TF-M Rotary-Shouldered Connection

Grant Prideco continues to advance rotary-shouldered connection technologies with the development of the new TurboFrac-M™ (TF-M™) connection, a specialized version of the TurboTorque-M™ (TT-M™) connection that is designed to meet the needs of today’s complex completion operations.

Hydraulic fracturing and other completion operations in deep and high-pressure wells can impose extremely high-pressure and compressive loads on the completion string. Fracturing is an operation that involves pumping special fluids downhole to break up the formation, enabling the hydrocarbons to more easily flow from the well. Compared with TT-M, the TF-M connection has tool joints with larger profiles made from higher-strength material to withstand these higher loads.

The TurboFrac-M connection incorporates a double-start thread that reduces the number of revolutions required to make up the connection by 50%, thus reducing trip time.

The thread form also provides a unique dual-radius thread root that offers a step-change improvement in fatigue resistance.

A metal-to-metal seal provides pressure integrity. Due to the high pressures and loads involved, performance of the connection will be validated on a project-specific basis with extensive finite-element analysis and laboratory testing programs designed to replicate the expected harsh, aggressive, dynamic loads to the connections.