Universal plug-and-play perforating gun tandem

Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing a universal cartridge detonator coupling in a perforating gun with a terminated end.

Description

[0001] Divisional application

[0002] This application is a divisional application of the invention application with application date of November 27, 2019, application number 201980003479.5, and title “Universal plug-and-play perforating gun series”. Technical Field

[0003] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 773,044, filed on November 29, 2018. Background Art

[0004] Typically, when underground mining is completed to produce fluids, minerals, or gases from underground reservoirs, several types of conduits are placed downhole as part of the drilling, exploration, and completion process. These conduits may include casing, pipe, tubing, liner, and devices that convey various types of conduits downhole. Each well is unique, so a combination of different conduits may be placed in the well for a variety of purposes.

[0005] A subterranean formation or subterranean well traverses one or more formations. A formation is a body of rock or rock formation that contains one or more components. The formation is considered a continuum. Hydrocarbon deposits may be present within the formation. Typically, a wellbore will be drilled from a surface location and holes will be placed in the formation of interest. Completion equipment will be put in place, including casing, tubing, and other downhole equipment as required. Perforating the casing and formation with a perforating gun is a method known in the art for accessing hydrocarbon deposits within a formation from a wellbore.

[0006] Perforating formations using shaped charges is a well-known method of oil well completion. A shaped charge is a technical term for a device that, when detonated, produces a concentrated output, high energy output, and / or high velocity jet. This is achieved in part by the geometry of the explosive in combination with an adjacent liner. Typically, a shaped charge contains a metal casing that includes an explosive material having a concave shape with a thin metal liner on the inner surface. A variety of materials can be used as the liner; some of the more common metals include brass, copper, tungsten, and lead. When the explosive is detonated, the liner metal is extruded into a superheated, super-high pressure jet that is capable of penetrating metal, concrete, and rock. Perforating charges are typically used in groups. These perforating charge groups are typically held together in an assembly called a perforating gun. There are many types of perforating guns, such as band guns, bladder guns, end plug guns, and expendable hollow carrier guns.

[0007] Perforating charges are usually detonated by a detonating cord located near the firing hole at the apex of each case. Typically, the detonating cord terminates near the end of the perforating gun. In this configuration, a detonator at one end of the perforating gun can detonate all of the perforating charges in the perforating gun and continue ballistically to the other end of the perforating gun. In this way, all of the perforating guns connected end to end can be detonated with one detonator.

[0008] Detonating cords are typically detonated by an initiator that is triggered by a detonator. The initiator can be actuated in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, electronically, hydraulically, and mechanically.

[0009] Expendable hollow carrier perforating guns are typically manufactured from standard size steel tubes with internal / female threads on each end of the tube. Pin ended adapters or couplings, which have external / male threads, thread onto one or both ends of the gun. These couplings can couple perforating guns together, couple perforating guns to other tools such as fixtures and collar locators, and couple detonators to perforating guns. Couplings often house electronic, mechanical, or ballistic components that enable or control the perforating gun and other components.

[0010] A perforating gun typically has a cylindrical gun body and a cartridge or loading tube that holds the perforating charge. The gun body is typically made of metal and is cylindrical. The cartridge tube may be formed into a tube, a ribbon, or a chain. The cartridge tube contains cutouts called cartridge ports to accommodate the shaped charge.

[0011] It is generally desirable to reduce the overall length of any tool to be introduced into a wellbore. Among other potential benefits, reduced tool length also reduces the length of the lubricator required to introduce the tool under pressure into the wellbore. It is also desirable to reduce tool length to accommodate bends in highly deviated wells or horizontal wells. It is also generally preferred to reduce the number of tool components that must be used at the wellsite, as a wellsite is often a harsh environment with many distractions and demands on field workers.

[0012] In the oil and gas industry, electrical detonators are commonly used to detonate different high energy devices downhole. The most common is the detonator using a 50 ohm resistor. Other detonator and electronic switch configurations are also common. Summary of the invention

[0013] Example embodiments may include a serial coupler for coupling one or more perforating guns together, the serial coupler comprising a cylindrical body having a first end, a second end, and a hollow inner bore, wherein the first end is a pinned end adapted to couple to a box end of a first perforating gun housing; wherein the second end is a threaded end adapted to couple to a box end of a second perforating gun housing; wherein the inner bore is adapted to contain a plug-and-play cartridge detonator assembly capable of detonating a detonating cord upon receiving an electrical command from a conductor.

[0014] Variations of the example embodiments may include a serial coupling, the serial coupling also including a cartridge detonator assembly disposed in the hollow inner bore, the cartridge detonator assembly also including a cylindrical body housing an electrical switch and a circuit board, a distal end having a detonator, and a contact spring for coupling the detonator assembly to a signal conductor. A feed through disk may be included, disposed in the hollow inner bore, coupled to a feed through body. A feed through disk may be included, having a through hole for an electrical conductor. The feed through body may have means for connecting an electrical conductor to the disk, thereby electrically coupling the electrical conductor to the feed through body. A contact spring may be coupled to the feed through body. The feed through body may have a hollow through hole, the through hole being adapted to contain an expander and a detonator adjacent to each other. The means for electrically coupling the electrical conductor to the feed through body may be a radial wire groove on the feed through body, around which the exposed end of the conductor is wound. The means for electrically connecting the electrical conductor to the feed-through may be a tangential through-hole through which the bare end of the conductor is wound and passed. The means for electrically connecting the electrical conductor to the feed-through may be a metal screw that clamps the bare end of the electrical conductor against a metal insert that is also coupled to a contact spring.

[0015] Example embodiments may also include a perforating gun series, the perforating gun series including a first perforating gun and a first series connector for connecting one or more perforating guns, the first perforating gun having an upper wellbore box end, a lower wellbore box end, a plurality of shaped ammunition connected together by a detonating cord, and a conductor disposed therein, the conductor passing from the upper well end to the lower well end; the first series connector is connected to the lower well end of the first perforating gun, and also includes a cylindrical body having a first end, a second end, and a hollow inner bore; wherein the first end is a threaded end adapted to be coupled to the box end of the first perforating gun housing; wherein the second end is a threaded end adapted to be coupled to the box end of the second perforating gun housing; and wherein the inner bore is adapted to contain a plug-and-play cartridge detonator assembly, which is capable of detonating the detonating cord of the first perforating gun when an electrical command is received from the conductor.

[0016] Variations of the example embodiments may include a serial coupling having a cartridge detonator assembly disposed within a hollow inner bore, the cartridge detonator further comprising a cylindrical body housing, an electrical switch, a circuit board, a distal end having a detonator, and a contact spring for electrically coupling the detonator assembly to a signal conductor. A feed through disk may be included, disposed within a hollow inner core, coupled to a feed through body. The feed through disk may have a through hole for a conductor. The feed through body may have means for coupling an electrical conductor to the disk, thereby electrically coupling the electrical conductor to the feed through body. The contact spring may be coupled to the feed through body. The feed through body may have a hollow through hole adapted to contain an expander and a detonator adjacent to one another. The means for electrically coupling the electrical conductor to the feed through body may be a radial wire groove on the feed through body, around which the exposed end of the electrical conductor is wound. The means for electrically coupling the electrical conductor to the feed penetration may be a tangential through hole around which the exposed end of the conductor is wound. The means for electrically coupling the electrical conductor to the feed penetration may be a metal screw that clamps the exposed end of the electrical conductor against a metal insert that is also coupled to a contact spring. The perforating gun series may include a second perforating gun having an uphole box end, a downhole box end, a plurality of shaped munitions, and a second conductor disposed therein, the plurality of shaped munitions being coupled to a second detonating cord, the second conductor running from the uphole end to the downhole end. It may include a second series connector, which is connected to the downhole end of the second perforating gun, and the second series connector also includes a cylindrical body, which has a first end, a second end, and a hollow inner bore; wherein the first end is a threaded end, which is adapted to be connected to the box end of the second perforating gun housing; wherein the second end is a threaded end, which is adapted to be connected to the box end of the third perforating gun housing; wherein the inner bore is adapted to contain a plug-and-play cartridge detonator assembly, which is capable of detonating the detonating cord when receiving an electrical command from the second wire.

[0017] An example embodiment may include a method for detonating a perforating gun, the method comprising coupling a first perforating gun to an in-line coupling, wherein the in-line coupling includes a plug-and-play cartridge detonator; connecting a signal line from the first perforating gun to the in-line coupling; placing the first perforating gun at a predetermined location downhole to perforate a desired location of a wellbore; detonating the first perforating gun by sending a firing command to the in-line coupling, and removing the first perforating gun from the wellbore.

[0018] It may include coupling a second perforating gun to the series coupling. It may include coupling the second series coupling to the second perforating gun and connecting a second signal line from the second perforating gun to the second series coupling. It may include placing the second perforating gun at a second predetermined downward position in the wellbore. It may include firing the second perforating gun by sending a firing command to the second series coupling. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to have a thorough understanding of the present invention, the preferred embodiments are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein the same reference numerals represent the same or similar elements in all several figures of the accompanying drawings. Briefly:

[0020] Figure 1A A side view showing a cross section of one embodiment of a universal tandem adapter with a cartridge based trigger system coupled between two perforating gun assemblies;

[0021] Figure 1B A side view showing a cross section of a universal in-line adapter with a cartridge based trigger system according to one embodiment;

[0022] Figure 2 A side view showing a cross section of one embodiment of a universal tandem adapter with a cartridge based trigger system coupled between two perforating gun assemblies;

[0023] Figure 3 A side view showing a cross section of one embodiment of a universal tandem adapter with a cartridge based trigger system coupled between two perforating gun assemblies;

[0024] Figure 4 A side view of an upper adapter of an example is shown;

[0025] Figure 5 A side view showing a cross section of one embodiment of a universal tandem adapter with a cartridge based trigger system coupled between two perforating gun assemblies;

[0026] Figure 6 A cross-sectional side view of a feed-through disk assembly is shown for one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] In the following description, certain terms are used for brevity, clarity, and illustration. Therefore, no unnecessary limitations are implied, and these terms are used for descriptive purposes only and are intended to be broadly interpreted. The various devices, systems, and method steps described herein may be used alone or in combination with other devices, systems, and method steps. It is contemplated that various equivalents, alternatives, and modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

[0028] Figure 1A and 1B 1 shows an example embodiment of an assembly 100 including a first perforating gun assembly 122 and a second perforating gun assembly 123 coupled together via a series coupling 110. In this example, the first perforating gun assembly 122 and the second perforating gun assembly 123 are box-by-box ends, meaning that both connection ends of each assembly have internal threaded connections.

[0029] The first perforating gun assembly 122 includes a detonating cord 121 coupled to the shaped cartridge and the through-conducting electrical conductor 120. The second perforating gun assembly 123 includes a feed through-conductor assembly 124 coupled to the cartridge tube and in close contact with the serial coupling 110.

[0030] The serial connector 110 has a pin-by-pin connection, which means that it has external threads at both ends of the connection. The serial connector 110 includes an inner bore that contains a cartridge detonator assembly 130 disposed therein. The cartridge detonator assembly 130 includes a detonator 131 disposed within a contact spring 132. The distal end of the detonator 131 is located within a feed through body 111. The feed through body 111 is screwed into and engaged with a feed through disc 115. The feed through body 111 includes radial wire grooves 112, wherein the exposed ends 113 of the wires 120 are wound around the radial wire grooves 112. The wires 120 pass through the disc 115 through the wire through holes 114. When the feed through body 111 is screwed into the disc 115, the exposed ends of the wires are trapped and fixed. A detonating cord retaining grommet 116 is coupled to the extender at the end of the detonating cord 121 and is disposed within the feed-through tray 115 and adjacent the feed-through 111. The tray 115 may include a keyed projection 125 for properly aligning the tray 115 with an adjacent end fitting that is connected to the ammunition tube of the gun assembly 122.

[0031] Figure 2An example embodiment of an assembly 200 is shown. An upper coupling 201 is coupled to a perforating gun 202 having an end with a terminated end. An upper end fitting 204 is coupled to the upper end of a cartridge tube 203 and is secured in place by a retaining ring 205. A contact pin 206 and a compression spring 207 are disposed within the upper end fitting 204. A retaining ring 208 holds in place a wire conduit 209 that couples a wire 211 to the contact pin 206. The wire 211 is held in place within the cartridge tube 203 by one or more wire clamps 212. A detonating cord 216 is located within the cartridge tube 203, connected to the end of each formed cartridge 213, and also coupled to a spreader 217, which is disposed within the lower end fitting 210. The wire 211 passes through the lower end fitting and is then electrically terminated at a screw 220 against a contact insert 223. The contact insert 223 is in electrical contact with the contact spring 221, which is in electrical contact with the cartridge detonator assembly 215. The cartridge detonator assembly 215 is disposed within the hollow bore of the series connector 214 and includes a distal end having a detonator 222 located proximate to an expander 217 that enables the cartridge detonator assembly 215 to detonate the detonating cord 216, thereby detonating the formed ammunition 213 when there is a suitable electrical signal via the wire 211.

[0032] Figure 3 and Figure 4 An example embodiment of an assembly 300 is shown in FIG. An upper coupling 301 is coupled to a perforating gun 302 having an end with a terminated end. An upper end fitting 304 is coupled to the upper end of a cartridge tube 303 and is secured in place by a retaining ring 305. A contact pin 306 and a compression spring 307 are disposed within the upper end fitting 304. A retaining ring 308 secures in place a wire conduit 309 that couples a wire 311 to the contact pin 306. The wire 311 is held in place within the cartridge tube 303 by one or more wire clips 312. A detonating cord 316 is located within the cartridge tube 303, connected to the end of each formed cartridge 313, and is also coupled to a spreader 317 that is disposed within the lower end fitting 310. The wire 311 passes through the lower end fitting 310 and is then electrically terminated at a screw 320 against a contact insert 323. The contact insert 323 is in electrical contact with the contact spring 321, which is in electrical contact with the cartridge detonator assembly 315. The cartridge detonator assembly 315 is disposed within the hollow bore of the series connector 314 and includes a distal end having a detonator 322, which is located near an expander 317 that enables the cartridge detonator assembly 315 to detonate the detonating cord 316, thereby detonating the formed ammunition 313 when there is a suitable electrical signal via the wire 311.

[0033] Figure 5 and Figure 6An example embodiment of an assembly 400 is shown in FIG. A perforating gun 401 having a terminal end coupling includes a cartridge tube 402 containing a plurality of shaped cartridges 412 connected by a detonating cord 408. An upper end fitting 403 is coupled to the upper end of the cartridge tube 402 by screws 405. A wire 420 is coupled to the upper end fitting 403, which extends the length of the perforating gun 401, passes through a lower end fitting 404, and has an exposed end 419 coupled to a feed through body 415. The feed through body 415 is coupled to the upper end fitting 403 by screws 405. Figure 6 Threads 421 in the feed through disk 409 are threaded into the feed through disk 409. The feed through disk 409 is connected to the lower end fitting 404. The detonating cord 408 is connected to the expander 411. The expander 411 is disposed in the feed through body 415. The detonator 417 is partially disposed in the feed through body 415 so that the detonator 417 is located near the expander 411. The bare stripped wire 419 is wrapped around and connected to the through hole 418. The wire 420, the feed through body 415 and the contact spring 416 are in electrical contact with the cartridge detonator assembly 414. The cartridge detonator assembly 414 is disposed in the series connector 410.

[0034] Terms such as extender may include a small metal tube containing a secondary high explosive crimped to the end of a detonating cord. Explosive assemblies are designed to provide reliable explosive transfer between perforating guns or other explosive devices and are often used as auxiliary explosives to ensure detonation.

[0035] Detonating cord is a cord containing a high explosive material enclosed in a flexible casing, which is used to connect a detonator to a primary high explosive, such as shaped munitions. This provides a very rapid series of detonations and can be used to detonate multiple shaped munitions simultaneously.

[0036] A detonator or initiating device may include a device containing a primary high explosive material that is used to detonate a series of explosions, including one or more shaped munitions. Two common types may include electric detonators and percussion detonators. Detonators may be referred to as initiators. Electric detonators have a fusible link material that burns when high voltage is applied to detonate the primary high explosive. Percussion detonators include blasting pellets and a primary high explosive in a sealed container that is triggered by a striker. The impact of the striker is sufficient to detonate the series of projectiles, which are then directed to a detonating cord.

[0037] Although the present invention has been described according to the examples of specific embodiments, it should be understood that this is exemplary only and the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, such as "up" and "down", or "top" and "bottom" these terms can be replaced by "upward" and "downward", respectively. Up and down can refer to left and right, respectively. Uphole and downhole are shown in the figure as left and right, or above and below, respectively. Usually, the downhole tool initially enters the wellbore in a vertical direction, but since some wellbores eventually enter in a horizontal direction, the direction of the tool may change. In that case, the downhole tool, the lower tool or the bottom tool is usually a component in the tool series, which, relatively speaking, enters the wellbore before the component called the uphole tool, the upper tool or the top tool. The first shell and the second shell can be an upper shell and a lower shell, respectively. In a housing such as described herein, a first gun may be an up gun or a down gun for a second gun, and references to up or down may be interchangeable as they are used merely to describe the positional relationship of multiple components. Terms such as wellbore, wellbore, well, wellbore, oil well, etc. may be used synonymously. Terms such as tool series, tool, perforating gun series, gun series, or downhole tool, as well as other alternatives, may be used synonymously. Alternative embodiments and operating techniques will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art based on this disclosure. Therefore, variations of the invention may be envisioned without departing from the application of the invention.

Claims

1. A series connection for connecting one or more perforating guns, comprising: a cylindrical body having a first end, a second end, and a hollow interior bore; A feed through disk coupled to the feed through body and disposed in the hollow inner hole; The cartridge detonator is assembled and arranged in the hollow inner hole, and the cartridge detonator also includes a cylindrical main body shell, an electric switch, a circuit board, a distal end with a detonator, and a contact spring for electrically coupling the detonator assembly to the lead and to the feed through-body; wherein the first end is adapted to be coupled to a first perforating gun; wherein the second end is adapted to be coupled to a second perforating gun; wherein the inner bore is adapted to contain a cartridge detonator assembly capable of detonating a detonating cord upon receiving an electrical command from the wire; and The series coupling also includes a detonating cord retaining grommet coupled to an extender at one end of the detonating cord, disposed within the feed penetration disk, and located proximate to the feed penetration body.

2. The series connection according to claim 1, wherein: The feed through disk has a through hole for the wire.

3. The series connection according to claim 2, wherein: The feed-through has means for connecting the wire to the feed-through disk, thereby connecting the wire to the feed-through.

4. The series connection according to claim 1, wherein: The feed through-body has a hollow through-hole adapted to contain a booster and a detonator, the booster and the detonator being adjacent to each other.

5. The series connection according to claim 3, wherein: The means for electrically coupling the wire to the feed-through is a radial wire groove on the feed-through around which the bare end of the wire is wound.

6. The series connection according to claim 3, wherein: The means for electrically coupling the wire to the feed-through is a tangential via through which the bare end of the wire is wrapped and passed.

7. The series connection according to claim 3, wherein: The means for electrically coupling the wire to the feed-through is a metal screw that clamps the bare end of the wire against a metal insert that is also coupled to the contact spring.

8. The series connection according to claim 1, wherein: The first end is a threaded end adapted to be coupled to a box end of a first perforating gun housing; the second end is a threaded end adapted to be coupled to a box end of a second perforating gun housing; And the cartridge detonator assembly is a plug-and-play cartridge detonator assembly.

9. The series connection according to claim 1, wherein: The feed through disk also includes a boss with a key for properly aligning the feed through disk with an adjacent end fitting that is connected to a cartridge tube of either the first or second perforating gun.

10. A perforating gun series, comprising: a first perforating gun having an upward box end, a downward box end, a plurality of shaped charges, and a guide wire disposed therein; The plurality of shaped ammunitions are connected together by a detonating cord, and the wire runs from the upward box end to the downward box end; A feed through disk coupled to the feed through body and disposed in the hollow inner hole; An ammunition cartridge detonator, the ammunition cartridge detonator being assembled and disposed in the hollow inner hole, the ammunition cartridge detonator further comprising a cylindrical main body shell, an electric switch, a circuit board, and a distal end having a detonator; a contact spring for electrically coupling the detonator assembly to the lead and to the feed through-body; A first series connection, for connecting one or more perforating guns, comprises: a cylindrical body having a first end, a second end, and a hollow interior bore; wherein the first end is adapted to be coupled to the first perforating gun; wherein the second end is adapted to be coupled to a second perforating gun; wherein the inner bore is adapted to contain a cartridge detonator assembly capable of detonating the detonating cord of a first perforating gun upon receiving an electrical command from the lead wire; and Wherein, the first serial connection member further comprises a detonating cord retaining ring, which is connected to the expander at one end of the detonating cord, is arranged in the feed penetration disk, and is located near the feed penetration body.

11. The perforating gun series according to claim 10, characterized in that: The feed through disk has a through hole for the conductor.

12. The perforating gun series according to claim 11, wherein: The feed-through has means for connecting the wire to the feed-through disk, thereby connecting the wire to the feed-through.

13. The perforating gun series according to claim 10, wherein: The feed through-body has a hollow through-hole adapted to contain a booster and a detonator, the booster and the detonator being adjacent to each other.

14. The perforating gun series according to claim 12, wherein: The means for electrically coupling the wire to the feed-through is a radial wire groove in the feed-through around which the exposed end of the wire is wound.

15. The perforating gun series according to claim 12, wherein: The means for electrically coupling the wire to the feed-through is a tangential through-hole through which the exposed end of the wire is wrapped and passed.

16. The perforating gun series according to claim 12, wherein: The means for electrically coupling the wire to the feed-through is a metal screw which clamps the bare end of the wire against a metal insert which is also coupled to the contact spring.

17. The perforating gun series according to claim 10 further includes a second perforating gun, the second perforating gun includes an upward box end, a downward box end, a plurality of shaped ammunition, and a second wire arranged therein; the plurality of shaped ammunition are connected together with a second detonating cord, and the second wire passes from the upward box end to the downward box end.

18. The perforating gun tandem of claim 17, further comprising a second series coupling coupled to the downward box end of the second perforating gun, further comprising: a cylindrical body having a first end, a second end, and a hollow interior; wherein the first end is a threaded end portion adapted to couple to the downwardly facing box end of the second perforating gun housing; wherein the second end is a threaded end adapted to be coupled to a box end of a third perforating gun housing; and wherein the inner bore is adapted to contain a plug-and-play cartridge detonator assembly capable of detonating a detonating cord upon receiving an electrical command from the second conductor.

19. The perforating gun series according to claim 10, wherein: The first end is a threaded end adapted to be coupled to a box end of a first perforating gun housing; the second end is a threaded end adapted to be coupled to a box end of a second perforating gun housing; And the cartridge detonator assembly is a plug-and-play cartridge detonator assembly.

20. The perforating gun series according to claim 18, wherein: The second serial coupling also includes a detonating cord retaining grommet coupled to the expander at one end of the detonating cord, disposed within the feed penetration disk, and located proximate to the feed penetration body.

21. The perforating gun series according to claim 10, wherein: The feed through disk also includes a boss with a key for properly aligning the feed through disk with an adjacent end fitting that is connected to a cartridge tube of either the first or second perforating gun.

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