Patent Application
20120031611
A known issue that occurs along a slurry flow path is erosion of components. For example, the flow of gravel slurry during downhole gravel packing operations in the downhole completion industry have been known to erode completely through a wall of a casing. Operators have employed various techniques to minimize such erosion including use of hardened shields in the most erosion prone locations. Such methods may successfully address the erosion concern, however, positioning the hardened shields often comes at a cost premium. Other drawbacks may also be encountered, such as difficulty in properly positioning the shields, for example. Operators are therefore always interested in new devices and methods to address undesirable erosion.
Disclosed herein is an erosion migration arrangement that includes a tubular having a window therein. A body positioned within a portion of the window is configured to sacrificially erode in response to a slurry flowing through the window to thereby migrate a location of impact on a member positioned downstream of the window.
Further disclosed is a method of migrating a slurry flow path including constructing at least one portion of a border of a window of a tubular from an eroded material, flowing slurry through the window; eroding the at least one portion at a faster rate than a remaining border of the window; and migrating a flow path of the slurry.
Further disclosed is a sacrificially erodable member which includes a core configured to easily erode in a target environment, and a shell in operable communication with the core configured to protect the core from eroding until fracture thereof.
The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike:
A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures.
Referring to
The body 22, as described, sacrificially erodes to intentionally alter the area of impingement 34 on the downstream surface 30. Specifically selecting certain design parameters can influence this intentional sacrificial erosion. For example, a border location of a portion of the window 18 having the body 22 can influence the rate of erosion thereof. Positioning the body 22 on a downhole portion of the border will assure that more of the particulates in the slurry directly impact the body 22 and with greater force than if the body 22 is placed elsewhere along the border. Alternately, the body 22 can have an altered geometry that is susceptible to erosion, such as a thinner wall, for example. Additionally, the body can be made of a material that erodes more easily than a material from which the tubular 14 is made. Alternately, the body 22 could be made of the same material as the tubular 14 but be processed in differently. For example, the body could be foamed or heat-treated resulting in a different strength and hardness.
Referring to
While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims. Also, in the drawings and the description, there have been disclosed exemplary embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms may have been employed, they are unless otherwise stated used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention therefore not being so limited. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, etc. do not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. Furthermore, the use of the terms a, an, etc. do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.
