Patent Application
20180119520
Resource exploration and recovery system employ a string of tubulars that extends into a borehole. The string of tubulars may include various elements that facilitate resource recovery, testing, or other operations performed in or on a formation. For example, the string of tubulars may include various elements such as packers, valves, slips and the like. The various elements may be manipulated to promote various downhole operations including isolating portions of a formation, promoting fluid passage, and/or fixedly positioning components. An actuation tool may be employed to manipulate one or more elements.
The actuation tool may rely on an application of pressure provided from the surface to manipulate the element. In certain cases, it is desirable to apply a high energy force to the element that cannot be achieved through the application of pressure from the surface. In such cases, a ballistic actuator may be employed. The ballistic actuator may rely on a rapid, thermal expansion of an accelerant to provide the high energy force.
A non-ballistic force generating mechanism includes a non-ballistic first actuator operable to output a first force profile defining a first pressure for a first stroke length, and a non-ballistic second actuator operable to output a second force profile following the first force profile, the second force profile defining an second pressure that is substantially greater than the first pressure for a second stroke length that is less than the first stroke length.
A resource exploration and recovery system including a surface system, a downhole system including a plurality of tubulars and at least one actuatable device, and an actuation tool having a non-ballistic force generating mechanism extending through one or more of the plurality of tubulars toward the at least one actuatable device. The non-ballistic force generating mechanism including a non-ballistic first actuator operable to output a first force profile to the at least one actuatable device, the first force profile defining a first pressure for a first stroke length, and a non-ballistic second actuator operable to output a second force profile to the at least one actuatable device following the first force profile. The second force profile defines a second pressure that is substantially greater than the first pressure for a second stroke length that is less than the first stroke length.
A method of actuating a downhole device includes activating a non-ballistic first actuator to deliver a first activation pressure having a first force defined by a first force profile to the downhole device, and activating a non-ballistic second actuator to deliver a second activation pressure having a second force profile including an second force, that is substantially greater than the first force, to the downhole device.
Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are numbered alike in the several Figures:
A resource exploration and/or recovery system, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, is indicated generally at 2, in
Downhole system 6 may include a system of tubulars 20 that are extended into a borehole 21 formed in formation 22. System of tubulars 20 may be formed from a number of connected downhole tools or tubulars 24. One of tubulars 24 may be operatively connected to an actuatable device such as a slip assembly 28 having one or more slip members 30. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, slip assembly 28 may be deployed by an actuation tool 40 having a non-ballistic force generating mechanism 44. Actuation tool 40 may be sent from surface system 4 downhole to slip assembly 28. Once in place, non-ballistic force generating mechanism 44 may be selectively activated to initiate a multi-stage actuation process causing slip members 30 to extend outwardly to engage with borehole 21. It is to be understood that non-ballistic force generating mechanism may be employed to actuate a wide array of devices including packers, bridge plugs, frac plugs and the like or may be utilized to pull free an object that may be stuck downhole.
In accordance with an aspect of an exemplary embodiment illustrated in
In accordance with an aspect of an exemplary embodiment depicted in
In accordance with an exemplary aspect, actuation tool 40 is positioned downhole at slip assembly 28. Once in position, a signal is passed to non-ballistic first actuator 47 delivering electrical energy to first, second, third, and fourth brushes 84-87. The electrical energy causes armature 80 to shift relative to stator 78 delivering the first actuation pressure at the first force profile into slip members 30.
In accordance with an exemplary aspect, non-ballistic reactive material 134 may take the form of an active metal that reacts with a fluid, such as downhole fluid, to produce a gas that generates the first activation pressure. Active metals may include, but not be limited to, potassium (K), sodium (Na), and or IN-Tallic™ material produced by Baker Hughes, Inc. Other materials that may react with fluid, such as water may be employed. It is to be understood that the non-ballistic reactive material may be chosen from a group of materials that react with non-water based fluids to generate a desired pressure having the first force profile either by generating a gas or by expansion.
In accordance with an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, activating fluid may take the form of a downhole fluid selectively introduced into first chamber portion 124 via passage 119. Selectively ruptureable barrier 130 may be ruptured by downhole pressure or pressure developed by the activating fluid. The activating fluid interacts with non-ballistic reactive material 134 generating, for example, a gas 138 shown in
In accordance with an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, chamber 190 may house a high density thermally responsive expandable material that, when activated, establishes the second activation force having the second force profile. Unlike the first activation force, the second activation force comprises a high activating force with a short travel distance or stroke length (as compared to the first stroke length. Further, the second activation force is achieved without the use of ballistic material such as an accelerant. The second activation force provides a high energy actuation energy that drives, for example, slip members 30 outwardly to embed into the borehole or casing surface.
In accordance with an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, the high density thermally responsive expandable material may take the form of expandable graphite such as Exphite. When the thermally responsive expandable material is exposed to an electric current, electromagnetic radiation, or heat provided by, for example, activator 187, an intense exothermic reaction occurs, generating localized heat in fractions of a second, providing a thermal shock leading to rapid expansion. Given that heat is generated locally and quickly absorbed by the high density thermally responsive expandable material, detrimental effects on other portions of actuation tool 40 and other downhole components may be avoided.
In accordance with an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, the thermally responsive expandable material may be mixed with an activation or energizing material that degrades to generate local pressures which provide a driving force to expand the high density thermally responsive material. For example, expandable graphite may be mixed with various intercalate materials including acids, oxidants, halides, or the like. Examples of intercalate materials may further include sulfuric acid, nitric acid, chromic acid, boric acid, SO3, FeCL3, ZnCl2, and SbCl5. Upon heating, the intercalant material is converted from a liquid or solid state to a gas phase generating pressure which pushes adjacent carbon layers apart resulting in expanded graphite.
Examples of high density thermally responsive material may include material may include compounding expandable graphite with an activation material such as thermite, a mixture of Al and Ni, or a combination including at least one of the forgoing and compression molding the mixture at temperatures below 100° F. (37.77° C.). Other examples of high density thermally responsive material may include shape memory alloys, organic materials, and the use of super critical fluids such as shown in
In operation, non-ballistic first actuator 47 is activated to shift slip members 30 into contact with a borehole or well casing surface. At this point, BLR 56 is unlocked such that second module 52 may transition with the first activation force. After the first activation force has been applied, BLR 56 is locked preventing movement of second module 52 and non-ballistic second actuator 53 is initiated to create the second activation force driving slip members 30 into the borehole or well casing surface. As indicated above, the first activation force comprises a force delivered through a first stroke length while the second activation force comprises a rapidly increasing high energy force delivered through a second stroke length. In accordance with an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, the second force may be multiple times greater than the first force and the second stroke length may be less than half of the first stroke length. At this point, it is to be understood that exemplary embodiments describe a system of actuating a downhole devices without an accelerant. In this manner, once activated and retrieved, there would be no need to handle high pressure components typically associated with ballistically activated tools. It is also to be understood that while described in terms of activating a slip assembly, exemplary embodiments may be employed in a wide range of downhole actuation operations including setting a packer, operating valves, shifting mandrels and the like. It is to be further understood that various mechanisms may be employed to selectively activate either of the non-ballistic first actuator or the non-ballistic second actuator. It should also be understood that hydrostatic pressure may be employed to generate either of the first or second force profiles. Additionally, the high density thermally responsive material may take the form of a polymer having a linear coefficient of thermal expansion of between about 50×10̂−6K−1 to about 100×10̂−6K−1 that selectively generates the second force profile.
Further included in this disclosure are the following specific embodiments, which do not necessarily limit the claims.
A non-ballistic force generating mechanism comprising: a non-ballistic first actuator operable to output a first force profile defining a first pressure for a first stroke length; and a non-ballistic second actuator operable to output a second force profile following the first force profile, the second force profile defining a second pressure that is substantially greater than the first pressure for a second stroke length that is less than the first stroke length.
The non-ballistic force generating mechanism according to embodiment 1, wherein the non-ballistic first actuator comprises an electromagnetic launcher having a stator and an armature moveable relative to the stator, the armature selectively generates the first force profile.
The non-ballistic force generating mechanism according to embodiment 1, wherein the non-ballistic first actuator includes a non-ballistic reactive material that selectively generates the first force profile.
The non-ballistic force generating mechanism according to embodiment 3, wherein the non-ballistic first actuator includes a chamber including a first portion housing the non-ballistic reactive material and a second portion housing an activation driver that is selectively introduced into the first portion to generate the first force profile.
The non-ballistic force generating mechanism according to embodiment 3, wherein the non-ballistic reactive material comprises at least one of an active metal and In-Tallic.
The non-ballistic force generating mechanism according to embodiment 1, wherein the non-ballistic second actuator includes a thermally responsive expandable material that selectively generates the second force profile.
The non-ballistic force generating mechanism according to embodiment 6, wherein the thermally responsive expandable material comprises expandable graphite.
The non-ballistic force generating mechanism according to embodiment 7, wherein the expandable graphite includes an activation material.
The non-ballistic force generating mechanism according to embodiment 6, wherein the thermally responsive expandable material comprises a supercritical fluid.
The non-ballistic force generating mechanism according to embodiment 6, wherein the non-ballistic second actuator includes a polymer having linear coefficient of thermal expansion of between about 50×10̂−6K−1 to about 100×10̂−6K−1 that selectively generates the second force profile.
The non-ballistic force generating mechanism according to embodiment 1, wherein at least one of the non-ballistic first actuator and the non-ballistic second actuator are responsive to hydrostatic pressure to generate corresponding ones of the first force profile and the second force profile.
The non-ballistic force generating mechanism according to embodiment 1, further comprising: a pump portion operable to generate a desired pressure to output at least one of the first force profile and the second force profile.
A resource exploration and recovery system comprising: a surface system; a downhole system including a plurality of tubulars and at least one actuatable device; and an actuation tool having a non-ballistic force generating mechanism extending through one or more of the plurality of tubulars toward the at least one actuatable device, the non-ballistic force generating mechanism comprising: a non-ballistic first actuator operable to output a first force profile to the at least one actuatable device, the first force profile defining a first pressure for a first stroke length; and a non-ballistic second actuator operable to output a second force profile to the at least one actuatable device following the first force profile, the second force profile defining a second pressure that is substantially greater than the first pressure for a second stroke length that is less than the first stroke length.
The resource exploration and recovery system according to embodiment 13, wherein the non-ballistic first actuator comprises an electromagnetic launcher having a stator and an armature moveable relative to the stator, the armature selectively generates the first force profile.
The resource exploration and recovery system according to embodiment 13, wherein the non-ballistic first actuator includes a non-ballistic reactive material that selectively generates the first force profile.
The resource exploration and recovery system according to embodiment 15, wherein the non-ballistic first actuator includes a chamber including a first portion housing the non-ballistic reactive material and a second portion housing a activation driver that is selectively introduced into the first portion to generate the first force profile.
The resource exploration and recovery system according to embodiment 15, wherein the non-ballistic reactive material comprises at least one of an active metal and In-Tallic.
The resource exploration and recovery system according to embodiment 13, wherein the non-ballistic second actuator includes a thermally responsive expandable material that selectively generates the second force profile.
The resource exploration and recovery system according to embodiment 18, wherein the thermally responsive expandable material comprises expandable graphite.
The resource exploration and recovery system according to embodiment 18, wherein the thermally responsive expandable material comprises a supercritical fluid.
A method of actuating a downhole device comprising: activating a non-ballistic first actuator to deliver a first activation pressure having a first force defined by a first force profile to the downhole device; and activating a non-ballistic second actuator to deliver a second activation pressure having a second force profile including a second force, that is substantially greater than the first force, to the downhole device.
The method of embodiment 21, wherein activating the non-ballistic first actuator includes delivering electrical energy to an electromagnetic launcher that delivers the first activation pressure to the downhole device.
The method of embodiment 21, wherein activating the non-ballistic first actuator includes energizing a non-ballistic reactive material that selectively generates the first force profile.
The method of embodiment 23, wherein energizing the non-ballistic reactive material includes introducing a liquid to the non-ballistic reactive material.
The method of embodiment 21, wherein activating the non-ballistic second actuator includes energizing a thermally responsive expandable material that selectively generates the second force profile.
The method of embodiment 21, wherein activating the non-ballistic second actuator includes energizing a supercritical fluid.
The method of embodiment 21, wherein activating the non-ballistic second actuator includes exposing a chamber to hydrostatic pressure.
The method of embodiment 21, wherein activating the non-ballistic first actuator includes operating a pump to generate a pressurized fluid to deliver the first activation pressure.
The teachings of the present disclosure may be used in a variety of well operations. These operations may involve using one or more treatment agents to treat a formation, the fluids resident in a formation, a borehole, and/or equipment in the borehole, such as production tubing. The treatment agents may be in the form of liquids, gases, solids, semi-solids, and mixtures thereof. Illustrative treatment agents include, but are not limited to, fracturing fluids, acids, steam, water, brine, anti-corrosion agents, cement, permeability modifiers, drilling muds, emulsifiers, demulsifiers, tracers, flow improvers etc. Illustrative well operations include, but are not limited to, hydraulic fracturing, stimulation, tracer injection, cleaning, acidizing, steam injection, water flooding, cementing, etc.
The term “about” is intended to include the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity based upon the equipment available at the time of filing the application. For example, “about” can include a range of ±8% or 5%, or 2% of a given value.
While one or more embodiments have been shown and described, modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustrations and not limitation.
