MAXIMUM HEIGHT OF TOOL JOINT ABOVE SLIPS

TO PREVENT BENDING DURING TONGING

Case 1 Case 2

P 90°

Hmax Lt P Hmax Lt
P P

Tongs at 90 degrees Tongs at 180°

The maximum height above the slips is given by:

in field units in S.I. units

0.059 Ym.Lt.(I/C)0.707 Ym.Lt.(I/C)
Case 1 : Hmax = Hmax =
T 109.T
0.042 Ym.Lt.(I/C)0.500 Ym.Lt.(I/C)
Case 2 : Hmax = Hmax =
T 109.T
Where : field unit S.I. unit
Hmax = Height of tool joint above slips ft m
Ym = Minimum tensile yield stress of pipe psi Pa
Lt = Tong arm length ft m
P = Line pull (load) Ibs N
T = Make-up torque (= P x Lt) lbs-ft N.m
l/C = Section modulus of pipe in3 mm3
where :
I = π/64 (D4 - d4)
C = D/
2
D = outside diameter of pipe ins mm
d = inside diameter of pipe ins mm

No safety or design factors have been included in the constants in the above equations.
Section modulus values have been calculated for commonly used drill pipe sizes and
are shown in the table on the following page.
Values of recommended make-up torque values can be found in the tables on pages
C-30 to C-34.

This page has been based on Section 7.9 of API RP 7G 16th Edition, August 1998.

SIEP: Well Engineers Notebook, Edition 4, May 2003 C–25