The present invention is related to downhole oil tools, and in particular to frac plugs, bridge plugs and packers for sealing well casing.
In drilling oil and gas wells, it is common to run casing into a wellbore and cement the casing in place. Often, in shale formations fracturing is required to produce fluids in oil and gas bearing formations. Enabled fracturing of desired formations, frac plugs and bridge plugs are set in place on opposite sides of the formation being treated. Fluids are then pumped into the wellbore and out into the formation at high pressures to fracture formations. Prior art frac plugs, bridge plugs and packers have been formed of cast iron and other easily drillable materials so that they may be more easily drilled than if formed of steel. To further enhance the ease in which frac plugs, bridge plugs and packers may be drilled, they have made with composite materials formed of plastic rather than metal. Use of composite materials to replace cast iron and other metal components for frac plugs, bridge plugs and packers has resulted in reduced reliability and reduced operating performance parameters. Improvements in reliability and operating performance parameters are desired.
A composite frac plug is provided which is formed of composite materials, except for shear pins and anchor cleats which are formed of metal. The composite materials provide for easy drilling of the frac plug at the end of fracturing operations. The frac plug has an elastomeric ball seat which sealing engages with a frac ball. A ratchet lock assembly is formed of composite materials and has a split ratchet ring which moves over a tool mandrel in a downward direction only, and prevents movement of the tool mandrel downward within the ratchet ring. An anchor assembly has a conical sleeves and slip bodies formed of composite materials, and anchor cleats formed of metal. The slip bodies are segmented and separate into slip segments when urging anchor cleats into the interior surface of a well casing.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings in which
Extending into the exterior surface of the upper end of the mandrel 22 are preferably eight shear pin holes 50. Shear pins 52 extend into and are secured within the shear pin holes 50 in the mandrel 22. The shear pins 52 secure the mandrel adapter 16 to the upper end of the mandrel 22 to allow run-in and setting of the frac plug 12. The shear pins 52 may be threadingly secured, secured by means of adhesives, or sonically welded to mandrel 22. Preferably, the mandrel adapter 16 is removed from the well with the setting tool after the frac plug 12 is set within casing. The mandrel adapter 16 and the setting sleeve 14 are preferably formed of steel. The mandrel 22 is formed of either a composite polymer plastic materials, or composed fully of a polymer plastic materials. In the current embodiment, the mandrel 22 is formed of polyamide plastics. Composite materials used to form the various components of the frac plug 12 may be fiber wound, such as using glass or carbon fibers, or impregnated with particles of various sizes, including glass particles, carbon particles, or micro-particles of various materials. Preferably the eight shear pins 52 are provided by brass shear screws which are easily drilled and are rated at a tensile strength of 3,750 pounds each. The shear pins 52 are sheared when the frac plug 12 is set, releasing the mandrel adapter 16 for removal form the mandrel 22 of the frac plug 12.
A lock ring sleeve 56 is shown disposed adjacent to the threaded upper end 32 of the mandrel 22, in proximity to the shear pin holes 50, and spaced beneath the shear pin holes 50. The lock ring sleeve 56 has an L-shaped cross-section defined in part by an annular shaped tab 58 which extends downward and inward to define an annular space 60 with an open upper end and a closed lower end. The annular space 60 extends between the inner surface of the lock ring sleeve 56 and the upper threaded end 32 of the mandrel 22. Preferably, the interior surface of the annular shaped tab 58 of the lock ring sleeve 56 has a smooth interior surface which is disposed adjacent to the threaded upper end 32 of the mandrel 22. The interior surface of the tab 58 is smooth for sliding downward over the threaded upper end 32 of the mandrel 22. A lock ring 64 is annular shaped and has a threaded bore 66 with the smooth exterior surface 68. Threaded bore 66 is of a similar thread to that of the threaded upper end 32 of the mandrel 22 for threadingly securing the lock ring 64 in a desired position along the longitudinal length of the mandrel 22.
A ratchet sleeve 72 is shown adjacent to the lowermost end of the lock ring sleeve 56, and has a cylindrically shaped exterior surface and an L-shaped cross-section. The lowermost end of the ratchet sleeve 72 has an inwardly protruding annular shaped tab 74, similar to that of the lock ring sleeve 56. The annular shaped tab 74 defines an annular shaped recess 76 with an open upper end for receiving a ratchet ring 82. The ratchet sleeve 72 has a threaded interior surface 78 for engaging a ratchet ring 82.
The ratchet ring 82 is preferably a split ring having a longitudinally extending slot 84 (shown in
The outer threads on the outer threaded surface 88 of the ratchet ring 82 have a top portion at a substantially ninety degree angle to the longitudinal axis 20, and a lower surface which is at approximately a forty-five degree angle to approximately a thirty degree angle to the longitudinal axis 20. Configuration of the threads on the inner threaded surface 86 and the outer threaded surface 88 are such that when they work in conjunction, the mandrel 22 may move upward relative to the ratchet ring 82, but not downwards. The course threads mating between the ratchet ring 82 and the ratchet sleeve 72 are configured such that the split ratchet ring 82 will not expand in response to the mandrel 22 moving downward within the ratchet ring 82, but the ratchet ring 82 will expand as the ratchet ring 82 moves downward over the mandrel 22. This avoids downward creep of the mandrel 22 due to high pressure being are applied to the top of the frac plug 12 during use. Should there still be some slippage caused by expansion of the thermoplastic materials used in the components of the frac plug 12, the lock ring 64 acts as a secondary lock should any slippage occur of the mandrel 22 downward within the ratchet ring 82, such that the seal assembly 24 will remain firmly secured within the casing.
The seal assembly 24 includes an upper slip body 92 which has an upper end defining a shoulder which disposed adjacent a lower end of the ratchet sleeve 72. A groove 94 extends around a circumference of an upper slip body 92 for receiving anchor cleats 96 and fasteners 98 for securing the anchor cleats 96 in spaced apart relation within the groove 94. An upper conically shaped sleeve 100 is disposed adjacent the lower end of the upper slip body 92. The upper conical sleeve 100 is disposed adjacent one of the spacer rings 105, with the spacer ring 105 disposed adjacent to the uppermost one of the packer elements 102. The packer elements 102 are preferably provided by elastomeric materials. Spacer rings 104 are disposed between the three packer elements 102. A second spacer ring 105 is disposed between the packer elements 102 and the lower conical sleeve 106. Preferably, a central one of the packer elements 102 will be of a different material than the upper and lower packer elements 102, preferably having a lesser hardness than the upper and lower packer elements 102. A lower conical sleeve 106 is disposed immediately beneath the second spacer ring 105. The spacer rings 104 and 105 are provided to allow release of the packer elements 102 from sealingly engaging a well casing. A slip body 108 is disposed adjacent the lower end of the lower conical sleeve 106. A groove 110 circumferentially extends around and into the lower slip body 108 for receiving anchor cleats 112. Fasteners 114 secure the anchor cleats 112 into the upper slip body 92 and the lower slip body 108. A lowermost end of the lower conical sleeve 106 engages against a shoulder 116 portion of the lower end 36 of the mandrel 22.
It should be noted that the above-described components of the frac plug 12 may be used in configurations providing other downhole tools formed of composite polymeric materials, such as a bridge plugs and packers.
The present invention provides downhole tools formed of composite polymeric materials for sealing well casing, such as frac plugs, bridge plugs and packers, with the only metal parts being brass shear screws which secure such tools to adapter heads and setting tools, anchor cleats which are made from case hardened cast iron for anchoring the downhole tools within well casing, and an aluminum sleeve insert which is polished to provide a polished bore to seal against. The composite materials provide for easy drilling of the downhole tools, as compared to drilling prior art cast iron frac plugs, bridge plugs and packers. An elastomeric ball seat is further provided, allowing for sealing engagement with the frac ball and ease of drilling as compared to prior art polished metal ball seats. A ratchet lock assembly provides for movement of a split ratchet ring over the mandrel in a downward direction, but prevents movement of the mandrel downward within the ratchet ring. Further, an anchor assembly provides slip bodies are segmented for separating into slip segments which are pushed outward from a tool mandrel for urging anchor cleats into the interior surface of a well casing. The tool mandrels, ratchet lock and anchor assembly are formed of composite plastic materials, except for the anchor cleats mounted to the slip segments.
Although the preferred embodiment has been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
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