Patent Application
20240018851
Perforation tools and components used in hydrocarbon production are described herein. Specifically, new apparatus and methods for orienting charges in a perforation tool are described.
Perforation tools are tools used in oil and gas production to form holes, passages, and/or fractures in hydrocarbon-bearing geologic formations to promote flow of hydrocarbons from the formation into the well for production. The tools generally have explosive charges shaped to project a jet of reaction products, including hot gases and molten metal, into the formation. The tool has a generally tubular profile, and includes support frames, ignition circuits, and potentially wiring for activating the charges and communicating signals and/or data along the tool. The charges are generally shaped like a cone or a bell, and the charges are generally activated by delivering energy, such as thermochemical energy and/or electrical energy, to an apex region of the charge.
The shaped charges are installed in the perforation tool before lowering the tool into a well. Generally, perforation in a specific direction at a specific location is desired. Thus, the tool is typically oriented to point the blast vector from the shaped charges in the desired direction. Mispositioning of the perforation tool, even slightly, can result in a sub-optimal perforation. Thus, methods and apparatus for orienting perforation tools are needed.
Embodiments described herein provide a shaped charge frame assembly, comprising a tubular electrical conductor and a shaped charge frame disposed around the tubular electrical conductor and rotatably engaged with the tubular electrical conductor.
Other embodiments described herein provide a perforation tool, comprising a shaped charge frame assembly, comprising a shaped charge frame having at least one shaped charge receptacle and a longitudinal axis that does not intersect the shaped charge receptacle; a frame electrical conductor disposed along the longitudinal axis of the shaped charge frame, wherein the shaped charge frame is rotatable about the frame electrical conductor; and a bulkhead assembly, comprising a bulkhead member having a longitudinal axis and a conduit along the longitudinal axis of the bulkhead member; and a bulkhead electrical conductor disposed in the conduit and coupled to the frame electrical conductor, wherein the shaped charge frame is spaced apart from the bulkhead member.
Other embodiments described herein provide a shaped charge frame assembly, comprising a shaped charge frame having at least one shaped charge receptacle and a longitudinal axis that does not intersect the shaped charge receptacle; an electrical conductor disposed through the shaped charge frame along the longitudinal axis of the shaped charge frame; and at least two cylindrical bearings disposed around the electrical conductor, wherein the at least two bearings are freely rotatable between the electrical conductor and the shaped charge frame.
The perforation tools described herein use shaped charges to project jets of hot material outward from a wellbore into a subterranean formation. The shaped charges are housed in a frame that orients the shaped charges to direct the jets of hot material in a desired direction. The shaped charge frames described herein are self-orienting within the perforation tool.
At least one shaped charge frame assembly 110 is disposed in the charge section 106 of the housing 102. In this case, two identical shaped charge frame assemblies 110 are shown to illustrate the modular construction of the shaped charge frame assemblies 110. The shaped charge frame assembly 110 has a shaped charge frame 112 with a longitudinal axis 114 and a central conduit 116 along the longitudinal axis 114. A frame electrical conductor 118 is disposed along the longitudinal axis 114 to provide electrical connectivity from a first end 120 of the shaped charge frame assembly 110 to a second end 122 of the shaped charge frame assembly 110 opposite from the first end 120. Each of the first end 120 and the second end 122 has a beveled edge 124 in the embodiments shown herein. The beveled edge 124 is optional. In this case, the beveled edge 124 can be helpful in assembling the shaped charge frames 110 into the housing 102. Each shaped charge frame 112 is freely rotatable within the housing 102 by operation of one or more bearings disposed between the shaped charge frame 112 and the frame electrical conductor 118, to be discussed further below.
The frame electrical conductor 118, in this case, is disposed through the conduit 116 and protrudes from both ends of the shaped charge frame 112 to provide electrical connectivity with other members of the perforation tool 100. At the first end 120, the frame electrical conductor 118 has a first connector 126 for connecting with an initiator assembly 128 housed in the initiator section 108 of the housing 102. The first connector 126 has an opening 127 for receiving an electrical connector of another member of the perforation tool.
The initiator assembly 128 has an initiator housing 130 with a longitudinal axis 132 that, when assembled in the perforation tool 100 is substantially coaxial with the longitudinal axis 114 of the shaped charge frame 112. The initiator housing 130 has a central conduit 134 in which an initiator electrical conductor 136 is disposed. The initiator housing 130 may be made of a material that is not electrically conductive. Alternately, the initiator housing 130 may be made of an electrically conductive material, and an insulator may be disposed in the central conduit 134 between an interior wall of the central conduit 134 and the initiator electrical conductor 136.
The initiator electrical conductor 136 is hollow for housing a detonator 138, shown here inserted into the initiator electrical conductor 136 for operation. A first end 142 of the initiator electrical conductor 136 protrudes from a first end 139 of the initiator housing 130, defining a first end 140 of the initiator assembly 128. The first end 142 of the initiator electrical conductor 136 has an opening 144 to provide fluid connectivity from the initiator assembly 128 to other portions of the perforation tool 100. Here, the first end 142 of the initiator electrical conductor 136 is inserted into the first connector 126 of the frame electrical conductor 118. The frame electrical conductor 118 is hollow, so the opening 144 of the initiator electrical conductor 136 provides fluid connectivity to the interior of the frame electrical conductor 118.
When assembled into the initiator electrical conductor 136, the detonator 138 is electrically connected to an initiator switch assembly 146 disposed in the initiator housing 130 at or near a second end 148 of the initiator assembly 128, opposite from the first end 140. The initiator switch assembly 146 has a switch connector 150 that is electrically connected to the detonator 138, which may be through the initiator electrical conductor 136 or may be through another electrical conductor. The initiator assembly 128 has an electrical connector 152 at the second end 148 of the initiator assembly 128, which protrudes beyond the initiator housing 130 and defines the second end 148. The electrical connector 152 is typically electrically coupled to the initiator switch assembly 146 to provide electrical continuity from the first end 140 of the initiator assembly 128 to the second end 148. Here, the electrical connector 152 is electrically coupled to the switch connector 150 through a switch circuit 154 positioned in a transverse orientation in the initiator housing 130 near the second end 148 of the initiator assembly 128.
At the second end 122 of the shaped charge frame assembly 110, the frame electrical conductor 118 has a second connector 156 for connecting with a bulkhead assembly 158. The bulkhead assembly 158 includes a bulkhead member 160 with a longitudinal axis 162 that, when assembled in the perforation tool 100 is substantially coaxial with the longitudinal axis 114 of the shaped charge frame 112 and the longitudinal axis 132 of the initiator housing 130. The bulkhead member 160 has a central conduit 164 disposed along the longitudinal axis 162. The bulkhead member 160 is typically made of a dense material, such as metal, to provide protection from the ballistic discharge of the shaped charges. When the bulkhead member 160 is made of an electrically conductive material, an insulator lining 166 is disposed in the central conduit 164 and a bulkhead electrical conductor 168 is routed through the insulator lining 166. The bulkhead electrical conductor 168 has a first connector 170 at a first end 172 of the bulkhead electrical conductor 168 for connecting with the second connector 156 of the frame electrical conductor 118. The bulkhead electrical conductor 168 has a second connector 174 at a second end 176 of the bulkhead electrical conductor 168 for electrical continuity across the bulkhead assembly 158.
The electrical conductors 118, 136, and 168, along with the connector 150 of the initiator assembly, provide electrical continuity along the perforation tool 100 from end to end. The hollow electrical conductors 136 and 118 also provide ballistic continuity along the central conduits of the initiator housing 130 and the shaped charge frames 112.
Each shaped charge receptacle 202 has an opening 206 at the central conduit 116, the opening 206 providing a fluid pathway from the central conduit 116 to the shaped charge receptacle 202. The shaped charges 204 generally have openings 208 to expose explosive materials therein to the central conduit 116 through the openings 206 in the shaped charge receptacles 202. The frame electrical conductor 118 is hollow, with an interior 210 to accommodate ballast members (not shown), which function to receive a ballistic transmission into the interior 210 from an adjacent member of the perforation tool 100 (
The frame electrical conductor 118 does not contact the shaped charge frame 112. At least one bearing 214 is disposed around the frame electrical conductor 118 to provide rotational motion of the shaped charge frame 112 with respect to the frame electrical conductor 118. Here, there are two bearings 214 disposed on either side of the openings 212, but a single bearing could be used spanning across the openings 212 if the bearing also has openings to allow ballistic transfer into the shaped charge receptacles 202. More than two bearings could also be used, for example if instead of one of the bearings 214 two or more bearings are used.
The bearings 214 are cylindrical bands that are disposed between the frame electrical conductor 118 and the shaped charge frame 112. A space is provided between each bearing 214 and both the frame electrical conductor 118 and the central conduit 116 of the shaped charge frame 112 such that each bearing has complete rotational freedom of movement between the frame electrical conductor 118 and the shaped charge frame 112. As a result, each shaped charge frame 112 has complete rotational freedom of movement within the housing 102 (
The first connector 126 of the frame electrical conductor 118 has an outer radius that is greater than an outer radius of a central portion 216 of the frame electrical conductor 118. The frame electrical conductor 118 has a shoulder 218 between the first connector 126 and the central portion 216 that functions to restrain one of the bearings 214 in an axial direction. A bridge portion 220 of the shaped charge frame 112 extends around the frame electrical conductor 118 between the two shaped charge receptacles 202. The bridge portion 220 extends between the two bearings 214, so one of the bearings 214 is captured between the bridge portion 220 and the shoulder 218, preventing axial motion the bearing 214 between the bridge portion 220 and the shoulder 218. A snap ring 221, or other restraint, is disposed around the electrical conductor 118 at the second end 122 to restrain axial movement of another of the bearings 214 between the snap ring 221 and the bridge portion 220. The frame electrical conductor 118, the shaped charge frame 112, and the bearings 214 are shaped and sized to provide a small space between the bearings 214 and the frame electrical conductor 118 and the shaped charge frame 112 so the bearings 214 and the shaped charge frame 112 can rotate freely with respect to the frame electrical conductor 118. Rotation of the frame electrical conductor 118 is prevented by physical coupling with the other electrical connectors of the other members of the perforation tool 100.
Similar to the shaped charge frame 112, the shaped charge frame 254 has a first end 260 and a second end 262 opposite from the first end 260. The shaped charge frame assembly 250 includes a frame electrical conductor 259 disposed in a central conduit 264 that extends along a longitudinal axis 266 of the shaped charge frame 254. The frame electrical conductor 259 has the first connector 126 for seating in the conduit 264 at the first end 260. The bearing 252 at the first end 260 of the shaped charge frame 254 contacts the first connector 126 of the frame electrical conductor 259 to provide rotational support for the shaped charge frame 254 to rotate about the frame electrical conductor 259. The bearing 252 at the second end 262 is spaced apart from the frame electrical conductor 259 at the second end 262, such that the bearing 252 and the frame electrical conductor 259 define an annular gap 268 for receiving an electrical connector of another tool. In such cases, the bearing 252 at the second end 262 contacts the electrical connector of the connected tool to provide rotational support for the shaped charge frame 254.
The electrical conductor 259 of
In general, the shaped charge frames described herein are engaged with a tubular electrical conductor to rotate freely about the tubular electrical conductor. The engagement may be mediated by bearings, or as in
Here, two weight member 302 are used. The two weight member 302 are positioned such that a line from a longitudinal axis of one weight member 302 to a longitudinal axis of the other weight member 302 does not intersect the longitudinal axis 114 of the shaped charge frame 112. It should be noted that additional recesses can be provided in the shaped charge frame 112 for additional weight members 302. For example, instead of providing a continuous recess 304 that extends from one end of the shaped charge frame 112 to the other end, a series of discrete recesses can be provided in the bulk of the shaped charge frame 112 to allow insertion of multiple weight members 302 with positions selected to provide a desired orientation. The shaped charge frame 112 shown in
It should also be noted that, as shown in
The shaped charge receptacles 202 are formed as channels in the bulk of the shaped charge frame 112. Adjacent to the first end 120, each shaped charge receptacle 202 features a stop 306 that limits axial movement of the shaped charge 204. Adjacent to the second end 122, each shaped charge receptacle 202 features an opening 308 for inserting and extracting shaped charges 204. The shaped charges 204 slide laterally into the shaped charge receptacles 202 to the stop 306, and restraints engage with the shaped charges 204 to secure them in place.
With all the embodiments of shaped charge frames and assemblies described herein, weight members are used to move the mass centroid of the shaped charge frame away from the axis of rotation so that the shaped charge frame will self-orient in the presence of a non-axial gravitational field. Free rotation of the shaped charge frame allows the shaped charge frame to adopt a position with lowest gravitational potential as the orientation of the perforation tool with respect to the gravitational field changes. Although the positions of the weight member recesses generally are not changed, different weight members with different sizes (i.e. lengths) and densities can be disposed in the recesses to change where the mass centroid of the frame is located, thus changing the self-orientation angle of the frame. In the case of
The central plate 412 supports a feedthrough 422, which provides a conduit for electrical conductivity from the first end 416 to the second end 420 of the bulkhead member 406. The feedthrough 422 has a central bore 425, oriented along the longitudinal axis of the bulkhead member 406, that extends through the central plate 412 from the first cavity 414 to the second cavity 418. A first protrusion 424 extends from a first side 426 of the central plate 412 into the first cavity 414, and a second protrusion 428 extends from a second side 430 of the central plate 412 into the second cavity 418. The central bore 425 extends along and within the first protrusion 424, through the central plate 412, and along and within the second protrusion 428 to provide a pathway through the central plate 412 from the first cavity 414 to the second cavity 418.
The bulkhead member 406, here, is non-symmetric. The bulkhead member 406 has a generally cylindrical shape with a central longitudinal axis 401 that generally resembles a cylindrical axis. In one aspect, a center of mass of the bulkhead member 406 is closer to the first end 416 of the bulkhead member 406 than to the second end 420 of the bulkhead member 406. In another aspect, the bulkhead member 406 has no plane of symmetry that intersects the central longitudinal axis 401. For example, the bulkhead member 406 has no transverse plane of symmetry.
An electrical conductor 432 is disposed in the central bore 425 to provide electrical conductivity from the first end 416 to the second end 420 of the bulkhead member 406. The electrical conductor 432 has a pin connection 434 at a first end thereof and a box connection 436 at a second end thereof opposite from the first end. When the electrical conductor 432 is installed in the bulkhead member 406, the pin connection 434 is disposed in the first protrusion 424 and the box connection 436 extends beyond the second protrusion 428. The electrical conductor 432 is a rod-like member that extends from the pin connection 434 at the first end to the box connection 436 at the other end The box connection 436 is a hollow cylindrical member with diameter larger than a diameter of the rest of the electrical conductor 432 so that the box connection 436 can receive an electrical connector of another tool into the hollow cylindrical box connection 436. In some embodiments, the box connection 436 may be described as a “female” electrical connection, while the pin connection 434 may be described as a “male” electrical connection. Here, the pin connection 434 is axially rigid with no axial movement capability such as spring-loading or extension/retraction.
An electrical insulator 438 is disposed within the central bore 425 around the electrical conductor 432 to prevent electrical connection between the electrical conductor 432 and the body 410. The body 410 is typically made of steel to provide pressure insulation between the loading tube 402, where the charges discharge, and the initiator module 404, where sensitive electronics are located to control operation of the tool. In some embodiments, where the body 410 can be made from a dense, hard, non-conducive material, such as hard plastic, the electrical insulator 438 might not be needed. The electrical insulator 438 has a seal portion 440 that inserts into a throat 442 of the central bore that extends into the central plate 425. The seal portion 440 has a groove 444 that accommodates a seal member 446 to provide a secure fit for the electrical conductor 432 within the central bore 425. The electrical insulator 438 extends from the seal portion 440 to an entry portion 447 that houses the box connection 436 of the electrical conductor 432. The entry portion 447 has a shape similar to the shape of the box connection 436, in this case a hollow cylindrical shape with an inner diameter approximately equal to an outer diameter of the box connection 436 so that an inner surface of the electrical insulator 438 contacts an outer surface of the box connection 436. The seal members 415 and 446 provide pressure seal against the hydrostatic pressure of the well environment, as well as pressure seal between adjacent tools.
The electrical conductor 432 extends beyond the seal portion 440 of the electrical insulator 438 through the central plate 412, where the central bore 425 defines an annular gap 450 around the electrical conductor 438. A wall 452 extends radially inward from an interior wall of the central bore 425 toward the electrical conductor 432 to define the gap 450. The electrical conductor 432 further extends into the first protrusion 424 to the pin connection 434. The electrical insulator 438 thus extends from the box connection 438 partway along the length of the electrical conductor 432 to the annular gap 450. Each of the electrical insulator 438 and the electrical conductor 432 extends beyond the second protrusion into the second cavity 418 and beyond the second end of the body 410 to provide an accessible electrical connection to accommodate another tool.
In
A plug connector 460 is disposed within the end of the first protrusion 424 around the pin connection 436 of the electrical conductor 432. The plug connector 460 provides electrical connection to a wire contact 462 of the initiator module 404. The plug connector 460 can be an RCA connector, or another convenient type of connector. The wire contact 462 connecting with the plug connector 460 electrically connects the bulkhead member 406 with the initiator module 404. In this way, electrical connection is established from the initiator module 404, through the bulkhead member 406, to the loading tube 402.
Returning to
A second loading tube 402 is shown in
The loading tube 402, initiator module 404, and bulkhead member 406 all fit within a housing 407. In
In operation a detonator 480 (
While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the present disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
The present application claims priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/198,792, filed Nov. 13, 2020, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein and should be considered part of this specification.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2021/059400 | 11/15/2021 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63198792 | Nov 2020 | US |
