An expansion tube bending expansion test device

Abstract

This invention proposes an expansion tube bending and expansion experimental device, relating to the field of oil drilling tool testing. The device includes a base, a support mechanism, and two clamping mechanisms. The two clamping mechanisms are respectively located at both ends of the base, and each clamping mechanism is detachably connected to and fixes the end of the expansion tube. The support mechanism includes multiple support frames mounted on the base, arranged sequentially and at intervals along the length of the base. Each support frame supports the expansion tube and pushes it up and down. The base includes multiple base modules, arranged sequentially along the length of the base and detachably fixedly connected. The expansion tube bending and expansion experimental device proposed in this invention can realistically simulate the expansion process of an expansion tube in a highly inclined curved well section.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of experimental testing of oil drilling tools, and in particular to an expansion tube bending expansion test device. Background Technology

[0002] In oil drilling, expandable tubing is a type of metal tubing with good ductility and shapeability. After being inserted into the well, it can be mechanically expanded radially using mechanical or hydraulic methods. It is mainly used to solve engineering and technical challenges in oil and gas exploration and development, such as sealing complex formations, sealing and mounting hangers, and repairing damaged casing wells. Expandable tubing technology plays a crucial role in deep and ultra-deep well drilling, the development of unconventional oil and gas resources such as shale gas and tight oil, and the refurbishment of old wells, making it a promising oil and gas exploration and development technology.

[0003] Expansion tubing is typically used in complex conditions such as severely lost circulation formations, abnormal wellbore diameter variations, and highly deviated well sections. This places extremely high demands on the strength and performance of the tubing and its associated tools. Besides requiring design optimization and improved manufacturing quality for the expansion tubing and its tools, surface testing of expansion tubing is also a crucial method for verifying the performance of the tubing and tools. Accurately testing the performance parameters and application boundary conditions of the tubing and tools is a key factor in ensuring the safety of expansion tubing construction. Developing an expansion tubing bending testing device is of great significance for studying the expansion mechanism of expansion tubing under complex conditions in highly deviated and curved well sections and determining its application limits.

[0004] The expansion tube bending test device is designed according to the special application environment and usage requirements of the expansion tube. In the existing technology, there are few experimental studies on different working conditions such as expansion tube bending simulation test and suspension sealing test. Patents ZL201010285911.5 and ZL201010507489.3 can only complete the expansion test of the tube in a straight state. Patent ZL201710021069.6 proposed an expansion tube bending test platform, which clamps the two ends of the tube and bends the tube by hydraulic lifting in the middle. However, this expansion tube bending test platform cannot use an expansion cone to simulate the expansion test, and the test platform is too short to truly simulate the bending of the expansion tube downhole.

[0005] In view of this, based on years of experience in production and design in this and related fields, the inventor has designed an expansion tube bending expansion test device through repeated experiments in order to solve the problems existing in the prior art. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide an expansion tube bending expansion experimental device that can realistically simulate the expansion process of the expansion tube in a highly inclined bending section of the well.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention proposes an expansion tube bending expansion test device, wherein the expansion tube bending expansion test device includes a base, a support mechanism, and two clamping mechanisms. The two clamping mechanisms are respectively disposed at the ends or near the ends of the base. Each clamping mechanism is detachably connected to and fixes the end of the expansion tube. The support mechanism includes multiple support frames disposed on the base. The multiple support frames are sequentially spaced along the length direction of the base. Each support frame is used to support the expansion tube and push the expansion tube to move up and down. The base includes multiple base modules. The multiple base modules are sequentially arranged along the length direction of the base and detachably fixedly connected.

[0008] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following features and advantages:

[0009] The expansion tube bending expansion test device proposed in this invention has a modular base structure, which is composed of multiple base modules connected in sequence. The number of base modules can be selected according to the length of the test specimen (expansion tube), thereby adjusting the length of the base to suit the needs of different test specimens.

[0010] The expansion tube bending expansion experimental device proposed in this invention can extend the length of the base as the number of base modules increases, thereby simulating the expansion process of the expansion tube in a highly inclined curved well section. Attached Figure Description

[0011] The accompanying drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way. Furthermore, the shapes and proportions of the components in the drawings are merely illustrative to aid in understanding the invention and do not specifically limit the shapes and proportions of the components. Those skilled in the art, guided by the teachings of this invention, can select various possible shapes and proportions to implement the invention according to specific circumstances.

[0012] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the initial state of the expansion tube bending expansion experimental device proposed in this invention;

[0013] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the experimental state of the expansion tube bending expansion experimental device proposed in this invention;

[0014] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the clamping mechanism in this invention;

[0015] Figure 4 This is a perspective view of the clamping mechanism of the lower cover in this invention;

[0016] Figure 5 This is a front view of the clamping lower cover in this invention;

[0017] Figure 6 This is a top view of the lower cover being clamped in this invention;

[0018] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the expansion cone in this invention.

[0019] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0020] 100. Expansion tube bending expansion test apparatus; 10. Base;

[0021] 11. Base module; 20. Support mechanism;

[0022] Detailed Implementation

[0023] The details of the present invention can be more clearly understood by referring to the accompanying drawings and the description of specific embodiments. However, the specific embodiments of the present invention described herein are for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the invention in any way. Under the teachings of this invention, those skilled in the art can conceive of any possible modifications based on the invention, and these should all be considered to fall within the scope of the invention.

[0024] like Figures 1 to 7 As shown, the present invention proposes an expansion tube bending expansion test device 100, which includes a base 10, a support mechanism 20 and two clamping mechanisms 30. The two clamping mechanisms 30 are respectively disposed at the ends or near the ends of the base 10. Each clamping mechanism 30 is detachably connected to and fixes the end of the expansion tube 200. The support mechanism 20 includes a plurality of support frames 21 disposed on the base 10. The plurality of support frames 21 are arranged sequentially and spaced apart along the length direction of the base 10. Each support frame 21 is used to support the expansion tube 200. The base 10 includes a plurality of base modules 11. The plurality of base modules 11 are arranged sequentially along the length direction of the base 10 and are detachably fixedly connected.

[0025] The expansion tube bending expansion test device 100 proposed in this invention has a modular structure for the base 10, which is composed of multiple base modules 11 connected in sequence. The number of base modules 11 can be selected according to the length of the test specimen (expansion tube 200), thereby adjusting the length of the base 10 so that the length of the base 10 is suitable for different test specimens (expansion tube 200).

[0026] The expansion tube bending expansion experimental device 100 proposed in this invention has a base 10 whose length can be extended as the number of base modules 11 increases, thereby simulating the expansion process of the expansion tube 200 in a highly inclined curved well section.

[0027] It should be noted that a highly deviated curved section is the part of the wellbore with a large degree of curvature. It is generally the build-up section of a directional well. The degree of deviation can be determined by the size of the inclination angle. The inclination angle refers to the angle between the tangent direction at a point on the wellbore trajectory and the vertical direction of the earth. Its range is 0° to 180°. The inclination angle of a highly deviated section is generally greater than 30°.

[0028] The expansion tube bending expansion test device 100 proposed in this invention can perform various types of experimental tests, including bending expansion simulation experiments under different dogleg conditions, bending suspension sealing experiments, bending thread sealing pressure tests, and other experimental items. The experimental results can provide technical parameter basis for expansion tube engineering design and construction.

[0029] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, multiple expansion tubes 200 are connected by threads to form a long tube column, which can be used to conduct expansion experiments on the tube body (i.e., bending expansion simulation test) and to conduct expansion test tests on the threaded connection (i.e. bending thread seal pressure test).

[0030] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, two adjacent base modules 11 are detachably fixedly connected by bolts.

[0031] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the base module 11 adopts a steel structure, and the base 10 formed by connecting multiple base modules 11 is used to install the support mechanism 20 and the clamping mechanism 30 to support the weight of the expansion tube 200 used in the experiment.

[0032] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the expansion tube bending expansion test apparatus 100 further includes an expansion cone 40 and a fixed joint 50. The expansion cone 40 is disposed inside the expansion tube 200 and slides in a sealing manner with the inner wall of the expansion tube 200. The fixed joint 50 is sealed to one end of the expansion tube 200. The fixed joint 50, the expansion cone 40, and the inner wall of the expansion tube 200 together form a sealed cavity. With the above structure, by injecting high-pressure fluid into the sealed cavity, the expansion cone 40 is moved to conduct the expansion test.

[0033] In an optional example of this implementation, the fixed joint 50 is threadedly connected to the expansion tube 200.

[0034] In an optional example of this embodiment, the expansion tube bending expansion experimental apparatus 100 further includes an injection line 60. An injection channel is provided on the fixed connector 50, with one end connected to the inner cavity of the expansion tube 200 and the other end connected to the injection line 60. With this structure, the injection line 60 is directly connected to the fixed connector 50, and external high-pressure fluid is injected into the sealed cavity through the injection line 60. The sealed expansion cone 40 moves under the pressure. This structure is easy to assemble and can effectively improve experimental efficiency.

[0035] In another optional example of this embodiment, the expansion tube bending expansion test apparatus 100 further includes an injection line 60. An axially penetrating injection channel 41 is formed on the expansion cone 40. One end of the injection channel 41 is connected to the sealing cavity, and the other end is connected to the injection line 60. With this structure, the injection line 60 extends from the outside into the expansion tube 200 and connects to the injection channel 41. During expansion, the injection line 60 injects high-pressure fluid from the right side (the end of the injection channel 41 facing away from the fixed connector 50) along the injection channel 41 into the sealing cavity. The pressure inside the sealing cavity increases, thereby pushing the expansion cone 40 forward to the right. This expansion pattern is consistent with the expansion pattern of the expansion tube in actual use, simulating the real expansion process and improving the accuracy of the expansion experiment.

[0036] Furthermore, the expansion cone 40 includes an expansion cone body 42 and a drill rod 43. The expansion cone body 42 is in a sealed sliding fit with the inner wall of the expansion tube 200. The drill rod 43 is arranged along the axial direction of the expansion tube 200 and fixed to the side of the expansion cone body 42 facing away from the fixed joint 50. The injection channel 41 is arranged along the axial direction of the expansion tube 200 and passes through the expansion cone body 42 and the drill rod 43. A centering ring 44 is sleeved on the drill rod 43. With the above structure, the centering ring 44 can ensure that the drill rod 43 is always located on the axis of the expansion tube 200 when the expansion cone 40 moves, ensuring the smooth progress of the expansion experiment.

[0037] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the expansion tube bending expansion test device 100 further includes a pipeline guiding mechanism 70 for guiding the injection pipeline 60, the pipeline guiding mechanism 70 being disposed at one end of the base 10. With the above structure, the injection pipeline 60 is placed on the pipeline guiding mechanism 70, which assists in the routing of the injection pipeline 60, preventing problems such as knotting or tangling of the injection pipeline 60.

[0038] In particular, when the implementation method in which the injection line 60 is connected to the expansion cone 40 is adopted, during the expansion experiment, the injection line 60 moves with the expansion cone 40 and gradually withdraws from the expansion tube 200, avoiding knotting and tangling under the guidance of the line guiding mechanism 70.

[0039] In an optional embodiment of this method, the guiding mechanism 70 consists of a set of movable supports connected in series on a guide rail. Each movable support has rollers at its bottom and can run on the guide rail. Each movable support has a limiting mechanism for the injection line at its upper part. Adjacent movable supports are connected in series with flexible wires to limit their maximum displacement. As the injection line 60 exits from the expansion tube 200, each movable support gradually pushes outward on the guide rail. Because the position of the injection line 60 is constrained by the limiting mechanism at the upper part of the movable support, it can only move along the guide rail with the movable support, effectively avoiding knotting and tangling.

[0040] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the clamping mechanism 30 includes a clamping lower cover 31, a clamping upper cover 32, and two support columns 33. The two support columns 33 are vertically spaced apart and fixedly connected to the base 10 respectively. The clamping lower cover 31 and the clamping upper cover 32 are semi-cylindrical in shape. The clamping upper cover 32 and the clamping lower cover 31 are snapped together to form a cylindrical shape and are detachably connected. The outer wall of the clamping lower cover 31 is provided with mounting blocks 34 that align and cooperate with the support columns 33. Each mounting block 34 is rotatably connected to the support column 33. The clamping mechanism 30 is used to fix the expansion tube 200. The clamping cover 31 is rotatably connected to the support column 33. During the experiment, according to the required dogleg angle, multiple support frames 21 move upwards by different displacements to cause the expansion tube 200 to bend. During the bending process of the expansion tube 200, the clamping mechanisms 30 at both ends can rotate at a certain angle to cooperate with the support mechanism 20 to make the expansion tube 200 achieve the required degree of bending, thereby keeping the bending state and stress state of the expansion tube 200 more consistent with the downhole working conditions and more realistically simulating the expansion process of the expansion tube 200 underground. The clamping mechanism 30 can cooperate with the support mechanism 20 to adjust the dogleg angle of the expansion tube 200, and can test the maximum full-angle change rate of the safe bending expansion of the expansion tube 200 to determine the limit boundary conditions of bending expansion.

[0041] It should be noted that dogleg angle refers to the angle by which the wellbore trajectory changes from one point to another within the wellbore, measured in degrees per 30m (i.e., the angle that changes every 30m). This angle reflects both the change in well inclination angle and the change in azimuth angle, and can also be called the total angle variation rate or wellbore curvature.

[0042] In an optional example of this implementation, the upper clamping cover 32 and the lower clamping cover 31 are detachably connected by bolts.

[0043] In an optional embodiment, pads 35 are detachably mounted on the inner walls of the upper cover 32 and the lower cover 31, respectively.

[0044] In an alternative example, the pad 35 can be detachably mounted on the clamping upper cover 32 or the clamping lower cover 31 by bolts. The pad 35 is easy to replace and install, improving experimental efficiency.

[0045] Furthermore, depending on the different specifications of the expansion tube 200, different specifications of pads 35 can be manufactured. The pads 35 of different specifications have different inner diameters so that expansion tubes 200 of different specifications can be fixed by the clamping cover 32 and the clamping cover 31. The clamping mechanism 30 can replace the pads 35 to accommodate expansion tubes 200 of different sizes. Before the experiment, the corresponding pads 35 are selected according to the diameter of the experimental expansion tube 200, and then the pads 35 are fixed inside the clamping mechanism 30 by bolts.

[0046] In an alternative example, mounting block 34 is rotatably connected to support column 33 via bearings, allowing for slight rotation of expansion tube 200 under dogleg conditions.

[0047] In an alternative example, the fixed joint 50 has shoulders at both ends and a reduced diameter section in the middle, which is fixed in the clamping mechanism 30. The shoulders can limit the axial displacement of the expansion tube 200.

[0048] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, each support frame 21 pushes the expansion tube 200 up and down to bend the expansion tube 200 upward into a predetermined shape or curvature (dogleg).

[0049] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the support frame 21 is a hydraulic support frame, which is mainly used to support the expansion tube 200 used in the experiment to create tube bends with different dogleg angles. In the initial state, the hydraulic support frame keeps the support point of the expansion tube 200 and the clamping mechanism 30 horizontal, which can ensure that the expansion tube 200 is freely placed on the base 10 in a horizontal state.

[0050] In an optional example of this embodiment, the support mechanism 20 is provided with 3-5 hydraulic support frames, each of which is fixed on the base 10. The hydraulic support frames are mainly used to support the expansion tube 200. The hydraulic support frames push the expansion tube 200 to form a dogleg. The support mechanism 20 controls the extension of the piston rod of the hydraulic support frame according to the required dogleg size to ensure that the entire expansion tube 200 is uniformly subjected to bending load and to accurately control the dogleg required by the experiment.

[0051] The specific implementation process of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to an embodiment:

[0052] like Figure 1 As shown, this is the experimental setup with the support mechanism 20 in its initial state. After the expansion tube 200 is installed with the fixing joint 50, it is placed horizontally on the base 10. The expansion tube 200 is fixed at both ends with the clamping mechanism 30. The injection line 60 is placed on the line guiding mechanism 70. The external high-pressure supply system provides expansion pressure to the expansion tube 200 through the injection line 60. In this state, a horizontal simulated expansion test can be performed.

[0053] like Figure 2 As shown, after fixing the expansion tube 200, the dogleg angle required for the experiment is set, and each support frame 21 is moved upward by different displacements to make the expansion tube 200 bend. During the bending process of the expansion tube 200, the clamping mechanisms 30 at both ends can rotate by a certain angle.

[0054] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0055] The expansion tube bending expansion test device 100 proposed in this invention has a modular base 10 that can be assembled according to the length of the test specimen (expansion tube 200) to realize the simulated expansion test of the expansion tube.

[0056] The expansion tube bending expansion test device 100 proposed in this invention can adjust the inner diameter of the clamping mechanism 30 to meet the experimental testing of full-size expansion tubes.

[0057] The expansion tube bending expansion test device 100 proposed in this invention adopts a rotatable clamping mechanism 30 to ensure that the expansion tube 200 bends smoothly so that the expansion cone 40 can expand smoothly.

[0058] The expansion tube bending expansion experimental device 100 proposed in this invention can simulate the real expansion process. When the injection line 60 exits from the expansion tube 200, the line guiding mechanism 70 assists in the routing of the line, which will not cause problems such as knotting or tangling of the injection line 60.

[0059] The detailed explanations of the above embodiments are intended only to explain the present invention so as to facilitate a better understanding of the present invention. However, these descriptions should not be construed as limiting the present invention for any reason. In particular, the various features described in different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined with each other to form other embodiments. Unless there is an explicit description to the contrary, these features should be understood to be applicable to any embodiment, and not limited to the described embodiments.

Claims

1. An expansion tube bending expansion experimental device, characterized in that, The expansion tube bending expansion experimental device includes a base, a support mechanism, and two clamping mechanisms. The two clamping mechanisms are respectively disposed at the ends or near the ends of the base. Each clamping mechanism is detachably connected to and fixes the end of the expansion tube. The support mechanism includes multiple support frames disposed on the base. The multiple support frames are arranged sequentially and spaced apart along the length direction of the base. Each support frame is used to support the expansion tube. The base includes multiple base modules. The multiple base modules are arranged sequentially along the length direction of the base and are detachably fixedly connected. The clamping mechanism includes a clamping lower cover, a clamping upper cover, and two support columns. The two support columns are vertically spaced apart and fixedly connected to the base. The clamping lower cover and the clamping upper cover are semi-cylindrical. The clamping upper cover and the clamping lower cover are interlocked to form a cylindrical shape and are detachably connected. The outer wall of the clamping lower cover is provided with mounting blocks that align with the support columns. Each mounting block is rotatably connected to the support column. The support frame is a hydraulic support frame, and each hydraulic support frame pushes the expansion tube upward so that the expansion tube as a whole forms a preset arc.

2. The expansion tube bending expansion experimental device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The expansion tube bending expansion test device also includes an expansion cone and a fixed joint. The expansion cone is disposed inside the expansion tube and is in a sealing sliding fit with the inner wall of the expansion tube. The fixed joint is sealed and connected to one end of the expansion tube. The fixed joint, the expansion cone and the inner wall of the expansion tube form a sealed cavity.

3. The expansion tube bending expansion experimental apparatus as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The expansion tube bending expansion test device also includes an injection pipeline. An injection channel is provided on the fixed joint. One end of the injection channel is connected to the sealing cavity, and the other end of the injection channel is connected to the injection pipeline.

4. The expansion tube bending expansion experimental apparatus as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The fixed joint seals the end of the expansion tube. The expansion tube bending expansion test device also includes an injection line. An axially penetrating injection channel is provided on the expansion cone. One end of the injection channel is connected to the sealing cavity, and the other end of the injection channel is connected to the injection line.

5. The expansion tube bending expansion experimental apparatus as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The expansion cone includes an expansion cone body and a drill rod. The expansion cone body is in a sealed sliding fit with the inner wall of the expansion tube. The drill rod is arranged along the axial direction of the expansion tube and fixed to the side of the expansion cone body facing away from the fixed joint. The injection channel passes through the expansion cone body and the drill rod. A straightening ring is provided on the outer sleeve of the drill rod.

6. The expansion tube bending expansion experimental apparatus as described in claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, The expansion tube bending expansion test device also includes a pipeline guiding mechanism that guides the injection pipeline, and the pipeline guiding mechanism is located at one end of the base.

7. The expansion tube bending expansion experimental apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The inner walls of the clamping upper cover and the inner walls of the clamping lower cover are each detachably fitted with pads.

8. The expansion tube bending expansion experimental apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting block and the support column are rotatably connected by bearings.

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