Patent Application
20140041857
Tubular systems, such as those used in the completion and carbon dioxide sequestration industries often employ anchors to positionally fix one tubular to another tubular, as well as seals to seal the tubulars to one another. Although existing anchoring and sealing tools and systems for setting such tools serve the functions for which they are intended, the industry is always receptive to new systems and methods for anchoring and sealing tubulars.
Disclosed herein is an anchoring and sealing device. The device includes at least one slip, a seal and a tubular in operable communication with the at least one slip and the seal. The anchoring and sealing device is configured to cause radial movement of the at least one slip into anchoring engagement with a structure and to cause radial movement of the seal into sealing engagement with the structure in response to longitudinal compression of the anchoring and sealing device. The anchoring and sealing device is also configured to maintain anchoring and sealing engagement with the structure without additional components remaining in contact therewith.
Further disclosed herein is an anchoring and sealing system. The system includes at least one slip, a seal, and a tubular in operable communication with the at least one slip and the seal. The anchoring and sealing device is configured to cause radial movement of the at least one slip into anchoring engagement with a structure and to cause radial movement of the seal into sealing engagement with the structure in response to longitudinal compression of the anchoring and sealing device. A setting tool is configured to set the at least one slip into anchoring engagement with the structure and the seal into sealing engagement with the structure. The setting tool includes, a mandrel, a collet slidably engaged with the mandrel between a first position and a second position, and fingers of the collet are radially supported by the mandrel when in the first position and unsupported radially when in the second position. A releasable member is in operable communication with the mandrel and the collet and is configured to maintain the collet in the first position until forces greater than forces needed to set the at least one slip and the seal are attained.
Further disclosed herein is a setting tool. The setting tool includes a mandrel, a collet slidably engaged about the mandrel having radially deformable fingers that are prevented from radially deforming when the collet is in a first position relative to the mandrel and are allowed to radially deform when the collet is in a second position relative to the mandrel. The radially deformable fingers are engagable with a settable tool when in the first position and disengagable from the settable tool when in the second position and a release member releasably fixes the collet to the mandrel in the first position until release thereof, the release member is configured to release at loads greater than loads needed to set the settable tool.
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 settable tool 14 is settable in the structure 50 by longitudinal compression thereof. Angles of the frustoconical surface 46A, 46B as well as dimensions, materials and surface finishes of the tubular 22, the slips 26 and the seal 30 are selectable to cause either the slips 26 or the seal 30 to be set prior to the setting of the other of the slips 26 and the seal 30. In some applications it may be desirable to have the seal 30 set first so as not to cause damage to the seal 30 due to movement relative to structure 50 that could occur if the slips 26 are set before the seal 30 is set. The settable tool 14 illustrated in the embodiment of the Figures herein is a packer-type tool such as a frac plug, for example, that includes a seat 58 on the seal 30 that is sealingly receptive to a plug 62 such as a ball, for example, that is run thereagainst. The frac plug 14 allows the earth formation 54 to be fractured via pressure built against the plug 62 when seated at the seat 58. Forces against the plug 62 while seated also urge the seal 30 to wedge between the tubular 22 and the structure 50 increasing sealing integrity thereof. The frag plug 14 has a large radial opening therethrough for production of fluid therethrough, for example. This large radial opening is in part possible because the frac plug 14 doesn't need any additional components to extend longitudinally through the tubular 22 to maintain it in the set condition. The angles of the frustoconical surface 46A, 46B as well as dimensions, materials and surface finishes of the tubular 22, the slips 26 and the seal 30 are also selectable to cause the settable tool 14 to remain set within the structure 50 after the setting tool 18 has been removed. These parameters result in frictional engagement and a wedging action of the slips 26 and the seal 30 between the tubular 22 and the structure 50.
The setting tool 18 is configured to set the settable tool 14 within the structure 50. The collet 38 in the illustrated embodiment is coaxial with the mandrel 34 and is longitudinally movable relative to the mandrel 34 after the release member 42 has been released. Prior to release of the release member 42 the collet 38 is fixedly attached to the mandrel 34. Shoulder 66 on an end 70 of the mandrel 34 is longitudinally aligned with fingers 74 of the collet 38 thereby radially supporting and preventing the fingers 74 from flexing radially inwardly. This support maintains the fingers 74 in radial positions that overlap with the slips 26 thereby assuring that the fingers 74 urge the slips 26 against the frustoconical surface 46B in response to movement of the collet 38 relative to the tubular 22 to set the slips 26. This urging load is carried by the release member 42 that maintains the collet 38 in a first position (
The force required to set the seal 30 into sealing engagement with the structure 50 can be set to a force less than that required to release the release member 42 to assure that the seal 30 fully sets prior to release of the release member 42. As mentioned above it may also be desirable to select a set force for the seal 30 that is less than that of the slips 26 to prevent relative motion between the seal 30 and the structure 50 during setting thereof. This force relationship can also be beneficial in assuring that the forces on the release member 42 are fully transferred to the setting of the seal 30 and are not absorbed by the slips 26 being engaged with the structure 50 which, if allowed to occur, could prevent full setting of the seal 30.
The seal 30 can be a single piece of a single material such as metal, or polymeric, for example. Alternately, the seal 30 can have two or more portions. The illustrated embodiment of the seal 30 includes a first portion 30A that is polymeric and a second portion 30B that is metal. The first portion 30A provides malleability to improve sealing against any imperfections in walls 94 of the structure 50. The second portion 30B provides stiffness to assure that longitudinal forces thereagainst cause the second portion 30B to slide along the frustoconical surface 46A as both the second portion 30B and the first portion 30A expand radially. Additionally, the second portion 30B can have the seat 58 thereon that is seatingly engagable with the plug 62 as discussed above.
Although not detailed in the Figures the setting tool 18 includes a portion that pushes against the seal 30 in the direction of arrows 82 in
The end 70 of the mandrel 34 also abuts against protrusions 90 that project radially inwardly from the fingers 74. This assures that any loads imparted on the fingers 74 such as those due to inadvertent contact with the walls 94 while the system 10 is being run into the structure 50 will be absorbed through the mandrel 34. Such a configuration prevents these loads from being absorbed by the release member 42 that could result in undesirable and premature release or damage to the release member 42.
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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.
