The present disclosure relates generally to the generation of energy in situ in a downhole environment and more specifically to methods and systems for harvesting energy generated by a downhole jar and storing the harvested energy as electrical energy for subsequent use by other devices.
Wells are drilled at various depths to access and produce oil, gas, minerals, and other naturally-occurring deposits from subterranean geological formations. The drilling of a well is typically accomplished with a drill bit that is rotated within the well to advance the well by removing topsoil, sand, clay, limestone, calcites, dolomites, or other materials to form a wellbore. The drill bit is typically attached to a drill string that may be rotated to drive the drill bit and within which drilling fluid, referred to as “drilling mud” or “mud”, may be delivered downhole. The drilling mud is used to cool and lubricate the drill bit and downhole equipment and is also used to transport any rock fragments or other cuttings to the surface of the well.
After the wellbore is formed, tools may be deployed by, for example, wireline, slickline, or other conveyances. Wireline-delivered tools are suspended from a wireline that is electrically connected to control systems at the surface of the well, usually for the purposes gathering and conveying data about the formation, wellbore, or fluid in the wellbore. Slickline tools are similarly deployed into a wellbore but may not have an electrical connection to surface equipment. The tools may be deployed by first removing the drill string and then lowering the wireline and tools to an area of interest within the formation. The tools associated with wireline and slickline deployment may be used to measure pressure, temperature, and other properties of formation and wellbore fluids, and may require electric power to operate.
In the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical structural, mechanical, electrical, and chemical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. To avoid detail not necessary to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments described herein, the description may omit certain information known to those skilled in the art. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the illustrative embodiments is defined only by the appended claims.
In addition to the types of downhole tools mentioned above, other downhole operations may also necessitate the use of downhole electrically powered systems and devices. Yet in some situations, it may be difficult, costly, or impractical to supply a dedicated power line or battery to such systems and devices. As a result, downhole tools may include mechanisms for generating power downhole. Such power generation mechanisms may include turbines that harvest kinetic energy from the fluid circulating through the wellbore, circuits that derive energy from steady-state tool vibrations, or similar systems derived from energy sources that operate at a steady state.
In systems that do not include a constant source of kinetic energy, however, intermittent or sporadic sources of energy may be harvested to operate devices having low or moderate power requirements. For example, hydraulic and mechanical jars generate substantial kinetic energy when they are activated to loosen or dislodge downhole devices in the wellbore. Systems and methods are described herein that provide for harvesting kinetic energy from a mechanical or hydraulic jar to generate and store electrical energy for use in other downhole applications.
Such energy-harvesting systems may be used with any of the various techniques employed for forming, operating, maintaining, and evaluating a well. The illustrative systems described herein may be delivered downhole as part of a wireline-delivered downhole assembly or as a part of a drill string. It should also be apparent that given the benefit of this disclosure, the apparatuses and methods described herein have applications in downhole operations other than drilling, and may also be used after a well is completed.
As used herein, the phrases “electrically coupled” and “electrically connected,” refer to a form of coupling, connection, or communication related to circuits and electronic devices, and the corresponding transmission of electricity, or electrical energy between such circuits and devices.
Referring now to
In the embodiment illustrated in
At or near the surface 108 of the well, the drill string 120 may include or be coupled to a kelly 128. The kelly 128 may have a square, hexagonal or octagonal cross-section. The kelly 128 is connected at one end to the remainder of the drill string and at an opposite end to a rotary swivel 132. The kelly passes through a rotary table 136 that is capable of rotating the kelly and thus the remainder of the drill string 120 and drill bit 116. The rotary swivel 132 allows the kelly 128 to rotate without rotational motion being imparted to the rotary swivel 132. A hook 138, cable 142, traveling block (not shown), and hoist (not shown) are provided to lift or lower the drill bit 116, drill string 120, kelly 128 and rotary swivel 132. The kelly 128 and swivel 132 may be raised or lowered as needed to add additional sections of tubing to the drill string 120 as the drill bit 116 advances, or to remove sections of tubing from the drill string 120 if removal of the drill string 120 and drill bit 116 from the well 102 is desired.
A reservoir 144 is positioned at the surface 108 and holds drilling mud 148 for delivery to the well 102 during drilling operations. A supply line 152 is fluidly coupled between the reservoir 144 and the inner passage of the drill string 120. A pump 156 drives fluid through the supply line 152 and downhole to lubricate the drill bit 116 during drilling and to carry cuttings from the drilling process back to the surface 108. After traveling downhole, the drilling mud 148 returns to the surface 108 by way of an annulus 160 formed between the drill string 120 and the wellbore 104. At the surface 108, the drilling mud 148 is returned to the reservoir 144 through a return line 164. The drilling mud 148 may be filtered or otherwise processed prior to recirculation through the well 102.
A jar 170 may be positioned downhole adjacent a downhole tool 172 or work piece to prevent the tool 172 or work piece from becoming lodged in the wellbore 106 or to dislodge the tool 172 in the event the tool 172 becomes stuck.
The tool 172 may be any number of downhole tools. For example, the tool 172 may be a measurement device that measures temperature, pressure, acceleration, or forces that are experienced by the tool 172. While the jar 170 and tool 172 are illustrated as a part of the drill string 120 in
As noted above, the jar 170 is a mechanical or hydraulic device that delivers an impact load to another object within a drill string 120, completion string, or other tool string deployed in the wellbore 104. The jar 170 may be used to free a stuck object or to set the tool 172. The jar includes a movable element that is activated to generate an impact and a stationary member. The stationary member may be a housing or cylinder and the movable element may be a mandrel or piston located within the housing or cylinder that slides along the axis of the housing or cylinder to generate the impact. The jar 170 may be actuated by pulling the movable element in one direction along the stationary member to compress a spring. When the movable element is released, the spring force accelerates the movable element along the stationary member and the desired impact is generated when the movable element reaches the end of its travel. The jar 170 can be reset and actuated multiple times as needed, and may be included in a variety of downhole configurations, as described below.
A piston 230 is also secured to the mandrel 218, and is biased in an upward position by a plurality of springs 232. A ring 234 at the upper end of the housing 212 and ring 236 adjacent to the middle portion of the housing 212 form an enclosure about a sleeve 238, which includes an annular groove 240 therein. A collet 242 is coupled to the mandrel 218 as shown. When aligned with the groove 240, the collet 242 is free to move radially into the groove 240. Each of the piston 230 and the anvil 220 is securely coupled to the mandrel 218, such that, in normal operation, the housing 212 moves upward during actuation of the jar relative to the mandrel 18, which may be stationary.
The jar 200 of
The piston 230 includes a flow path 246 and a flow meter 247 for metering fluid from the lower chamber below the piston 230 to the upper chamber above the piston 230. The piston 230 also includes a second flow path 248 and a check valve 249 for allowing fluid above the piston 230 to quickly pass beneath the piston 230 when resetting the jar 200.
The jar 200 also includes an energy harvesting subsystem 250, which may be formed integrally to the jar 200, as shown in
The magnet 252 and conductive coil 254 are positioned such that motion of the magnet 252 relative to the conductive coil 254 induces an electric current in the conductive coil 254. Using the same physical principles applied in most magnet-coil generators, the kinetic energy of the jar 200 is converted into electrical energy in the conductive coil 254. The conductive coil 254 is coupled by an electrical coupling 256 to an energy storage device 258, which may include a battery, a capacitor, or other structure for converting the electrical energy induced in the conductive coil 254 into stored electrical energy in the energy storage device 258. In an embodiment, the energy harvesting subsystem 250 may also include a controller 260 that is coupled to the energy storage device 258 to monitor the amount of energy stored in the energy storage device 258 and transmit power to other downhole devices. In an embodiment, the controller 260 may also include a transceiver or communications system to transmit data relating to the amount of energy stored in the energy storage device 258 to an operator at the surface or to other downhole communications devices.
In another embodiment, the movable member may be coupled to a worm gear component that engages a complementary worm gear component that is coupled to stationary member to translate the linear kinetic energy generated by a jar into rotational energy. For example, the worm gear component may cause the complementary worm gear component to rotate, and the complementary worm gear component may be coupled to a flywheel that includes magnets. In such an embodiment, the conductive coils may be coil windings arranged to receive and transmit an electric current that is induced by the rotational motion of the magnets in a manner similar to a conventional magnet-coil generator.
To power certain types of downhole devices, the jar 200 includes the foregoing features that enable it to harvest kinetic energy generated when the jarring force is applied and store the harvested energy as electrical energy for use. The jar 200 generates substantial kinetic energy, if only for a short time, when the movable member of the jar 200 is activated to move rapidly relative to the stationary member. In the embodiment described above, the jar 200 is a hydraulic jar and the movable member is the cylindrical housing 212 and the stationary member is the mandrel 218. In another embodiment, the movable member is the mandrel 218 and the stationary member is the cylindrical housing 212. In another embodiment, the jar may be a mechanical jar, and the movable member and the stationary member may be two metal parts, with the movable member having a mass that is sized and configured to deliver an impact that dislodges a stuck object in a wellbore.
Activation of the movable member may be initiated by applying an instantaneous tension, or up-pull, to the conveyance 201 from which the jar is suspended. As noted above, the conveyance 201 may be a slickline, wireline, drill pipe, coiled tube, or other suitable conveyance 201. In operation, the tension is applied from the surface through the slickline, wireline, drill pipe or coiled tube to create an excessive tension that activates the jar. Such activation causes the movable member to move rapidly relative to the stationary member until the movable member collides with stationary member to generate an impact, or “jarring action.” After each jarring action, the jar 200 may be reset and reactivated to generate additional jarring actions.
In an embodiment, the jar 200 may be designed with an actuation delay that requires the actuation tension to be applied for a sustained time period to activate the jar 200. In addition, the jar 200 may be configured to automatically reset so that continuous jarring can be made repeatedly in very short time intervals, which may provide a more regular source of kinetic energy for harvesting. The more regular source of kinetic energy may be converted to electrical energy that can be stored in greater volumes to provide power to downhole systems such as logging and measurement systems, communications systems, actuators for other downhole devices, and control systems. Such logging and measurement systems may include Logging-While-Drilling (LWD) and Measurement-While-Drilling (MWD) systems.
The foregoing text describes an apparatus for converting kinetic energy to electrical energy in a downhole environment. The apparatus may include a jar that has a movable member and a stationary member, with the movable member being movable relative to the stationary member by a control system. The control system may be a hydraulic, electrical, or mechanical control system that applies an activation signal, such as cable tension or a pressure pulse, to activate the jar. The jar further includes one or more magnets and one or more conductive coils. The magnet moves relative to the coil to generate electrical energy in response to movement of the movable member relative to the stationary member.
In an embodiment, the apparatus also includes an energy storage device coupled to the one or more conductive coils and operable to harvest and store electrical energy generated in response to movement of the movable member relative to the stationary member. The jar may be activated by a tension force applied from a tensile supporting member, which may be a cable, a string of pipe, or a similar conveyance, to the jar.
The jar may be a hydraulic jar and as such, a hydraulic actuator may be used to activate the jar. In such an embodiment, the hydraulic actuator may provide a time delay before activating the jar. Further, the jar may include a mechanical detent to cause a time delay prior to activation of the jar. In addition to being a hydraulic jar, the jar may instead be a mechanical jar.
In an embodiment, the jar includes a movable member formed from a cylindrical housing having a sidewall and at least one hole formed in the sidewall. At least a portion of the stationary member may be located within the cylindrical housing and the movable member is movable moves in response to the motion of the conveyance. The cylindrical housing may include a magnetic chamber formed by the sidewall, a first end wall, and a second end wall, and wherein the one or more magnets are protected by first end wall and second end wall, and wherein the magnets are offset from the movable member and constrained in part by the first end wall and second end wall.
One or more magnets may be fixed to the stationary member and at least one or more conductive coils may be fixed to the movable member. In an alternative embodiment, one or more conductive coils are fixed to the stationary member and one or more magnets is fixed to the movable member. In each case, the conductive coils may be embedded in the surface of the movable member or located at an end of the movable member.
Where the conductive coils are arranged within a cylindrical housing, for example, the conductive coils may be arranged cylindrically about the magnets, and the magnets may be constrained to move axially within a cylindrical are formed by the conductive coils.
In an embodiment, an illustrative apparatus also includes an energy storage module that is coupled to the coil to receive and store generated electricity. The energy storage module may be a capacitor that is conductively coupled to the conductive coil to receive a charge or a battery and a charging circuit coupled to the conductive coil.
In another embodiment, a system for generating electrical energy in a downhole environment includes a conveyance and a jar having a movable member and a stationary member, the movable member being movable relative to the stationary member by a control system. The system also includes a magnet and a conductive coil, the magnet being movable relative to the coil to generate electrical energy in response to movement of the movable member relative to the stationary member.
The system may include an energy storage subsystem having a battery and a charging circuit coupled to the conductive coil and the battery to charge the battery. In addition, the system may include a downhole tool that receives power from the energy storage subsystem. The downhole tool may include a controller and a memory, and may be a measurement tool or similar tool operable to measure temperature, pressure, acceleration, or force within the wellbore. The downhole tool may also include a counter that is operable to count a number of jar actions and store the count to the memory. Such a memory may be a flash memory, a nonvolatile RAM memory, or other suitable type of memory. In addition to the foregoing, the downhole tool may include a communications subsystem operable to communicate with a surface computer. In turn, the communications subsystem may include a serial communication bus.
The conveyance described above may include a drum and a spool of slickline or wireline, the slickline or wireline being coupled to the jar and the drum. In an embodiment, the stationary member is coupled to a downhole tool via a coupling, and the downhole tool may be an object that is lodged or stuck within a wellbore. The conveyance may alternatively be a string of pipe coupled to the jar or a string of coiled tubing coupled to the jar. The conveyance may be operable to actuate the jar by applying a tension force or by applying a compressive force.
In an illustrative embodiment, a method for generating electrical energy in a wellbore includes (i) operating a jar deployed within the wellbore, the jar having a movable member and a stationary member, the movable member being movable relative to the stationary member, and the jar having a magnet and conductive coil, with the magnet being movable relative to the coil to generate electrical energy in response to movement of the movable member relative to the stationary member; and (ii) storing the electrical energy in an energy storage subsystem, the energy storage subsystem being electrically coupled to the conductive coil.
As noted above, the energy storage subsystem may include a capacitor and a charging circuit coupled to the conductive coil and the capacitor to charge the capacitor. For example, the energy storage subsystem may include a battery and a charging circuit coupled to the conductive coil and the battery to charge the battery.
The method may include providing electrical energy to a downhole tool using the energy storage subsystem, and using the downhole tool to measure temperature, pressure, acceleration, or force experienced by components in the wellbore. Further, the downhole tool may be used to count a number of jar actions and store the count to a memory within the downhole tool.
The illustrative systems, methods, and devices described herein may also be described by the following examples:
An apparatus for converting kinetic energy to electrical energy in a downhole environment, the apparatus comprising:
The apparatus of example 1, further comprising an energy storage device coupled to the conductive coil and operable to harvest and store electrical energy generated in response to movement of the movable member relative to the stationary member.
The apparatus of examples 1 or 2, wherein the jar is activated by a tension force applied from a tensile supporting member.
The apparatus of example 3, wherein the tensile supporting member is a cable.
The apparatus of example 3, wherein the tensile supporting member is a string of pipe.
The apparatus of examples 1 or 2 wherein the jar is a hydraulic jar and a hydraulic actuator is used to activate the jar.
The apparatus of example 6, wherein the hydraulic actuator provides a time delay.
The apparatus of examples 1 or 2, wherein the jar uses a mechanical detent to provide a time delay to activate the jar.
The apparatus of examples 1 or 2, wherein the jar is a mechanical jar.
The apparatus of examples 1 or 2, wherein:
The apparatus of example 10, wherein the cylindrical housing comprises a magnetic chamber formed by the sidewall, a first end wall, and a second end wall, and wherein the magnets are protected by first end wall and second end wall, and wherein the magnets are offset from the movable member and constrained in part by the first end wall and second end wall.
The apparatus of examples 1 or 2, wherein at least one magnet is fixed to the stationary member and at least one conductive coil is fixed to the movable member.
The apparatus of examples 1 or 2, wherein at least one conductive coil is fixed to the stationary member and at least one magnet is fixed to the movable member.
The apparatus of examples 1 or 2, wherein at least one conductive coil is embedded in a surface of the movable member.
The device of example 1 or 2 wherein the conductive coil is located at an end of the movable member.
The apparatus of examples 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the conductive coils is arranged cylindrically about the magnets, and wherein the magnets are constrained to move axially within a cylindrical member formed by the conductive coils.
The apparatus of examples 1 or 2, further comprising an energy storage module, the energy storage module being coupled to the coil to receive and store generated electricity.
The apparatus of example 17, wherein the energy storage module comprises a capacitor that is conductively coupled to the conductive coil to receive a charge.
The apparatus of example 17, wherein the energy storage module comprises a battery and a charging circuit coupled to the conductive coil.
A system for generating electrical energy in a downhole environment, the system comprising:
a conveyance;
The system of example 20, further comprising an energy storage subsystem electrically coupled to the conductive coil.
The system of example 21, wherein the energy storage subsystem comprises a capacitor and a charging circuit coupled to the conductive coil and the capacitor to charge the capacitor.
The system of example 21, wherein the energy storage subsystem comprises a battery and a charging circuit coupled to the conductive coil and the battery to charge the battery.
The system of example 20, further comprising a downhole tool powered by the energy storage subsystem.
The system of example 24, wherein the downhole tool further comprises a controller and a memory.
The system of example 25, wherein the downhole tool comprises a measurement tool.
The system of example 26, wherein the measurement tool is operable to measure temperature, pressure, acceleration, or force.
The system of example 26, wherein the measurement tool comprises a counter that is operable to count a number of jar actions and store the count to the memory.
The system of example 29, wherein the controller is electrically coupled to the downhole tool and the memory.
The system of example 25, wherein the memory comprises a flash memory.
The system of example 25, wherein the memory comprises a nonvolatile RAM memory.
The system of example 25, wherein the downhole tool comprises a communications subsystem operable to communicate with a surface computer.
The system of example 32, wherein the communications subsystem comprises a serial communication bus.
The system of example 20, wherein the conveyance comprises module a drum and a spool of slickline, the slickline being coupled to the jar and the drum. Example 35. The system of example 20, wherein the conveyance comprises module a drum and a spool of wireline, the wireline being coupled to the jar and the drum.
The system of example 20, wherein the stationary member is coupled to a downhole tool via a coupling.
The system of example 20, wherein the downhole tool is located downhole and is lodged in the wellbore.
The system of example 20, wherein the conveyance comprises a string of pipe coupled to the jar.
The system of example 20, wherein the conveyance comprises a string of coiled tubing coupled to the jar.
The system of example 20, wherein the conveyance is operable to actuate the jar by applying a tension force.
The system of example 20, wherein the conveyance is operable to actuate the jar by applying a compressive force.
The system of example 20, wherein at least one the magnets is attached to the stationary member and at least one of the conductive coils is attached to the movable member.
The system of example 20, wherein at least one the magnets is attached to the movable member and at least one of the conductive coils is attached to the stationary member.
The system of example 20, where the conductive coil is embedded in the movable member.
The system of example 20, where the conductive coil is affixed to an end of the movable member.
The system of example 20, wherein the stationary member comprises the conductive coil and the conductive coil is attached to a cylindrical housing, wherein the movable member comprises a mandrel that is movable in an axial direction relative to the cylindrical housing, and wherein the mandrel comprises the magnet.
A method for generating electrical energy in a wellbore, the method comprising:
The method of example 47, wherein the energy storage subsystem comprises a capacitor and a charging circuit coupled to the conductive coil and the capacitor to charge the capacitor.
The method of example 47, wherein the energy storage subsystem comprises a battery and a charging circuit coupled to the conductive coil and the battery to charge the battery.
The method of example 47, further comprising providing electrical energy to a downhole tool using the energy storage subsystem.
The method of example 50, further comprising using the downhole tool to measure temperature, pressure, acceleration, or force.
The method of example 50, further comprising using the downhole tool to count a number of jar actions and store the count to a memory within the downhole tool.
It should be apparent from the foregoing that an invention having significant advantages has been provided. While the invention is shown in only a few of its forms, it is not limited to only these embodiments but is susceptible to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2013/069251 | 11/8/2013 | WO | 00 |