U.S. patent application number 11/009323 was filed with the patent office on 2005-06-16 for seamless woven wire sintered well screen.
This patent application is currently assigned to The Cavins Corporation. Invention is credited to Arterbury, Bryant Alan.
Application Number | 20050126779 11/009323 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34699860 |
Filed Date | 2005-06-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050126779 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Arterbury, Bryant Alan |
June 16, 2005 |
Seamless woven wire sintered well screen
Abstract
The product is a seamless sintered woven wire well screen
assembly concentrically mounted on a perforated or slotted mandrel.
The seamless sintered woven wire screen can either be used as a
component screen apparatus or as a primary screen filter element.
In use as a component screen application, the seamless sintered
woven wire screen provides a filter reinforcement to a primary
filter, or filter housing or shroud device that protects the
component screen from physical or mechanical damage during
installation. In this configuration two (2) usually different and
separate filter devices are combined. In use as a primary screen
element no other means other than the seamless woven wire screen is
involved in prohibiting unconsolidated sand production from the
wellbore. The well screen relates generally to completing downhole
wells, and in particular to well screens for filtering
unconsolidated material out of inflowing well fluid in water, oil,
gas, and recovery wells.
Inventors: |
Arterbury, Bryant Alan;
(Houston, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MARK A OATHOUT
3701 KIRBY DRIVE, SUITE 960
HOUSTON
TX
77098
US
|
Assignee: |
The Cavins Corporation
Houston
TX
|
Family ID: |
34699860 |
Appl. No.: |
11/009323 |
Filed: |
December 10, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60528344 |
Dec 10, 2003 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
166/278 ;
166/227; 166/231 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E21B 43/084
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
166/278 ;
166/227; 166/231 |
International
Class: |
E21B 043/04 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A sand screen assembly for separating particulate material from
a subsurface formation having fluid/gas, comprising: a well screen
wherein said well screen comprises a seamless sintered woven wire
element.
2. The sand screen assembly according to claim 1, wherein said
seamless sintered woven wire element includes a mandrel having a
plurality of apertures and a seamless sintered woven wire body
mounted over the mandrel.
3. The sand screen assembly according to claim 2, wherein said
seamless sintered woven wire body is made of a flat shaped ribbon
wire.
4. The sand screen assembly according to claim 2, wherein said
seamless sintered woven wire body is made of a round shaped
wire.
5. The sand screen assembly according to claim 2, wherein a means
for mechanical attachment is used for attaching the mandrel to said
seamless sintered woven wire body.
6. The sand screen assembly according to claim 2, wherein a means
for welding is used for attaching the mandrel to said seamless
sintered woven wire body.
7. The sand screen assembly according to claim 2, wherein said
seamless sintered woven wire body has pore space openings ranging
from 20 micron to 1,000 micron.
8. The sand screen assembly according to claim 2, wherein said
seamless sintered woven wire body is made in a tubular shape having
a wall thickness ranging from 0.020 inches thick to 0.365 inches
thick.
9. The sand screen assembly according to claim 2, wherein said
seamless sintered woven wire body has an offset weave pattern.
10. The sand screen assembly according to claim 2, wherein said
seamless sintered woven wire body has a non-offset weave
pattern.
11. The sand screen assembly according to claim 2, wherein said
seamless sintered woven wire body has pore space openings with
tolerances ranging from plus forty microns to minus forty
microns.
12. The sand screen assembly according to claim 3, wherein said
flat shaped ribbon wire has a thickness ranging from 0.002 inches
to 0.150 inches.
13. The sand screen assembly according to claim 4, wherein said
round shaped wire has a diameter ranging from 0.002 inches to 0.150
inches.
14. A method of removing any particulated matter entrained in a
subsurface gas/fluid formation, comprising the steps of: obtaining
a well screen from a seamless sintered woven wire material; placing
the well screen in a downhole environment in the subsurface
gas/fluid formation; and filtering the particulated matter from the
subsurface gas/fluid formation.
15. The method according to claim 14, further including the steps
of: flexing the seamless sintered woven wire material while
maintaining a pore space opening size proportional to the amount of
flexing.
16. The method according to claim 14, wherein said step of making
the well screen comprises adjusting a weave to create variably
sized pore space openings according to layers within the seamless
sintered woven wire material.
17. The method according to claim 14, wherein said step of making
the well screen comprises adding a drainage layer to the well
screen.
18. The method according to claim 14, further including the step of
electropolishing the well screen prior to said step of placing the
well screen downhole.
19. A method of removing any particulated matter entrained in a
subsurface gas/fluid formation, which comprises the step of
filtering a volume of subsurface gas/fluid to remove any
particulate matter, wherein the step of filtering is carried out
with a device comprising: a seamless sintered woven wire element.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional
application No. 60/528,344 filed Dec. 10, 2003.
STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR
DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable.
REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX
[0003] Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Current embodiments pertaining solely to the utilization of
nickel alloy diffusion bonded sintered metal filters in downhole
installations are limited to two (2) embodiments. One embodiment
uses sintered porous powdered metal which can either be
manufactured seamless or press-rolled and welded (U.S. Pat. No.
5,293,935 to Arterbury et.al). In another patent, short sections
are welded or mechanically attached (Lowery, Arterbury U.S. Pat.
No. 5,318,119) over a perforated or slotted mandrel. Another
embodiment in current use involves multi-layered sintered laminate
plates calendared together and form-pressed to a tube shape. After
forming in a press brake they are seam welded to retain tube shape
and strength. In either diffusion bonded (sintered) design they can
be employed as a component filter, or as a primary filter.
[0005] A problem, which arises with sintered powder well screens,
is plugging of sand fines (debris) due to what is known as depth
filtration. Uneven pore space openings can cause blockage in
specific areas of the filter, which can result in high entrance
velocities in others, resulting in erosion and failure.
[0006] Another problem that arises in this design is lack of
malleability. Sintered porous powder well screens have a tendency
to crack and split in bending applications such as those that are
encountered in horizontal well bores.
[0007] A further problem that arises with sintered laminate tube
well screen apparatus relates to the seam welding process. The flat
"sheet" metal (which may be woven) is made up of differing layers
of filter sheets that are manufactured into a sintered, diffusion
bonded single element structure to insure a nominal or absolute
filter capability, for example, micron rating, retention etc. In
this configuration the sintered laminate well screen tube is
seam-welded to maintain shape and integrity. As a result of the
press-brake rolling and seam welding processes, many aspects of the
procedure compromise the ability of the sintered welded tube to
perform in its environment. Seam welded sintered laminate causes a
heat affected zone particularly in the region of the weld that can
and does create "burn through" by inconsistent heating during the
welding process. Pin holes may develop as a result of the process
which causes "hot spots" that may evolve into erosion failures. In
addition, the heat-affected zone can also be subject to accelerated
stress-crack corrosion due to harsh downhole well conditions (ie,
temp/chlorides/acid, etc.).
[0008] It is also noted that wire-wrapped (conventional) (Smith
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,785,409; 3,908,256; 3,958,634 etc.) well screens
are used in the same applications as noted previously. Resistance
welding longitudinal ribs to the helically spaced wrap wires
constructs these well screens. As previously noted each weld region
is susceptible to stress crack corrosion at each juncture due to
being heat affected. The control of filter opening (width/pore
space) is also compromised at each juncture due to the heat of the
welding process combined with the tensile (stretching) conditions
placed on the wire during the process. Resistance welded
(wire-wrapped) screens are also attached to a base pipe which is
perforated or slotted. Connection can either be welded or
mechanically attached.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] A sand screen assembly for separating particulate material
from a subsurface fluid/gas formation uses a well screen having a
seamless sintered woven wire element. In one embodiment the element
has a seamless sintered woven wire body mounted over a mandrel
containing apertures. The seamless sintered woven wire element is
placed in a downhole environment in the subsurface gas/fluid
formation. Then particulate matter is filtered from the subsurface
gas/fluid formation through the seamless sintered woven wire
element.
[0010] By application of seamless sintered (inter-atomic diffusion)
well screen, as opposed to porous powdered sintered or sintered
seam welded laminate screen, the principle object of the disclosed
embodiments is to exclude the inflow of sand fines in both open
hole and cased hole well completions in a more reliable manner.
[0011] A related object of the disclosed embodiments is to provide
a well screen that offers maximum corrosion resistance for
installation in subsurface locations. By way of example, the
seamless sintered woven wire body may be electropolished by known
electropolishing techniques prior to use. Another object is to
provide integral structure through diffusion bonding that ensures
accurate pore space openings to coincide with well design
parameters. Another object is to circumvent welding at any juncture
point. Ductility (malleability) of the metal seamless sintered
woven wire body is another improvement over prior art with respect
to delamination of the diffusion bonded surfaces which occurs in
the prior art devices during expansion and bending of the well
screen. Another object is to maintain proportionality between the
pore space opening size and changes in the amount or quanta of
flexing (bending and/or expansion) of the seamless sintered woven
wire body by precision winding to accommodate intentional and/or
unintentional changes in form and/or shape which occur downhole. By
way of example a fifty percent (50%) expansion of the seamless
sintered woven wire body would result in a likewise pore space
expansion. All metal to metal crossing points are diffusion bonded
without welding in order to attain maximum efficiency in hostile
downhole conditions. Due to the absence of seam welding, greater
inlet (flow) area is achieved by greater surface filtration
exposure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic elevational view of one embodiment of
an assembly with a seamless sintered woven wire body well screen in
a subsurface environment.
[0013] FIG. 2 is an elevational view of one embodiment of a
seamless sintered woven wire element.
[0014] FIG. 3 is an elevational view of another embodiment of a
seamless sintered woven wire element.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a close up view of a weave or windings employed in
the seamless sintered woven wire element.
[0016] FIG. 5 is a view of the device shown in FIG. 4 in an
expanded mode.
[0017] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a seamless
sintered woven wire body.
[0018] FIG. 7 is a simplified schematic view of offset
windings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0019] Referring to FIG. 1 the embodiment disclosed represents a
well 10 with surface assembly 11 mounted above ground (or
ocean/sea/water body bottom) level 12, an upper tubing string 14
extending subsurface 16, casing 18, a lower production tubing
string 20 (either vertical, horizontal or directional) extending
into a gas/fluid formation 22 which may contain hydrocarbons, and
one or more well screens 30 included in the lower production tubing
string 20.
[0020] Referring to FIGS. 2-3 the well screens 30 employ a seamless
sintered woven wire element 32 which is preferably mounted on a
mandrel 34 in contrast to prior art seam-welded sintered
laminate/porous well screens for use in various configurations of
downhole well completions to reduce produced (inflow) of
unconsolidated sand. As a result there are no "seams" or welding
lines of prior art devices as wire (various nickel/chrome) alloys
are woven onto a usually ceramic or dissimilar metallic mandrel in
order to produce a seamless sintered woven wire body 36. The
seamless sintered woven wire body 36 is fused by sintering. The
sintering process creates a diffusion (inter-atomic) bonded
structure.
[0021] Referring to FIG. 2, the seamless sintered woven wire body
36 is mounted on the mandrel 34 or pipe 35 with a mechanical type
of attachment (such as pinned by set screws or a heat shrink form
of attachment 38). Referring to FIG. 3, the seamless sintered woven
wire body 36 is mounted on the mandrel 34 or pipe 35 with a
non-mechanical type of attachment (e.g via a welded joint 40)
Referring to FIGS. 4-5, the weave or windings 50 define pore space
openings or inlet areas 52. The pore space openings or inlet areas
52 may be controlled by using precise winding prior to the
sintering process. Such control over the pore space/inlet areas 52
surpasses sintered laminate or conventional wire wrapped designs.
The winding of the wire 54 performed prior to sintering may be done
in an offset (tortuous path) design 50a (FIG. 7) resulting in an
offset flow path generally represented by arrow 51, or a more
direct non-offset configuration 50b (FIGS. 2-6) that is consistent
with wire-wrapped screen designs. Offset winding 50a would be more
consistent with component screen products (pre-pack aggregate,
etc.) that require fine filtration and "Dirt holding" capacity.
Non-offset windings 50b would be more consistent with wire-wrapped
primary screen functions. Filtering characteristics can be affected
by wire 54 shape, size, pitch, winding pattern, and winding angle.
For example, the helically wound wire 54 in cross section could be
"flat" 54a (FIG. 7) (somewhat trapezoid shaped) or round 54b
depending on the purpose of the application.
[0022] A further explanation of the conditions under which well
screens are used may help to illustrate the advantages of the
seamless sintered wire well screen 30. For largely
commercial/economic reasons in the completion design of certain
oil/gas/water wells 10 it is imperative to install specialized
filtration equipment downhole in order to restrict the inflow of
unconsolidated sand. This is usually confirmed by obtaining core
(sand) samples of the formation 22 as well as well test data. It is
then determined whether filtration will be required downhole in
order to maximize productivity of the well 10. The production of
sand entrained in or in conjunction with well fluid/gas can cause
significant erosion to any equipment (surface and subsurface) in
the direct flow path of the well fluid/gas, such as, for example,
surface assembly 11. This is known to occur in either a cased hole
(perforated) well bore design, or open (barefoot) hole environment.
Sand control equipment/treatments are commonly installed in order
to prevent the occurrence of produced formation sand. In some
cases, chemically bonded porous material (i.e., gravels, proppants)
is used to control the inflow of sand. In other cases, either
gravel or actual formation sand (open-hole) surrounds a well
screening device of sorts. In some cases, a combination (pre-pack
screen) of gravel and screen are used in this manner (U.S. Pat. No.
5,339,895). In all of these arrangements or systems, as previously
stated, the control or separation of particulate material from
subsurface formation fluid/gas is improved by using the sintered
seamless woven wire well element 32.
[0023] A superior filter body 36 is provided in all applications in
regard to life (corrosion resistance), reliability and ductility
(bending results in deformation of pore space openings) by way of
maintaining the accuracy and precision of winding a continuous
shaped or round wire 54 (usually stainless or nickel/chrome alloy)
without welding. Diffusion bonding of all crossing sections 56 of
the sintered seamless woven wire body 36 insures total integration
at the inter-atomic level. High strength levels are attained
without compromising accurate filtration efficiencies. An added
advantage is that improvements translate directly into economic
savings for the operator.
[0024] One example of a seamless woven wire device which could be
adapted through the disclosure of this application to a seamless
sintered woven wire body 36 used in a well screen 30 application is
a device commercially available from Fuji America, Inc. known as
FUJILOY.
[0025] In a preferred embodiment the seamless sintered woven wire
body 36 may have one or more of the following features separately
or in combination: pore space openings 52 ranging from twenty
micron to 1,000 micron; making the body 36 in a tubular shape
having a wall thickness 38 (FIG. 6) ranging from 0.020 inches thick
to 0.365 inches thick; the seamless sintered woven wire body 36 has
pore space openings 52 with tolerances ranging from plus forty
microns to minus forty microns; the flat shaped ribbon wire 54a
(FIG. 7) has a thickness ranging from 0.002 inches to 0.150 inches;
the round shaped wire 54b has a diameter ranging from 0.002 inches
to 0.150 inches; expanding the seamless sintered woven wire body 36
downhole while proportionately expanding the pore space openings 52
(compare and contrast FIG. 4 to FIG. 5); electropolishing the well
screen 30 for corrosion resistance prior to placing it downhole;
adding a drainage layer to the well screen 30, by, for example,
adjusting the weave 50 during the seamless sintered woven wire body
36 manufacturing process to create variably sized pore space
openings according to separate layers 60, 62, 64 (FIG. 7) within
the seamless sintered woven wire body 36 (for example the weave 50
could be course next to the mandrel 34, next the weave 50 could be
finer, and on the outer weave layer 60 the weave 50 could have
large openings).
* * * * *