This is the first application for this invention.
This invention relates in general to tools for performing downhole operations that require an application of mechanical force and, in particular, to a novel hydraulic pressure converter with modular force multiplier for generating linear mechanical force for downhole tool operations on an as-required basis.
Numerous arrangements for providing linear mechanical force to perform operations with downhole tools for accomplishing certain tasks are known and have been widely used. For example, piston assemblies for converting pumped fluid pressure to mechanical force in a downhole tool are used in downhole tools such as packers, straddle packers, tubing perforators, and the like. Such piston assemblies employ a plurality of pistons connected in series to an inner or outer mandrel of a downhole tool to increase the piston area, and thereby increase the linear force that can be generated using fluid pumped down a work string to the downhole tool. An example of one such piston assembly can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,258 which issued on Dec. 11, 1984 to Jackson. While such piston assemblies have proven useful, another mechanism of converting pumped fluid pressure to linear force is desirable.
There therefore exists a need for a hydraulic pressure converter with modular force multiplier for generating linear mechanical force for downhole tool operations.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a hydraulic pressure converter with modular force multiplier for generating linear mechanical force for downhole tool operations.
The invention therefore provides a hydraulic pressure converter with a force multiplier, comprising: a mandrel having a mandrel central passage and mandrel piston ports that provide fluid communication through a sidewall of the mandrel; a converter piston that reciprocates on the mandrel and has converter piston ports in fluid communication with the mandrel piston ports; a small piston that reciprocates on the mandrel and is connected to a distal end of the converter piston, the small piston reciprocating within a small piston chamber filled with a contained fluid; a large piston that reciprocates on the mandrel within a large piston chamber in fluid communication with the small piston chamber; and an output force hub connected to the large piston and reciprocating therewith; whereby fluid pressure in the mandrel central passage urges the converter piston to move the small piston with a first force that is multiplied by the large piston and output by the output force hub.
The invention further provides a straddle packer comprising: a first hydraulic pressure converter with a force multiplier having a work string connector that supports a first packer element connected to an output force hub end thereof, and a first mandrel tube connected to a connector sleeve end thereof; a second hydraulic pressure converter with a force multiplier having a transition hub that supports a second packer element connected to the output force hub end thereof, and a second mandrel tube connected to a connector sleeve end thereof; and a fluid injection sub that interconnects free ends of the first and second mandrel tubes.
The invention yet further provides a hydraulic pressure converter with a force multiplier comprising: a connector sleeve having first and second ends, the first end having a connector sleeve connector end adapted to connect to one of a work string connector and a downhole tool component; a piston sleeve having first and second ends, the first end being connected to the second end of the connector sleeve; a force multiplier sleeve having first and second ends, the first end being connected to the second end of the piston sleeve and the second end supporting a force multiplier sleeve end cap; a converter piston having first and second ends that reciprocates on a mandrel within the piston sleeve in response to fluid pressure within the mandrel that is communicated through mandrel piston ports in the mandrel and converter piston ports in the converter piston to a converter piston chamber; a small piston connected to the second end of the converter piston and reciprocating therewith on the mandrel in a small piston chamber within the force multiplier sleeve, the small piston chamber being filled with a contained fluid; a large piston that reciprocates on the mandrel in a large piston chamber within the force multiplier sleeve, the large piston reciprocating in response to displacement of the contained fluid by the small piston; a force multiplier sleeve connected to the large piston and reciprocating on the mandrel with the large piston; and an output force hub connected to the force multiplier sleeve and reciprocating on the mandrel therewith.
Having thus generally described the nature of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The invention provides a hydraulic pressure converter with modular force multiplier (hereinafter simply “pressure multiplier”) for downhole tools that require linear force to perform a downhole task. The pressure multiplier converts fluid pressure pumped down a work string connected to the pressure multiplier into linear mechanical force that is used in a downhole tool to accomplish the required downhole task. The downhole tool can be used to, by way of example only: set slips; set packers; perforate a casing or tubing; open or close a sliding sleeve; or, perform many other downhole tool functions, or combination of downhole tool functions, that require the application of linear mechanical force. The pressure multiplier uses a hydraulic piston to convert fluid pressure pumped down the work string into a mechanical force that is multiplied by the force multiplier. Contained hydraulic fluid is used in the force multiplier to multiply linear force generated by the hydraulic piston. The force multiplier may be modular and the number of modules in the modular force multiplier determines an amount of force multiplication. Each additional module in the modular force multiplier increases a multiplication of the linear farce by about a factor of two.
The pressure multiplier permits the generation of linear mechanical force without the use of work string manipulations, which is advantageous in long lateral well bores because precise work string manipulation becomes unreliable in those well bores due to factors well understood in the art.
A seal sleeve 52 having a first end and a second end is threadedly connected to the converter piston 58. A seal sleeve retainer nut 54 connected to the first end of the seal sleeve retains a seal sleeve seal 56 that provides a high-pressure fluid seal with the mandrel 24 to prevent an egress of high-pressure fluid pumped downhole through the mandrel central passage 26 into a piston chamber 62 which is in fluid communication with converter piston ports 60 and mandrel piston ports 90. A converter piston seal 64 prevents an egress of the high-pressure fluid from the piston chamber 62. The converter piston seal 64 is retained by a converter piston seal retainer nut 66, which is in turn secured by a converter piston seal retainer nut lock ring 68. A multiplier transition sleeve 70 interconnects a second, distal end of the converter piston 58 and a small piston seal ring 72. The small piston seal ring 72 retains a small piston upper seal 74, a small piston lower seal 76 and a small piston 78. The small piston upper seal 74 inhibits an egress of high-pressure fluid from the piston chamber 62 and the small piston lower seal 76 inhibits an egress of the contained fluid 47 from the small piston chamber 80. The large piston chamber 81 is in fluid communication with the small piston chamber 80. The large piston 82 is reciprocated within the large piston chamber 81 by reciprocation of the small piston 78 by the converter piston 58. The small piston 78 displaces the contained fluid 47 in the small piston chamber 80. As explained above, the contained fluid 47 (a commercially available hydraulic fluid, for example) is introduced into the small piston chamber 80 via the force multiplier fill plug 46. Large piston seals 84, 84a are retained by a large piston seal retainer washer 85. The large piston seals 84, 84a inhibit an egress of contained fluid 47 from the large piston chamber 81. As noted above, the output force sleeve 20 is threadedly connected to the distal end of the large piston 82.
The mandrel 24 slidably supports components of the pressure multiplier 10, which reciprocate between the un-energized condition shown in
As explained above with reference to
The explicit embodiments of the invention described above have been presented by way of example only. The scope of the invention is therefore intended to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.
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