Heat treatment of inlaid pressure vessels

Abstract

A process to manufacture an oilfield component comprises selectively reinforcing a base material with an age-hardenable clad material and selectively heating at least a portion of the clad material such that it age-hardens and the base material remains at less than the tempering temperature of the base material. A body of a ram blowout preventer comprises, a low-ally base material, a vertical bore through the body and a horizontal bore through the body intersecting the vertical bore, wherein the body is heat treated by a process comprising selectively heating at least a portion of the clad material such that the clad material age-hardens and the base material remains at less than the tempering temperature of the base material.

1 . A process to manufacture an oilfield component, the process comprising:
 selectively reinforcing a base material with an age-hardenable clad material; and   selectively heating at least a portion of the clad material such that it age-hardens and the base material remains at less than the tempering temperature of the base material.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the base material comprises a fully tempered forging. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the base material comprises a snap-tempered forging. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 3 , further comprising finish tempering the oilfield component at a selected time and at a selected temperature to temper the base material and age harden the clad material. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising active cooling at least a portion of the base material. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 5 , wherein the active cooling comprises contacting a heat exchange medium with at least a portion of a surface of the base material. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 6 , wherein the heat exchange medium comprises at least one of air and water. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the base material remains at least 50° F. below the tempering temperature of the base material. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the base material remains at least 75° F. below the tempering temperature of the base material. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the selectively heating comprises heating the clad material using ceramic electric heating blankets. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of a surface of the base material is maintained at a temperature of 100° F. or less during the selectively heating. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the clad material comprises a thickness of at least 0.5 inches. 
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the base material comprises at least one of 4130 low-alloy steel, Grade F22 low-alloy steel, and Grade 8630 Modified low-alloy steel. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the clad material comprises at least one of INCONEL 725, Alloy 718, Alloy 625, and 17-4PH stainless steel. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the base material remains at or below 1180° F. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the clad material is selectively heated to a temperature between about 1250° F. and about 1400° F. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the selective heating results in the clad material having a yield strength of at least 115 ksi and the base material having a maximum Brinell hardness of 237. 
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the oilfield component comprises at least one of a blowout preventer body, a stress joint, a valve body, a wellhead, a choke valve, and a sucker rod. 
     
     
         19 . A ram blowout preventer manufactured using the process of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         20 . A body of a ram blowout preventer, comprising:
 a low-alloy base material;   a vertical bore through the body;   a horizontal bore through the body intersecting the vertical bore;   wherein at least a portion of the body is selectively reinforced with a clad material; and   wherein the base material is heat treated by a process comprising selectively heating at least a portion of the clad material such that the clad material age-hardens and the base material remains at less than the tempering temperature of the base material.   
     
     
         21 . The body of the ram blowout preventer of  claim 20 , wherein the body comprises a flange neck selectively reinforced with the clad material. 
     
     
         22 . The body of the ram blowout preventer of  claim 20 , wherein the body is selectively reinforced based upon a result of a finite element analysis.