U.S. patent application number 12/402667 was filed with the patent office on 2010-09-16 for downhole sealing device and method of making.
This patent application is currently assigned to BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED. Invention is credited to Darwin D. Arline, Gregory C. Badke, Robert O. Castillo.
Application Number | 20100230902 12/402667 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42729108 |
Filed Date | 2010-09-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100230902 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Castillo; Robert O. ; et
al. |
September 16, 2010 |
DOWNHOLE SEALING DEVICE AND METHOD OF MAKING
Abstract
Disclosed herein is a downhole sealing device. The device
includes, a swellable member, and a passageway having a
perimetrically continuous wall. The swellable member is configured
to cause sealing between a downhole structure and a plurality of
tubulars when in a swelled condition, the plurality of tubulars are
routed through a plurality of voids extending longitudinally
through the swellable member, each of the plurality of voids has
perimetrically continuous walls surrounding each of the plurality
of tubulars.
Inventors: |
Castillo; Robert O.;
(Stafford, TX) ; Arline; Darwin D.; (Houston,
TX) ; Badke; Gregory C.; (Houston, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CANTOR COLBURN, LLP
20 Church Street, 22nd Floor
Hartford
CT
06103
US
|
Assignee: |
BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED
Houston
TX
|
Family ID: |
42729108 |
Appl. No.: |
12/402667 |
Filed: |
March 12, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
277/331 ;
277/314 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E21B 17/1035 20130101;
Y10T 29/49826 20150115; B65H 81/00 20130101; E21B 33/1208 20130101;
E21B 33/1277 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
277/331 ;
277/314 |
International
Class: |
E21B 33/127 20060101
E21B033/127 |
Claims
1. A downhole sealing device, comprising: a swellable member; and a
passageway having a perimetrically continuous wall, the swellable
member configured to cause sealing between a downhole structure and
a plurality of tubulars in response to being in a swelled
condition, the plurality of tubulars being routed through a
plurality of voids extending longitudinally through the swellable
member, each of the plurality of voids having perimetrically
continuous walls surrounding each of the plurality of tubulars.
2. The downhole sealing device of claim 1, wherein the passageway
is through one of the plurality of tubulars.
3. The downhole sealing device of claim 1, wherein the swellable
member is polymeric.
4. The downhole sealing device of claim 1, wherein the passageway
is a control line.
5. The downhole sealing device of claim 1, wherein the passageway
permits passage of at least one selected from a group consisting of
fluid, electrical conductors and fiber optic cable.
6. A downhole swellable sealing system with passageway, comprising:
at least one substantially nonswellable member; and a swellable
member in operable communication with the at least one
substantially nonswellable member configured to cause sealing
between a downhole structure and a plurality of tubulars in
response to being in a swelled condition, the plurality of tubulars
being routed through a plurality of voids extending longitudinally
through at least one of the swellable member and the at least one
substantially nonswellable member, each of the plurality of voids
having perimetrically continuous walls surrounding each of the
plurality of tubulars.
7. The downhole swellable sealing system with passageway claim 6,
wherein one of the at least one substantially nonswellable member
forms a dam for the swellable member.
8. The downhole swellable sealing system with passageway claim 6,
wherein the at least one substantially nonswellable member is two
substantially nonswellable members forming two dams with one dam
being located on either longitudinal end of the swellable
member.
9. The downhole swellable sealing system with passageway claim 6,
wherein the swellable member perimetrically surrounds the at least
one substantially nonswellable member.
10. The downhole swellable sealing system with passageway claim 6,
wherein at least one of the at least one substantially nonswellable
member is polymeric.
11. The downhole swellable sealing system with passageway claim 6,
wherein the plurality of voids extend longitudinally through the at
least one substantially nonswellable member.
12. The downhole swellable sealing system with passageway claim 6,
wherein the plurality of voids extend longitudinally through the
swellable member.
13. A method of making a downhole swellable seal with a passageway
therethrough, comprising: perimetrically surrounding a first
tubular with a first substantially nonswellable material;
perimetrically surrounding at least one second tubular with a
second substantially nonswellable material; positioning the at
least one second tubular adjacent the first tubular; perimetrically
surrounding the first tubular and the at least one second tubular
with a swellable material; curing the first substantially
nonswellable material; curing the second substantially nonswellable
material; and curing the swellable material.
14. The method of making the downhole swellable seal with a
passageway therethrough of claim 13, further comprising:
withdrawing the at least one second tubular from the second
substantially nonswellable material; leaving a void with
perimetrically continuous walls in the second substantially
nonswellable material; and inserting a third tubular into the
void.
15. The method of making the downhole swellable seal with a
passageway therethrough of claim 14, further comprising connecting
the third tubular to the at least one second tubular prior to
withdrawing the at least one second tubular.
16. The method of making the downhole swellable seal with a
passageway therethrough of claim 13, further comprising sealing the
first tubular to the first substantially nonswellable material and
sealing the at least one second tubular to the second substantially
nonswellable material.
17. The method of making the downhole swellable seal with a
passageway therethrough of claim 13, further comprising applying a
release agent to the at least one second tubular prior to the
surrounding with substantially nonswellable material.
18. The method of making the downhole swellable seal with a
passageway therethrough of claim 13, further comprising damming the
swellable material with at least one of the substantially
nonswellable materials.
19. The method of making the downhole swellable seal with a
passageway therethrough of claim 18, further comprising sealably
attaching a mechanical device to the at least one second tubular
and to the substantially nonswellable material that is damming the
swellable material.
20. The method of making the downhole swellable seal with a
passageway therethrough of claim 19, wherein the sealably attaching
of the mechanical device to the at least one second tubular is a
metal-to-metal seal.
21. The method of making the downhole swellable seal with a
passageway therethrough of claim 19, wherein the sealably attaching
includes immobilizing the at least one second tubular with respect
to the substantially nonswellable material that is damming the
swellable material.
22. The method of making the downhole swellable seal with a
passageway therethrough of claim 13, further comprising
perimetrically surrounding at least one of the first substantially
nonswellable material and the second substantially nonswellable
material with the swellable material.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] It is common in the hydrocarbon recovery industry to have a
need to plug an annular space defined by a tubular and a downhole
wellbore structure, such as, a liner, casing or open hole, for
example, within which the tubular is positioned. One sealing method
includes positioning a swellable member perimetrically about the
tubular prior to positioning the tubular within the downhole
structure. The swellable member swells in response to exposure to
downhole fluids such as oil or water for example. The swelling of
the swellable member causes the swellable member to fill the
annular space and to sealingly engage with walls of both the
tubular and the downhole structure.
[0002] Establishing and maintaining a well secured communication
from one side of the swellable seal to the other can be useful in
well operations. Unsecured communication lines can have a far
greater operational cost, which may result in having to exit from
the borehole in order to make further securing repairs. Excessive
vibration caused by one tool traveling down the borehole may
adversely affect the performance of other tools obtaining valuable
downhole data. That vibration creation along with unsecure
communication lines may only amplify false results. Such
amplification from those unsecure lines would be in comparison to a
tuning fork when strike. In most gamma ray equipped downhole tools,
the smooth transition of multiple or single photo multiplier tubes
are important in order to provide the necessary pulse of light via
the tubes. Any sharp bends or vibration may only destroy this very
important light communication. Another example is on a telemetry
downhole tool, mud pulses are registered by these types of tools
via an electrical sensor. Any additional impacts from unsecured
communication lines will only amplify noises or even provide false
readings that are important to this data gathering. Systems and
methods, therefore, that permit sealing and maintaining a solid
lock down in an annular space while maintaining a communication
passageway across the seal are desirable in the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
[0003] Disclosed herein is a downhole sealing device. The device
includes, a swellable member, and a passageway having a
perimetrically continuous wall. The swellable member is configured
to cause sealing between a downhole structure and a plurality of
tubulars when in a swelled condition, the plurality of tubulars are
routed through a plurality of voids extending longitudinally
through the swellable member, each of the plurality of voids has
perimetrically continuous walls surrounding each of the plurality
of tubulars.
[0004] Further disclosed herein is a downhole swellable sealing
system with passageway. The system includes, at least one
substantially nonswellable member, and a swellable member in
operable communication with the at least one substantially
nonswellable member. The swellable member is configured to cause
sealing between a downhole structure and a plurality of tubulars
when in a swelled condition, the plurality of tubulars are routed
through a plurality of voids that extend longitudinally through at
least one of the swellable member and the at least one
substantially nonswellable member, and each of the plurality of
voids has perimetrically continuous walls surrounding each of the
plurality of tubulars.
[0005] Further disclosed herein is a method of making a downhole
swellable seal with a passageway therethrough. The method includes,
perimetrically surrounding a first tubular with a first
substantially nonswellable material, perimetrically surrounding at
least one second tubular with a second substantially nonswellable
material, positioning the at least one second tubular adjacent the
first tubular, perimetrically surrounding the first tubular and the
at least one second tubular with a swellable material, curing the
first substantially nonswellable material, curing the second
substantially nonswellable material, and curing the swellable
material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The following descriptions should not be considered limiting
in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like
elements are numbered alike:
[0007] FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of a downhole swellable
sealing system with passageway as disclosed herein;
[0008] FIG. 2 depicts a magnified side view of a portion of the
downhole swellable sealing system of FIG. 1;
[0009] FIG. 3 depicts a cross sectional side view of an embodiment
of the swellable sealing system of FIG. 2;
[0010] FIG. 4 depicts a perspective view of the swellable sealing
system of FIG. 1 during a forming operation of perimetrically
continuous voids; and
[0011] FIG. 5 depicts a cross sectional side view of an alternate
embodiment of the swellable sealing system of FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] 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.
[0013] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an embodiment of the swellable
sealing system 10 with passageway disclosed herein is illustrated.
The swellable sealing system 10 includes, a substantially
nonswellable member 18, a swellable member 22, and at least one
void 28 with a perimetrically continuous wall extending
longitudinally through at least one of the substantially
nonswellable member 18 and the swellable member 22. The
substantially nonswellable member 18 perimetrically surrounds a
first tubular 14 and at least one second tubular 26 is positioned
within the void 28. The second tubular 26 is preferably constructed
of a rigid material such as stainless steel, for example, and has
an inner cavity defining a passageway 30 (as best illustrated in
the cross sectioned views in FIGS. 3 and 5). The swellable sealing
system 10 is configured to seal an annular space 34 defined in this
embodiment by the first tubular 14 and a downhole structure 38 that
the system 10 is positioned substantially concentric with, such as,
a liner, casing or open hole, for example, while providing the
passageway 30 therethrough, via the second tubular 26. It should be
noted that alternate embodiments could be configured to seal an
annular space that is defined radially inwardly of the first
tubular 14 and radially outwardly of a downhole structure
positionable within at least a portion of the first tubular. The
passageway fluidically connects a portion of the annular space 34A
beyond one longitudinal end of the nonswellable member 18 to a
portion of the annular space 34B beyond an opposite longitudinal
end of the nonswellable member 18. The passageway 30 can be used as
a control line directly with hydraulic fluid being ported
therethrough, for example, or as a conduit for running a separate
control line (not shown), such as, electric line or fiber optic
cable, for example.
[0014] The swellable member 22 may be constructed of any swellable
material known in the industry such as polymers that swell when
exposed to conditions commonly encountered downhole such as oil or
water, for example. In contrast, the nonswellable member 18 may be
constructed of known materials that tend to be substantially
nonswellable when exposed to the same downhole conditions mentioned
above.
[0015] Referring to FIG. 3, the perimetrically continuous void 28
extends longitudinally through the nonswellable member 18. Since
walls 42 of the void 28 are continuous they have no perimetrical
interruptions, such as a longitudinal slit through the nonswellable
member 18, for example, and are therefore easily sealed to an outer
radial surface 46 of the second tubular 26. Optionally, a
mechanical device 48 can be sealably attached to both the second
tubular 26 and the nonswellable member 18 at both ends where the
second tubular 26 exits from the nonswellable member 18 thereby
preventing any movement between the second tubular 26 and the
nonswellable member 18. Additionally, by making the mechanical
device 48 metal the seal between the second tubular 26 and the
mechanical device can be a metal-to-metal seal. Embodiments of
processes to make the swellable sealing system 10 and particularly
the perimetrically continuous void 28 will be described below.
[0016] Referring to FIG. 4, an embodiment of a process to make the
swellable sealing system 10 is illustrated generally at 50. A first
nonswellable material 54 is wrapped perimetrically around the first
tubular 14. At least one second tubular 26 is positioned
substantially parallel to the first tubular 14 and a second
nonswellable material 58 is wrapped around both the first tubular
14 and the second tubular 26. Wrapping additional layers of a third
nonswellable material 60 around both the first tubular 14 and the
second tubular 26 forms a first dam 62A and a second dam 62B. Nylon
(not shown) or other material capable of holding the nonswellable
materials 54, 58 and 60 in position while being heated to curing
temperatures is wrapped around all of the nonswellable materials
54, 58 and 60. The full assembly is heated to cure the nonswellable
materials 54, 58 and 60. After curing, the nylon is removed and a
swellable material 66 is wrapped perimetrically around the
nonswellable materials 54, 58 between the dams 62A and 62B. Nylon
or other material is then wrapped around the swellable material 66
and the full assembly is again heated, this time to cure the
swellable material 66. The nylon is removed after curing.
[0017] Optionally, the step of wrapping the second tubular 26 with
the nonswellable material 58, could be replaced with wrapping a rod
70 (or other reusable manufacturing tubular). This may be desirable
to avoid oxidation and possible contamination of the passageway 30
of the second tubular 26 that could occur during manufacture or
during the high temperature curing processes. If the rod 70 were
used it would be employed to form the perimetrically uninterrupted
longitudinal void 28 in the nonswellable material 58. Doing so,
however, would require withdrawal of the rod 70 upon completion of
the last curing cycle. Application of a release agent, such as,
mold release, for example, to the rod 70 prior to it being wrapped
in the nonswellable material 58 could facilitate its withdrawal
upon completion of the curing process. A step of inserting the
second tubular 26 into the void 28 could be done in conjunction
with the withdrawal of the rod 70, by attaching and end of the
second tubular 26 to an end of the rod 70. The action of
withdrawing the rod 70 would then also insert the second tubular 26
into the void 28.
[0018] Referring to FIG. 5, optionally, the nonswellable materials
54, 58, 60 could be wrapped only at the dams 62A and 62B. In such
case, the swellable material 66 would be wrapped directly over the
first tubular 14 and the second tubular 26 (or rods 70) between the
dams 62A and 62B as desired by a well operator.
[0019] 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.
[0020] While one or more embodiments have been shown and described,
modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly,
it is to be understood that the present invention has been
described by way of illustrations and not limitation.
* * * * *