof the material, but not a s a n ade-
quate test of the jolnt tightnessC It was suggested t h a t
provision be made for tests to periods longer t h a n 5 sec
in connection with the speclal in111 tests However, spe-
clfic actlon was not taken, ~nasinucha s adequate d a t a t o
deterinme the exact tline of such extended tests were
not available
Both proposals mvolve r a d ~ c a lrevlsions o r renewal of
expensive t e s t ~ n gecluipn~ent F u r t h e r lnforn~ationIS
required from users regardlng masiinum test pressures
requlred and regardlng tlme t h a t test pressures a r e to
be held It is lmportant t h a t accurate and reasonable
values be determined so t h a t t h e proper economic bal-
ance between field requirements, a s well a s the burden
these revlsions \vill Impose on t h e plpe manufacturers,
will be obtalned
A specla1 subcommittee on hydrostatlc mill tests h a s
been appointed to collect and correlate information to
aid in establishing celling pressures f o r both nlill pro-
duct1011tests and speclal lnlll tests, a s well a s the length
of the t e s t ~ n gpenod
C o ~ ~ p l ~Stresses
ng
The behavior of couplings under various types of
loading has prompted analytical investlgat~onof stresses
under h ~ g hinternal pressures A t the outset it is recog-
nized t h a t the result of any analysls depends on assuinp-
tlons of conditions for which ~t IS made I n thls par-
 LDS AND DESIGN 251

t ~ c u l a rcase there 1s a choice of varying colnbinatlons Flg 1 shows t h e calculated stresses f o r 7-111 x 29-lb
of lnternal pressure and longitudinal loadlng, and ~t casing with standard A P I 7 656-111 -OD couplings wlth
1s posslble t h a t to a certaln degree longitudinal loads 2- and 3-turn makeup. Even if a half-turn 1s allowed
have the effect of reduclng hoop tenslon due to internal from handtlght to complete metal-to-metal contact, ~t
pressure Also there 1s the effect of a tendency on t h e can be seen t h a t with 3-turn makeup and 6,000 psl ~ n -
p a r t of the thread flank angle t o expand the coup- ternal pressure, the hoop-stress component alone 1s very
11ng I n vlew of t h e conlplex nature of these secondary near the mlnlnlum yleld strength of grade N-80 coup-
effects which tend to offset one another, a n approximate lings, when t h e complex effect of accompanying longi-
analysis 1s presented based on hoop stress alone tudlnal loads 1s disregarded
The effect of making u p a joint 1s to expand t h e F l g 2 shows t h e theoretlcal comparison of 7 656-111 -
coupling and compress the pipe, which is ecluivalent to OD and 8 000-ln -OD couplings on 7-111 x 29-lb caslng
prestressing t h e coupling In tensloll and t h e plpe In with 3-turn makeuv It 1s ~ndlcatedt h a t the 8.000-in -
compression. Then the effect of added ~ n t e r n a pressure
l OD coupling would have considerably lower stresses,
1s to superimpose a n expansion on both, with t h e result and would be comparable to the 7 656-111 -OD with only
t h a t the hoop stresses in the coupling due to makeup 2-turn makeup
and lnternal pressures a r e a d h t i v e The effect of these h ~ g hhoop stresses has been noted
This condition 1s shown graphically III F l g 1 and 2, in hydrostatic testing to hlgh ~ i l t e r n a pressures
l Coup-
which a r e based on straln proportional to makeup, ~f lings occasionally have been found loose a f t e r testmg,
one s t a r t s froin the handtlght posltlon Actually a frac- indlcatlng t h a t some p a r t of the threaded joint had ex-
tion of a t u r n of power makeup 1s usually required t o ceeded t h e elastic limit This was especially t r u e of
eliminate minor varlatlons and brlng the threads t o grade N-80 caslng equlpped with grade J-55 couplings
metal-to-metal contact, where unlform Increase of It should be recognized t h a t coupling-stress relatlon-
strain beg.lns F o r s ~ m p h c l t ythese calculations have ships such a s indicated In F l g 1 and 2 a r e more favor-
been based on couphng and pipe dimensions a t the hand- able on llghter welghts of caslng They a r e least favor-
tlght plane The coupllng stresses a r e lower ~f calcu- able on 5:-ln and 7-111 caslng due to the fact t h a t
lated nearer the end of the pipe, and hlgher ~f taken coupling thicknesses f o r these 2 sizes a r e p r ~ p o ~ t ~ o n a l l y
nearer t h e end of the couphag The theoretlcal strain less t h a n f o r the adjacent slzes
and the resulting stress due to makeup a r e proportioned F l g 1 and 2 also show t h a t under hlgh lnternal
between the plpe and coupllng by t h e formula f o r total pressures the total expansion on the dlameter ( F i g 1)
strain (see A p p e n d ~ x"A").
The hoop stress due to lnternal pressure is calculated
by Barlow's formula (see A p p e n d ~ x"A") It should be
noted t h a t the effectlve thlckness In this application of
the forlnula conslsts of the colnbinecl thlckness of plpe
and coupllng Thls 1s t r u e a s long a s the two espand
together, but tests wlth straln gages indicate that, a f t e r
hoop compression stress In the pipe h a s been relaxed, the
coupling stress Increases a t a hlgher r a t e The ~ndlca-
tlons a r e that the pipe does not contlnue to act with the
coupling beyond the point of zero stress ~n the pipe In-
stead the pipe remains relaxed a n d fluid begins to enter
between the plpe and coupling, resulting 111 all of the
hoop load b e ~ n gapplied to the couphng a t further in-
creased pressures Such a condition 1s illustrated by the
dotted llne in F i g 1, and can he compaied w ~ t hthe pipe
and coupling actlng together a s represented by the
dashed Ilne
Thls may represent the mechanics by which a
threaded jolnt resists leakage As long a s the pipe
member IS under hoop compression and the thread
elements a r e properly matched, t h e joint can mechan-
lcally resist leakage I t 1s immediately evldent t h a t the
higher the makeup stress o r the heavler t h e coupling,
t h e higher the pressure that will be requlred t o esceed
these conditions of joint tightness
F o r external pressures the initial stresses a r e t h e
same a s f o r internal pressures However, as the pres-
sure 1s applied, the tenslon in t h e coupllng decreases a n d
INTERNAL PRESSURE-1000 PSI
the coinpressloll in the plpe increases Comparable ad&-
Average Hoop Stress at Handtight Plane-7-In. r 29-Lb
tive stress values ~n collapse a r e generally not crltlcal
This IS due to t h e fact that the stress a t c o l l a ~ s efallure Cas~ngwith 3 Turn Makeup.
is below t h e yield strength I FIG. 1
amounts to a s much a s 0 020 In It IS hardly conceivable
that thls much deformatlon could be developed without
distorting the threads and addlng to the tendency to
leak In future test work ~t appears advisable to In-
vestlgate posslble beneficlal effects of reduclng total
deformatlon
I t 1s not the purpose of t h ~ spaper to recommend a
change In coupllng dimensions, but the h ~ g hstresses
and stralns lncldent to high-pressure appllcatlons indl-
cate that In some Instances it may be deslrable to In-
crease coupllng thickness
H~gh-StrengthCaslng Jolnts
The deslgn of hlgh-strength jolnts has been recelv-
lng considerable attentloll from both users and manu-
facturers Early developments were centered around
the use of Internal upsett~ngto compensate for the
Average Hoop Stress at Handt~ghtPlane-?-In. x 29-Lb
Cas~ngw ~ t h3-Turn Makeup.
FIG. 2
metal removed by threading Later developments have
lncluded heat treating, cold working, and comblnatlons
of upsetting wlth the latter two Conforming to these
developments, the API reference to thls class of product
was changed from "upset joint" to "API hlgh-strength
jolnt" a t the 1946 fall meetlng
A t the beginning the objective of t h ~ sprogram was
to develop a jolnt a s strong a s the body of the pipe,
but subsequent field use has Indicated that, particularly
In the larger slzes, somewhat lower jolnt strength is
sufficient and more practical from the standpoints of
clearances and ease of manufacture.
A tabulation of jomt-strength data suitable for pub-
llcatlon for lnfornlatlonal purposes has been developed
and approved by the API pipe committee Thls llst will
serve a s a worklng basls to ald In development of a
final speclficatlon and, therefore, it IS important that
every prospective user exalnlne ~t crltlcally a s soon a s
it is published.
For the present t h ~ sprogram has been llmited to
4 sizes, viz 58-ln , 7-~n , 88-ln , and 91-111 These are
listed in grades J-55 and N-80 with both short and long
threads and In both upset and non-upset threaded types
Coupling dinlenslons remain the same, but physlcal
propertles have not been specified-thereby permlttlng
the use of any coupling physlcal propertles whlch prove
to be necessary to develop the desired joint strength
Plpe ends nlay be cold-worked, heat-treated, or other-
wise processed to lncrease the physlcal properties of the
steel a t the jolnt, thus allowlng a s much leeway a s pos-
slble for further development The upset dlmens~onsf o r
each slze caslng have been set tentatively to permlt
passage of the drlft specified for the correspond~ng
slze and welght of non-upset caslng 111 order to minlmze
restr~ctlona t the jolnt
REFERENCES
'Robert J Iiet;enburg nnll Frclnont R Sclln~lr(ler. "011-Well
Caslnp F n ~ l u r e s , IJrlllll!g n ~ l d Prodttctzo~l Practice, 185-98
(1945) , see nlso report of AE'I ] I I ~ cJ o~m m ~ t t e e . E \ h i b ~ t "8."
P r o c B P I 25 [IV] (Proclnctro~zB ~ t l l No 231) 215-21 (1945)
? P D T h o m a s a n d A A Bartok. "Le.~k ICes~staucrof Cnsmp
J o l u t s i n Tension," D I P ~ ~ ILII II I~~P r o d t t c t t o ~Practlcc,
~ 2-13-TJ
(1941)
3 R e p o r t of t h e . C o l n m ~ t t r ~on t h e Stnndnrdlzntlon of 011-
Country Tobulor Goodb, P r o c A P I 26 CIVI (Prodrtctto~bBltll
rVo 3 2 ) lteln 1-0, 210-20 (19-16)
'Report of t h e C o n l n ~ ~ t t eon e t h e Stnndar(11zat1on of 011-
Country Tuhulnr Goods P r o c d P I 26 [IV] (Prodt(ctlot&Bttll
No 232) ltetu 1-n, 200.10 ( 1 9 4 6 )
5 A P I S t d 5 - 9 "API S p e c r f i c a t t o ~f o~ r CIISIIIUDr111 Pipe. attd
T I I ~ I , ~1~4 t. h' ~e d n , API I j l r ~ s l o n of ~ r o d u c t l u h ,Dallas, T e x a s
( d u g 19-15)
B K e ~ ) o r tof t h e C o m m ~ t t r r o n t h e Stnnd:lrdlznt~on of Oil-
Country Tubulnr Goo(1s. P ~ o cA P I 26 [IVI (Prodrtctlo~rBzrll
No 239) itculs 1-3 a n d 1-k. 215-8 (19-16)
 CASINGSTANDARDS
AND DESIGN 253

APPENDIX "A"
DERIVATION OF AVERAGE HOOP STRESSES IN PIPE AND COUPLINGS
(Disregarding Effect of Longitudinal Loads)

A = area of unit length band

A, = area of unit length band of coupllng
A, = a i e a of unit length band of plpe
dc = tangentlal strain on coupling
d, = tangential strain on plpe
d~~~= suill of tangential stralns on pipe and coupling
Dc = outside diameter of coupling
D, = outside diameter of pipe
E = modulus of elasticity
1 = circumference on center line of wall thickness.
1, = circumference of coupllng on center line of wall
thlckness
1, = circuinference of pipe on center line of pipe
thickness
p = Internal pressure, psl
P = tangential load (hoop load)
P. = tangential load on couphng
P, = tangential load on plpe
S c = tangential (hoop) stress in coupling
S, = tangentlal (hoop) stress i n plpe
t, = wall thlckness of coupling
t, = wall thlckness of plpe
Stresses due to makeup a r e based on t h e formula f o r
total straln
and the assumption t h a t inakeup causes constant def-
ormation of the pipe and coupling, such t h a t
d,+d, = dT,t = (taper per t u r n ) (turns makeup)
P Mr Wais As indicated f o r the high-strength joint
S, = 2 (tension)
A,
P expect beneficial results from their use In the apph-
S - 2 (compress~on)
- A,
Assui~llng linear stless d~stiibution across the wall
thickness, aveiage stiess is c o r ~ e c tw l t h ~ n5 per cent,
where the of the section is of the order of 20 or
t
hlgher
Stresses due to ~ n t e r n a lpressuie a r e based on Bar-
low's formula
( N o t e Thls approxlmatlon makes allowance f o r
the smaller dlameter of the pipe a s compared t o t h e
coupling )
DISCUSSION
R J Kettenburg (Shell 011 Company, Inc , Ventura,
Calif ) (written) Mr Wais should be complimented
f o r his work on thls subject I t is e d ~ f y i n gto have a
paper w n t t e n ' b y a n englneer from the manufacturing
group, a s we must look to thein for most of our develop-
ment in caslng deslgn
Fleld and mill testlng and experience would seen1
to indlcate t h a t leak and bursting resistance h a s Im-
proved durlng the past two years Field tests made 28
years ago indicated t h a t about 7 per cent of the mlll-
end coupllngs of 7-111 grade N-80 leaked when a hydro-
static pressure of 5,000 ps1 was held f o r 1 inin Recent
tests made a t one mill, simllar to the field tests, showed
1 per cent leaked Also to my knowledge there have
been less bursting failures It 1s beheved t h a t more
extensive hlgh-pressure testlng and greater hhread
makeup have been the major factors 111 this apparent
lnlprovement
Mr Wals' analysls indicates t h a t the hoop stresses,
In the standard 7-111 grade N-80 coupling w ~ t h3 t u r n
makeup, approach the yield strength with 6,000-PSI-
mternal hydrostatic pressure, and has suggested t h a t
r consideration mlght be glven to lncreaslng the outside
d ~ a m e t e ror wall thlckness As i t 1s not alwavs desirable
to increase the diameter, and a s the pipe tables indicate
a pressure in excess of 9,000 psi a t inlnnnum yield
strength for thls plpe, ~t would be desiiable to obtain
the add~tlonalstrength by some other means
I should llke to ask Mr Wais one quest~on Have
the manufacturers tested heat-treated coupllngs made
froin varlous alloys having higher yleld strengths, e g ,
100,000 psl, 110,000 psi, or 120,000 psl, and, ~f so, what
were the results?
designs, the way has been left open f o r the use of
h ~ g h e r strength couphng steels, and it is logical to
cation t h a t Mr Kettenburg suggests However, I do
not believe t h a t this appllca~ion has been tested ex-
haustively '
H B Davls (Standard Oil Company of California,
San Francisco, Calif ) (written) Mr IVais has brought
out a very important polnt In his paper the h ~ g h
stress t h a t may occur in casing couplings a s a result
* N o t e T h e A P I pmpe commmttee hns unrler cons1der:ltmon the
d e v e l o l ~ n ~ e noft s t ~ p u l n t ~ ~on
~ ncnslng
s wmtli 105 000 11sl mmnmrnum
jleld strength ( A P I annunl meeting, Chmcugo, 111, N o v 1947)
of makeup and lnternal pressure His con~putations
lndlcate that ~t 1s llkely that stresses approaching the
yleld polnt of the materlal can occur In caslng coupllngs
wlth three turns makeup and hlgh lnternal pressure
The assumptions he has made and hls method of calcu-
latlon seem reasonable, therefore, h ~ conclusion
s raises
the questlon of the a b ~ l l t yof API couphngs to make a
tlght jolnt a t hlgh lnternal pressure
HIS paper polnts out the need for further study and
tests to determine what IS requlred of API coupllngs
and how to meet these requlrelnents
H M Cooley (Bethlehem Steel Company, Tulsa,
Okla ) (written) I t was not easy to find some contro-
verslal materlal or even a polnt or two to w h ~ c hsome
ampllficatlon mlght be desirable In the author's fine
paper Timely 1s hls warnlng, under the subject "thread
makeup," that the hlgher torque resulting from the
recent Increase In handtlght standoff of caslng jolnts
calls for greater cautlon to avold damage to plpe by
crushlng, and to threads by galling during the tonglng
operation Additional comments on thls point, wlth an
explanation of ~ t Importance
s In field operations, seem
to be indicated, because a number of operators do not
take sufficient precaut~onsto prevent crushlng and gall-
Ing under the former standards Some of them dere-
lictions are
1 Failure thoroughly to clean, Inspect for damaged
condition, and relubricate all threads lmlnedlately
before runnlng Some clean the couplings only,
some relubrlcate the couphngs only, even after
cleanlng both plpe and coupllng threads, some do
not clean and replace protectors for the operat~on
of pulllng caslng lengths Into the derrlck
2 Fallure to have a responsible representatlve, dlstrlct
or field englneer or equivalent, present during the
running of all casing strlngs The absence of
such a representatlve explains a condition fre-
quently observed, vlz , poor practlce on the d e r r ~ c k
floor, In spite of carefully developed approved
company rules
Both of these polnts now take on added slgnlficance with
the Increase In standoff, a s well a s does another p o ~ n t
mentloned by the author his suggestloll that ~t is up
to the caslng crew, when runnlng pipe, to translate ad-
dltlonal standoff Into additional jolnt makeup The
field englneer wlll surely justify his presence ~n super-
v ~ s i n gjoint makeup, whlch is one of the most contro-
versial matters In field practlce Too often the man on
the cathead decldes the question on the basls of number
of turns of the plpe or jerks of the rope, together wlth
the appearance of the joint with respect to standoff,
and on the basls of the "feel of the rope" durlng the
tonglng operat~oa These ~ntangibles,together wlth pre-
llmlnary thread-preparation considerations, are of so
much 1mportance, and so dependent on the presence of
a responsible supervisor for regular proper performance
that, In my oplnlon, no evaluation of the effect of the
Increased thread makeup should be attempted wlthout
glvlng each string full conslderatlon from the stand-
point of adequate, Informed supervision, durlng field
makeup
Research work reported by the author under the
headlng "effect of notchng and flattenlng" IS a tlmely
emphasls on the ~mportance of taklng effectlve pre-
cautions agalnst Injury to casing, especially in the
hlgh-strength grades Even though the plpe manufac-
turer ~ 1 1 1use all the means a t hls disposal, such a s
steel composition, mechanical treatment, or thelmal
treatment to keep notch sensltlvlty to a mlnlmum, such
Injury, nevertheless, constitutes a definite and ever-
present danger of varylng degree, and adequate pre-
cautions must be observed
Under the subject "coupling stresses," strain-gage
tests are used to provlde a slgnlficant esplanat~onof
joint leakage I t 1s difficult to see why, so long a s all
stresses are well with111 the yleld strength, the sun1 of
the opposlng hoop stresses or the d~fferenceof the favor-
Ing hoop stresses a t any polnt should not measure the
reslstance to leakage As the lnternal pressure In-
creases, and a s the compresslon hoop stress In the plpe
approaches, then reaches, and finally passes, the poinr;
where the average stress 1s zero, ~t 1s obvlous that the
thread surfaces contlnue to be In contact under great
compressive stress actlng r a d ~ a l l y Internal pressure
has now replaced hoop stress In supplying the force
I t IS hard to see how elther the plpe- or the coupllng-
thread surfaces would have the perception to recognize
anythlng other than the result of the varlous forces
which tend to press them together and exclude fluid
penetration I n other words, how does the pipe know
that ~t 1s relaxed, when the relaxation could probably
e x ~ s tonly In a cylindrical plane of zero stress some-
where near the center of the pipe-wall section, with the
rema~nderof the section under complex hoop stresses
and definite radlal compresslon stresses?
To bring further llght on the question of whether the
lnternal hoop stresses In the pipe and the lnagnltude
and direction of the stresses nught affect jolnt tight-
ness, conslder the Fawlck air clutch Attached to both
the drlver and drlven shafts are friction rlngs, and
between them 1s a frlctlon tube, or lubber doughnut,
Into which alr pressure a t about 100 psi 1s ~ntroduced
to b r ~ n gabout, through pressure, suffic~entfrlction to
transmlt motlon against reslstance Under normal con-
ditions both the lnner and outer frlction rings are In a
position of zero-average hoop stress. It IS a sllnple
matter to vlsuallze the p o s s ~ b ~ l ~oft y creatlng com-
presslon hoop stresses In the outer frlctlon ring and
tenslon hoop stresses In the lnner ring by the slmple
expedient of shrinking, a s locomotive t ~ r e sare shrunk,
but it IS not a slmple matter to visualize that such
stresses would make any difference a t all In the opera-
tion of the clutch I t seems evident that, regardless
of whether the frlct~onrlngs are In a condit~on of
tension hoop stress or compression hoop stress, or zero
(relaxed) stress, the rubber frlctlon tube wlll operate
in an ldentlcal manner, and that it wlll effectively per-
form ~ t functlon
s Similarly, wlth caslng and coupling
threads the pressure between the threads of the two

members should effectively exclude fluld penetration,
provided, of course, t h e magnitude of the pressure IS
sufficient, regardless of the internal hoop-stress condl-
tion of t h e members I n other words, ~t 1s not Im-
portant how the pressure is obtained, but rather how
lnuch Other asseinblles which, to all practical con-
siderations, should exhlbit tendencies toward service
failures ~f the author's relaxed stress idea 1s correct,
a r e shrunk drill-pipe tool jolnts, whlch a r e subject t o
both ~ n t e r n a lpressure and centrlfugal force, and loco-
motlve tlres whlch a r e subject to centrifugal force. It
will be of mterest to see whether additional data confirin
the author's conclusions on relaxed stress Additional
data, ~f they a r e not already being accumulated, will
certainly appear in volume i n t h e near'future, and the
p a r t played by the author's paper In stimulating t h e
test programs leading t o these d a t a wlll undoubtedly
be found to have been of considerable importance
H N Marsh (General Petroleunl Corporation, Los
Angeles, Cahf ) (written) M r Wais h a s presented a
valuable review of some current thought on casing
engineering I wish particularly to alnpllfy his Sect I V
on "Hlgh-Pressure Testing "
Numerous casing fallures have called attention to t h e
illogical practice of speclfylng test pressures, whlch
a r e only a small fractlon of posslble working pressures
Present A P I standards provlde f o r testing t o 60 o r
80 per cent of the lnlnimunl yield of the lnaterlal with
a celllng of 3,000 psl This celling may inake the actual
test a s llttle a s 30 per cent of t h e yield, whereas, actual
working pressures may be much greater than t h e test
pressure By way of contrast the API-ASME pressure
vessel code requires t h a t pressure vessels be tested to
1 8 tunes their maximum worlcing pressure, and manu-
facturers of specla1 equipment such a s casingheads and
christlnas trees colnmonly test to twlce t h e worlung
pressure
Hydrostat~c-pressuretesting nbt only gives assurance
of ablllty of pipe to withstand bursting, but gives con-
siderable assurance of the overall excellence of t h e
product and, therefore, is solne assurance against tea-
slon and collapse failures Although good engineering
practice does not permit the application of any tensile
stress to ceinent, the most generally used, and commonly
accepted, quality test of cement 1s the tensile test
Recogillzing the inadequacy of hydrostatic testing
a s now specified by the Institute, a special subcoinmlttee
on hydrostatic mill testing has been appointed to recom-
mend new and higher test pressures I a m sure t h a t
the chairman of t h e committee, P A Mills, will wel-
come comments from all ~nterestedparties
I t is the thought of many users t h a t every joint of
caslng should be tested a t the mil? to a t least 80 per
cent of its yield, based on nomlnal wall thickness
This would give direct assurance of resistance to burst-
~ n g ,and ~ n d ~ r e cassurance
t of resistance to tension
and collapse.
LRDSAND DESIGN P 255
Mr. Wais Wlth reference to M r Davls' comments
I should llke to emphasize t h a t the critlcal stresses
which a r e Indicated by these analyses a r e produced a t
the extreme pressures which a r e only encountered 111 a
few areas a t the present tlme. However, the analyses
were prompted by the difficulties which have been
experienced under these high-pressure conditions, and
In anticipation of formation and test pressures rang-
ing from 5,000 ps1 to 10,000 psi The prllne objective
of thls p a r t of the paper is to urge the proper analysls
of the factors presented, a s the more severe conditions
a r e encountered
With reference to Mr Cooley's question concerning
the action of the pipe a s hoop stresses approach zero,
~t should be noted that, colncidelit with this condltlon,
a number of related factors approach crltlcal values
Coupllng stpesses approach yield strength, deforina-
t ~ o n s reach high values, and the Internal pressure
approaches the surface-contact pressure between plpe
and coupling
Coincident with thls complex situation, there IS a
tendency of the jolnt to leak Inasmuch a s the stress
In the coupling has passed the proportional hmlt
while the stress In the plpe h a s not, a given strain
increment no longer produces a s great a stress In-
crement In the coupllng a s In the plpe As a result
the contact pressure increases a t a much lower rate,
and may permit the longitudinal loads to s t a r t separa-
tion of the thread surfaces
Referring to the 7-ln 29-lb caslng jolnt ( F l g 3)
wlth a 2-turn makeup, a t ~ n t e r n a lpressures of 1,000
psl to 3,000 psi, t h e surface-contact pressure IS several
tlines a s g r e a t a s the ~ n t e r n a l-pressure. -This -ratio
SURF PRESS
I INTERNAL PRESSURE
Effect of Internal Pressure on Surface Pressure between
Plpe and Coupl~ngon 7-~n.,29-lb Cas~ng.
I FIG. 3
progressively decreases, untll a t approximately 7,000
PSI, the ~ n t e r n a lpressure equals the contact pressure
Greater makeup and heav~er couplings ~ncreasethls
ratlo, especially In the reglon of high Internal pressures
Although adequate contact pressure, a s represented
by the Fawlck clutch and locomotive-tlre analogy, may
appear to be another crlterlon for a tlght joint, ~t
appears more Important not to overlook the effect of
the ratlo between surface-contact pressure and Internal
pressure, or the thicknesses of plpe and coupllng neces-
sary to malntaln proper ratlos
Adequate data to establish crlt~calvalues for such
pressures or ratlos, or to prove or dlsprove the theorles
suggested, are not available a t present As further
hlgh-pressure tests are carrled out, ~t1s the hope of the
author that the data wlll throw further llght on the
Ideas presented hereln or that new solut~onsof thls
phase of the problem wlll present themselves