BACKGROUND
In the drilling and completion arts, lengths of tubing known as a string is installed for various purposes such as drilling, injection, production, etc. The art in more recent years has become increasingly interested in monitoring and control of devices in the downhole environment. To accommodate this interest, lines such as fiber optic lines, electric lines, hydraulic lines, etc are installed adjacent the string. The lines may be installed in a number of positions relative to the string such as at the inside dimension of the string, somewhere within various concentric layers of the string or outside of the string, for example, on a surface thereof or spaced therefrom. Depending upon where the lines are run, they may or may not be subject to mechanically inflicted damage during running of the string in the hole. While various methods are known to protect lines at the outside dimension of the string such as channels, grooves, etc. the art is still interested in alternative means for protecting the lines that provides good protection at rapid speed and with minimal complexity of installation.
SUMMARY
A downhole apparatus includes a tubular and at least one line passage extending along an outer surface of the tubular. At least one end clamp is located at least one end of the line passage. The at least one end clamp includes a clamp body and at least one standoff located between the clamp body and the outer surface of the tubular defining a clamp protected space therebetween.
A downhole tubular system includes a least two tubular apparatus, each tubular apparatus including at least one tubular and at least one line passage extending along an outer surface of the tubular. At least one end clamp is located at least one end of the line passage. The at least one end clamp includes a clamp body; and at least one standoff located between the clamp body and the outer surface of the tubular defining a clamp protected space therebetween. The tubular system further includes at least one coupling clamp disposed at a coupling of the at least two tubular apparatus. The at least one coupling clamp includes at least two collars wherein at least one collar of the at least two collars is located at each side of the coupling. Each collar includes a coupling body extending around a circumference of the outer surface defining a coupling protected space between the coupling body and the outer surface. A coupling sleeve extends between the at least two collars.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are numbered alike in the several Figures:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a downhole tubular apparatus;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a joining mechanism between two line passages of an embodiment of a downhole apparatus;
FIG. 3 is an embodiment of an end clamp for an embodiment of a downhole apparatus;
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of an embodiment of an end clamp;
FIG. 5 is an embodiment of a cross-coupling clamp of a downhole apparatus; and
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of an embodiment of a cross-coupling clamp.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Shown in FIG. 1 a portion of a string 10. The string 10 is a length of tubing installed in a downhole environment for various purposes such as drilling, injection and/or production. The string 10 includes a plurality of centralizers 12 which extend outwardly from an outer surface 14 of the string 10 to prevent damage to the string 10 when the string 10 is run into or removed from the downhole environment. The plurality of centralizers 12 are disposed along a length of the string 10 and also around a perimeter of the string 10. The plurality of centralizers 12 may be secured to the string 10 by any conventional means, including welding and/or one or more mechanical fasteners such as bolts, or may be formed integral to the string 10. While the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of centralizers 12, it is to be appreciated that in some embodiments, centralizers 12 may be absent from the string 10.
To monitor and/or control one or more devices downhole, one or more monitoring or control lines 16 extend along the outer surface 14 of the string 10. The lines may be, for example, electrical lines, hydraulic lines, and/or fiber optic lines, or the like. Further, while four lines 16 are shown in FIG. 1, it is to be appreciated that other quantities of lines 16, for example one, two, or ten lines 16 are contemplated herein.
To protect the lines 16 along the string 10, at least one line passage 18 is disposed along the outer surface 14 of the string 10 and extending axially along the string 10. In some embodiments, the at least one line passage 18 may be disposed circumferentially between two centralizers 12. The at least one line passage 18 may have a tubular cross section and in some embodiments may be curved in a circumferential direction to, for example, match a curvature of the string 10. In some embodiments, the at least one line passage 18 cross section is a unitary piece. The one or more lines 16 extend through the at least one line passage 18 and are protected therein from damage.
In some embodiments, the at least one line passage 18 extends substantially an entire length of a joint of the string 10. In other embodiments, however, it may be desired to utilize two or more interconnected line passages 18 arranged axially along the string 10. In one embodiment, each line passage 18 will extend about 10 feet. Referring to FIG. 2, a first line passage 18 may interconnect to a second line passage 18 via, for example, a pin and sleeve arrangement. The first line passage 18 may include a sleeve 20 at one circumferential side and a pin 22 at the other circumferential side, while the second line passage 18 may similarly include a sleeve 20 and a pin 22. The pin 22 of the first line passage 18 is engaged in the sleeve 20 of second line passage 18 and the pin 22 of the second line passage 18 is inserted into the sleeve 20 of the first line passage 18. Alternatively, the first line passage 18 may be configured entirely with pins 22 and the second line passage 18 may be configured entirely with sleeves 20, or vice versa. While the pin and sleeve arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 2, it is to be appreciated that other means of interconnecting or joining the line passages 18 may be utilized. For example, the line passages 18 may be interconnected utilizing hinges, a telescoping overlap between the ends of the two line passages 18, and/or bolts. Further, while a single connection between two line passages 18 is shown, other quantities of line passages 18, for example, three or five line passages 18 may be arranged along each joint of the string 10.
To secure the lines 16 at each end 24 of each joint of string 10, an end clamp 26 is utilized. Referring to FIG. 3, the end clamp 26 extends around the circumference of the string 10 and secures the lines 16 thereto. Referring to FIG. 4, the end clamp 26 includes two clamp hinges 28 configured to rest on the outer surface 14 of the string 10 when the end clamp 26 is installed. The clamp hinges 28 act as spacers to define a clamp protected space 30 between a clamp body 32 disposed between the clamp hinges 28 and the outer surface 14. The clamp protected space 30 in some embodiments may be substantially equal to a thickness of the lines 16 to secure the lines 16 therein when the end clamp 26 is secured. The end clamp 26 includes two clamp arms 34, one clamp arm 34 extending from each clamp hinge 28. Each clamp arm 34 includes a plurality of fingers 36 configured to interlock with fingers 36 of the other clamp arm 34 when the end clamp 26 is closed around the string 10. With the fingers 36 interlocked, the end clamp 26 is secured in the closed position by, for example, a clamp pin 38 installed through a plurality of pin holes 40 in the plurality of fingers 36 to prevent the end clamp 26 from opening unexpectedly. While the embodiment is shown with two clamp hinges 28, other quantities of clamp hinges 28 may be utilized. Further, additional spacers may be utilized to define the clamp protected space 30.
Referring again to FIG. 3, in some embodiments, the clamp body 32 may include a transition passage 42 to protect the lines 16 at the string 10 portion between an adjacent line passage 18 and the end clamp 26. The transition passage 42 may be tubular in cross-section to match the line passage 18 and to protect the lines 16 between the line passage 18 and the end clamp 26. The transition passage 42 may further include a sloping portion 44 or other shape to account for any changes in diameter of the string 10 between the line passage 18 and the end clamp 26. Further, the transition passage 42 may be joined to the line passage 18 via the pin and sleeve arrangement described above or alternatively via hinges, a telescoping overlap between the end of the line passage 18 and the transition passage 42, and/or bolts.
In some embodiments, it is desirable to have lines 16 installed along the length of the string 10, across couplings of adjacent joints of the string 10. Referring to FIG. 5, a cross-coupling clamp 46 may be disposed at the coupling of two joints of string 10. The cross-coupling clamp 46 axially overlaps each joint of string 10 and circumferentially surrounds the string 10. The cross-coupling clamp 46 includes a collar 48 disposed at each end and a sleeve 50 extending axially between the two collars 48 across a coupling between the joints of the string 10. Referring to FIG. 6, each collar 48 includes at least one coupling hinge 52 and two coupling arms 54 extending from the coupling hinge 52. Each coupling arm 54 may include at least one coupling spacer 56 that, when the collar 48 is closed around the string 10 defines a coupling protected space 58 between the outer surface 14 and the coupling arm 54. The size of coupling spacer 56 used determines a height of the coupling protected space 58, and different sized coupling spacers 56 may be utilized depending on a size of lines 16 and/or desired height of the coupling protected space 58. In some embodiments, the coupling protected space 58 height is greater than a thickness of lines 16 that are disposed in the coupling protected space 58. This provides a coupling protected space 58 that extends around the circumference of the string 10 and allows for a helical arrangement of the lines 16 in the coupling protected space 58 to, for example, compensate for any variation in circumferential alignment of adjacent string joints 10 at the coupling. Referring again to FIG. 5, each coupling arm 54 includes a plurality of coupling fingers 60 configured to interlock with coupling fingers 60 of the other coupling arm 54 when the collar 48 is closed around the string 10. With the coupling fingers 60 interlocked, the cross-coupling clamp 46 is secured in the closed position by, for example, a coupling pin (not shown) installed through a plurality of coupling finger holes (not shown) in the plurality of coupling fingers 60 to prevent the cross-coupling clamp 46 from opening unexpectedly.
Referring again to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the string 10 includes a screen 62 at the outer surface 14 to filter flow entering the string 10 for undesired materials. In some embodiments, the outer surface 14 may be a flow through tubular 64 having a line 16 attached thereto. The line 16 attached to the flow through tubular 64 may be a control line or monitoring line that is, for example, an electric line, hydraulic line, fiber optic line or the like.
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.
Patent Application
20110214854
