Sealing Capacity of API Connections—

Theoretical and Experimental Results

Catalin Teodoriu, Texas A&M, and Marius Badicioiu, UPG Ploiesti

Summary Thread Compounds for Oil-Country-Tubular

Hydraulic fracturing has become a state-of-the-art stimulation Goods (OCTG)
technique. It has been proved over the years that significant pro- Typical thread compounds for OCTG are formed using base
duction increase can be obtained by applying the right fracturing grease in which solid particles are dispersed. The grease is stan-
technique. Now, the most advanced techniques of geothermal- dard lubricating grease made of mineral oil, having a metal soap
energy-recovery systems widely use hydraulic fracturing. as thickener (i.e., aluminum stearate). In a very low amount,
The following paper presents the experimental results of the additives are added to the compound to improve the following
tests carried out on four different compounds using the improved properties: high-pressure resistance, wear protection, and corro-
“grooved-plate” method. The tests have shown a large variation of sion protection.
the tested-thread-compounds sealing capacity. Starting from the The role of solid particles is to provide antigalling resistance
experimental results and the theoretical analysis of the American and sealing properties of the compound. Powdered metals and
Petroleum Institute (API) connection, a useful chart was built to nonmetallic particles such as graphite or ceramic spheres are used
determine the real connection resistance, on the basis of its initial as solid ingredients. Typical metals used for thread-compounds
makeup torque. The chart offers to engineers involved in the manufacturing are lead, copper, and zinc. The common nonmetal-
design of a fracturing process the possibility to estimate the max- lic solids used for compounds are graphite, polytetrafluoroethy-
imum pressure that may lead to a connection leak. lene, and ceramics.
The so called “green dope,” or environmentally friendly com-
Introduction pounds, have a totally metal-free composition. Fig. 1 shows a
classification scheme of thread compounds after Hoenig and
Most of the published data show that a long fracture is the key to
Oberndorfer (2006). Table 1 shows the composition of some
optimum well stimulation. The desired length of the fracture can
common thread compounds used in the oil industry, including the
be achieved by use of equipment capable to deliver the right
tested thread compounds described in this paper.
pressure and fluid volume. Because the hydraulic-fracturing tech-
According to API RP 5A3 (2003), the performance general
nique can also be applied to old wells, equipped with standard
requirements of thread compounds include consistent frictional
API connections, the high pressures that are achieved during the
properties; adequate lubrication properties; adequate sealing prop-
pumping phase require the understanding of leak resistance of API
erties; physical and chemical stability, both in service and in
connections. It has also been proved that during the injection phase,
storage conditions; and properties that allow the efficient applica-
the high pump rate may lead to additional pressure increase into the
tion of the compound on the connection surfaces. In addition, for
well tubulars. The time and pressure values are two key parameters
rotary-shouldered-connection thread compounds, they should
that may affect the sealing capacity of the API connection.
lubricate the connection during the makeup runs to achieve bear-
Testing the sealing capacity of a casing connection is not an
ing stresses (buck-up force).
easy task because it depends on many factors: thread type and
The sealing capacity, or according to some authors, leak tight-
form, thread compound, aging of the thread compound, and
ness, is provided by the high viscosity of the thread compound and
makeup-induced stresses. Actually, there are no standards to eval-
the small free path inside of the threaded connection.
uate the seal capacity of a thread compound. To date, three
approaches have been found in the literature:
• The fixture designed during the project PRAC 88-51 that
consists of two circular-steel plates having a spiral grove from The API Threads
the center to the exterior (Wood et al. 1990). The API round thread (API 8ed) is one of the very first standar-
• Full-scale testing of threaded assembly using a high load dized-thread types used for casing and tubing. Being inexpensive,
press (ISO 13678:2000 2000) in which not only the thread com- simple, and easy to manufacture, the API round threads have been
pound but the entire sealing capacity of the assembly is tested. used extensively for “low-cost” wells. A proof of their importance
• Small-sized connections as described by Hoenig and Obern- for the oil industry is given by the extensive tests carried out by a
dorfer (2006). technical advisory committee in the 1990s having Phil Pattillo as
There are many advantages and disadvantages for each one of Chairperson (API Report 88/89/91-50 1989; API Report 86-51
the methods, but testing thread compounds separately requires 1987; API Report 84-51 1985). The tests were focused on
removing all inconsistent parameters that may affect the evalua- improved understanding of the mechanical behavior of the API-
tion process. The main parameters that may affect the thread- round-casing connection when subjected to service loads of
compound evaluation are the stress/strain state induced because assembly interference, tension, and internal pressure (API Report
of makeup and thread tolerances. 86-53 1987).
The fixture proposed by project PRAC 88-51 offers the advan- The API 8rd is an open-type thread, which means that if no
tage of comparing only the threaded compounds, by neglecting other material is applied on the thread before its makeup, no seal
the makeup- and tolerance-induced errors. This is why it has been is provided. Between threads, a small gap remains that must be
considered the use of the same experimental setup as the one filled to provide a leak-tight connection. This space is filled by the
described by Wood et al. (1990). The experimental setup will be thread compound that is applied on the pin and the box before
presented in detail in this paper. makeup. The shape and dimensions of the API 8rd are given in
Fig. 2. As can be seen in Fig. 2, the leak path consists of
two spiral spaces comprising the gaps between pin-thread crest
Copyright ã 2009 Society of Petroleum Engineers
and box-thread root, and pin-thread root and box-thread crest,
This paper (SPE 106849) was accepted for presentation at the Production and Operations respectively.
Symposium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 31 March–3 April 2007, and revised for publication.
Original manuscript received for review 31 January 2007. Revised manuscript received for
The buttress thread was introduced later to offer a connection
review 3 March 2008. Paper peer approved 17 April 2008. with a very good tension resistance. It was patented 27 November

96 March 2009 SPE Drilling & Completion

 stress/strain state. Later, full-scale specimens with controlled geo-
metry have been used for reference.
The test was performed according to the following procedure:
The grooved plate was filled completely with the dope to be
tested, and then the grooved plate was assembled over the sealing
Fig. 1—Classification scheme of thread compounds, after
plate and placed into the hydraulic press. The center of the
Hoenig and Oberndorfer (2006). grooved plate was connected to the high-pressure pump. Mineral
hydraulic oil was used as the pressurizing medium. The pressure
was increased slowly, and the moment at which the dope was
1956 by Samuel Webb and assigned to the US Steel Corporation. expelled was recorded.
As stated in the patent, the high leak resistance should not be To build the groove plates, we calculated the groove size
expected unless the stab flank is closed. The shape of the buttress according to the real dimensions of a 5½-in. API short-round
has a different leak path than an API round thread, usually much thread, with a wall thickness of 7.72 mm with a J-55 grade. The
higher. Early API tests (API Report 86-53 1987) showed no diffi- calculated dimensions for the grooved plate are shown in Table 2.
culties with the leak resistance, but it must be noted that at that The grooved and seal plates are shown in Figs. 5a, 5b, and 6.
time, API compounds were used for tests only.
The leak-path size depends on the thread-manufacturing toler-
ances. To calculate the gap volume, the minimum and maximum
Finite-Element Analysis of the Threaded
tolerances have been considered, as presented in Figs. 3 and 4 for
API round thread, and API buttress, respectively. Connection and Experimental Setup
To estimate the contact stress to be simulated between the
grooved plate and seal plate, a finite-element analysis was carried
The Experimental Setup out, using the ANSYS University program. The contact pressure
As explained in the Summary section, the grooved-plate setup has between the thread turns plays an important role for the sealing
been chosen for thread-compound analysis because it allows test- capacity of the connections because as long as the contact pres-
ing of thread compounds independent from thread tolerances and sure is higher then the pressure to be sealed, the only leak path

Fig. 2—API open-thread dimensions.

March 2009 SPE Drilling & Completion 97

 Fig. 3—Leak-path dimensions as a function of thread tolerances for API round thread ( = diameter).

remains the spiral path between thread turns, crest, and roots. The averaging is performed. Because of local contact problems within
same conditions must be achieved between the two plates of the the incomplete thread-turns zone, some spots with high contact
experimental setup. pressure have been found (see Fig. 7). These values will not be
First, the 5½-in. connection has been investigated by determin- considered for the further analysis. It has also been observed that
ing the thread-turn contact pressure after makeup and under the the pressure on the thread flank is not uniform (API Report 86-51
makeup and axial-load case. The results were similar to those 1987), but for the experimental setup an average value has been
reported (API Report 88/89/91-50 1989; API Report 86-51 1987; considered.
API Report 84-51 1985). According to the finite-element analysis, The same analysis was carried out on several buttress-connec-
the contact pressure after the connection makeup with recom- tion sizes. Fig. 8 shows the flank-contact pressure for an 185/8-in.
mended torque is between 30 to 45 MPa and depends on how the connection. The average contact pressure was 65 MPa.

98 March 2009 SPE Drilling & Completion

 Fig. 4—Leak-path dimensions as a function of thread tolerances for API buttress thread.

The third finite-element analysis was performed on the results and show that the API-plate leak resistance increases
grooved-plate model to investigate the groove deformation caused almost linearly compared to buttress-plate leak resistance
by axial load applied on the plate. The results have shown that the (see Fig. 11).
pressure distribution on the contact area is uniform, excepting the
contact zones at the end of the groove walls (see Fig. 9). Also, it Experimental Results
has been found that the shape of the groove is changing, as The first experiments were focused on testing four thread com-
presented in Fig. 10. The total amount of area shrinkage for the pounds using the grooved plate that mimics the buttress thread.
contact pressures produced in a real connection is low. When the The tested compounds are presented in Table 3. The first two
contact pressure increases, the groove deformation becomes thread compounds are proprietary types; therefore they will be
important, especially for the API-round-plate model. For a contact called T1 and T2; the third one is an API modified type, and the
pressure of 50 MPa, the groove area changes for the buttress plate last one is an API-type compound with polymers to increase the
to 0.85% and for the API plate to 7.3%, which represents a change viscosity. The API modified type was used as reference for all
in area 9 times that of the buttress. These changes justify the tests.

March 2009 SPE Drilling & Completion 99

 Fig. 5—Shape and dimensions of the grooved and seal plates used for the experiments.

the groove caused by the confining axial force applied to keep the
plates together and (2) by the viscosity of the compounds.
The second set of tests was carried out on a grooved plate that
mimics the API short-round thread. For these tests only, the thread
compound T1 has been evaluated to compare the results with the
full-scale specimens that have been doped with this type of com-
pound. Fig. 11 shows a comparison between the results obtained
using the buttress-type groove and the API-round-type groove.
One explanation for the asymptotic behavior of the API-buttress
leak-resistance curve is the groove deformation caused by axial
load of the plate. As presented in the preceding section, the groove
deformation can reduce its volume up to 7% for the API-style
groove and up to 0.8% for the buttress-style groove. Because the
API-groove size becomes smaller and smaller with the increasing
contact pressure, it is obviously why the API-plate leak resistance
is a direct function of contact pressure, and that of the buttress
plate is not.

Discussions and Recommendations

Fig. 6—Pictures of the grooved (top) and seal (bottom) plates. for Future Work
The experimental investigations presented in the preceding
allow testing of thread compounds by qualitative comparison of
Fig. 10 shows the leak pressure as a function of contact pres- the maximum expel pressure as a function of plate-contact pres-
sure between plates. The leak pressure is the pressure at which the sure. The advantage of this approach is that it allows comparing
thread compound is expelled from the free end of the groove. It the leak capabilities of thread compounds independently of the
can be seen that all tested compounds show a higher leak pressure rhelogical properties. These can have a large impact on overall
than the API modified. Also, it has been observed that at high leakage when the dope behavior inside the groove has to be
contact pressures, the leak pressure tends to behave asymptoti- described.
cally. The thread compounds T1 and T2, along with the API with The critical parameter that dictates the ability of compounds
polymers, show very little differences at high contact pressures to withstand the applied forces is the dope-yield point. Unfortu-
between plates. This is explained by (1) the slight deformation of nately, API does not require such information to be provided by

Fig. 7—Flank-contact pressure of a 51/2-in. API-round-threaded connection after optimum makeup torque.

100 March 2009 SPE Drilling & Completion

 Fig. 8—Flank-contact pressure of a 185/8-in. API buttress threaded connection after optimum makeup torque and axial tension.

the dope manufacturers. For example, Fig. 12 shows an extract of shows the tested-compound properties according to API that can
the dope-properties specifications after API RP 5A3 (2003). The give the reader information about the rheological properties of the
only remark in API RP 5A3 is that the rheological properties thread compound.
should be tested according to ASTM D2196-05 (2005). Table 4 As shown in Fig. 9, groove deformation becomes significant
for API round threads, which directly affects the flow of a given
compound. In this case, the rheological properties will strongly
affect the time after which the dope will be expelled, for a given
pressure difference, corresponding to a certain pressure gradient.
This will influence the long term integrity of the well.
As a result of this study, we recommend that research be
performed that is focused on the relationships between dope
rheological properties, time, and flow behavior. To this aim, a
computational-fluid-dynamics (CFD) modeling study of the dope
flow is already under way at Texas A&M University.

Fig. 9—Groove deformation at high contact pressure for API Fig. 11—Comparison of API round and buttress leak-resis-
round-type plate (bottom) and buttress-type plate (top). tance-test results for Thread Compound T1.

Fig. 10—Leak-pressure curves for API buttress-type plate.

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Practical Application of the Method
It is a common practice to record the applied torque while running
casing. Knowing the minimum value for the applied torque of the
threaded connections, it will be easier to estimate the maximum
pressure that may be applied without losing the connection tight-
ness. In many fracturing operations, the part of the casing string
that is subjected to internal pressure will have a low or zero axial
tension. Therefore, the chart presented in Fig. 13 has been con-
structed using the contact pressure calculated for the makeup
torque and internal-pressure case. Comparing the contact pressure
inside the threaded connection to the minimum contact pressure at
which the thread compound has been expulsed from the small
scale setup, it is possible to identify the actual leak resistance of
the connection. The method does not consider the effect of toler-
ances and thread-compound aging.

Conclusions
The tests performed on four different types of compounds have
shown that the API compound has the lowest leak resistance in
conjunction with the API thread type.
The buttress leak resistance has an asymptotic behavior. At
contact pressures higher than 100 MPa, the leak resistance is
constant. Fig. 12—API modified-thread-compound characteristics as
The difference between API-round and buttress leak resistance reported in product specifications, after API RP 5A3 (2003).
consists in the contact-pressure dependency of the API-round leak
resistance.
It is recommended that API-round connections be made up scn = root truncation pin, mm
with optimum makeup torque or higher. scs = thread truncation pin, mm
As a result of this study, we recommend that research be Srn = root truncation box, mm
performed that is focused on the relationship between dope rheo- srs = thread truncation box, mm
logical properties, time, and flow behavior. To this aim, a CFD
modeling study of the dope flow is already under way at Texas
A&M University. Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Vlad Ulmanu for his standing
Nomenclature support and valuable advice.
A1 = thread gap area at flank root in box, mm2
A2 = thread gap area at flank root in pin, mm2 References
b = groove width, mm API Report 84-51, API Research Report—Project #84-51, Investigation of
D = groove plate diameter, mm pipe thread compounds. 1985. Washington, DC: API.
hn = height of thread box, mm API Report 86-51, API Research Report—Project #86-51, Investigation of
hs = height of thread pin, mm pipe thread compounds. 1987. Washington, DC: API.
H = theoretical thread height not truncated, mm API Report 86-53, API Research Report—Project #86-53, Investigation of
Mt = makeup torque, Nm leak resistance of API buttress connector. 1987. Washington, DC:
p = thread lead or pitch, mm API.
ps = groove pitch, mm API Report 88/89/91-50, API Research Report—Project #88/89/91-51,
Investigation of pipe thread compounds. 1989. Washington, DC: API.
API RP 5A3, Recommended practice on thread compounds for casing,
tubing and line pipe, third edition. 2003. Washington, DC: API.
ASTM D2196-05, Standard Test Methods for Rheological Properties of
Non-Newtonian Materials by Rotational (Brookfield type) Viscometer.
2005. Conshohocken, Pennsylvania: ASTM International.
Hoenig, S. and Oberndorfer, M. 2006. Tightness Testing of Environmen-
tally Friendly Thread Compounds. Paper SPE 100220 presented at the
SPE Europe/EAGE Conference, Vienna, Austria, 12–15 June. DOI:
10.2118/100220-MS.
ISO 13678:2000, Petroleum and natural gas industries—Evaluation and
testing of thread compounds for use with casing, tubing and line pipe.
2000. Geneva, Switzerland: ISO.

102 March 2009 SPE Drilling & Completion

 Fig. 13—Chart for API-connection leak-resistance estimation knowing the thread-compound leak resistance.

Wood, F., Dairymple, D., McKown, K., and Matthews, B. 1990. Thread- the Technical University of Clausthal and the Oil and Gas Uni-
compound test procedures being developed. Oil & Gas Journal 88 versity of Ploiesti. He has worked as a research and develop-
(37): 75–76. ment engineer, as a researcher, and as a research supervisor.
Teodoriu has been involved in research for casing resistance
under extreme loads, swelling cements for gas wells, drillstring
components and makeup procedures, underbalanced dril-
SI Metric Conversion Factors ling and formation damage, the evaluation of the casing
in.  2.54* E + 00 = cm fatigue and fatigue of casing connectors, and the develop-
ment of laboratory testing devices and facilities. He has pub-
*Conversion factor is exact. lished more than 50 papers, from which more than 10 are
peer-reviewed. Marius Badicioiu is a lecturer at the Oil and
Gas University of Ploiesti and is involved in teaching graduate
courses for material technology. Badicioiu has an equivalent
Catalin Teodoriu is a research supervisor at the Technical MS and a PhD from the Oil and Gas University of Ploiesti,
University of Clausthal and an adjunct assistant professor in Romania. Related research activities that Badicioiu has been
the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at involved with are the testing of thread compounds, experi-
Texas A&M University. Teodoriu has an equivalent MS from the mental stress analysis of tubular, welding processes and their
Oil and Gas University of Ploiesti, Romania and two PhDs from optimization. He has published more than 20 scientific papers.

March 2009 SPE Drilling & Completion 103