The present invention relates to the field of downhole tools, and in particular to a technique for feeding a spooled cable into a groove in a swellable mantle on a downhole tool.
The downhole industry has a need to monitor pressure in every zone of various multi-zone frac completions used in the shale plays around the world. There is a need to be able to feed a fiber optic cable into a groove in the swellable material of a swellable packer. The conventional technique for feeding the cable is to form a narrow groove in the swellable material that leads to a void space or chamber. The fiber optic cable is pushed into the groove until it lands in the void space. The void space avoids causing an outward extension of the swellable material caused by the fiber optic cable having a diameter larger than the width of the groove. Other conventional techniques form a groove at least as large as the diameter of the fiber optic cable. The cable is inserted, and filler material is inserted into the groove.
A portion of the outer surface of a mantle of swellable material around a downhole tool is removed. A narrow groove, narrower than the diameter of a fiber optic cable, is cut into the swellable material. When the fiber optic cable is pushed into the groove, the swellable material is pushed outwardly at the point of the removed outer surface, resulting in a smooth outer surface.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an implementation of apparatus and methods consistent with the present invention and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain advantages and principles consistent with the invention. In the drawings,
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. Moreover, the language used in this disclosure has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter, resort to the claims being necessary to determine such inventive subject matter. Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or to “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one embodiment of the invention, and multiple references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” should not be understood as necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
The indentation or groove 240 may be formed by milling or any other desired technique for removing an arcuate portion of the outer surface of the mantle 210. Preferably the indentation 240 is formed prior to the insertion of the cable 140. The size of the groove can be calculated based on the diameter of the cable 140, the width of the slit 220, and the compressibility of the swellable material forming the swellable mantle 210. Alternately, simply inserting the cable 140 into an unindented swellable mantle 210, milling or otherwise cutting away the bump formed by the insertion of the cable 140, then removing the cable 140 and measuring the resulting indentation can be used to determine the amount of material that needs to be removed from the outer surface of the swellable mantle 210 for a given size mantle, slit, and cable.
It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described embodiments may be used in combination with each other. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention therefore should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
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International Search Report and Written Opinion received in corresponding PCT Application No. PCT/US2014/028249, dated Sep. 26, 2014, 11 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20140262352 A1 | Sep 2014 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61783347 | Mar 2013 | US |