Annular Sand Control Cleaning System
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sand control devices in well systems become obstructed by particulate material and debris, reducing fluid flow and requiring additional components for cleaning, which complicates the well system.
Innovation Solution
A sand control device cleaning system that includes a housing and fluid communication structure coupled to a tubing string, storing a dissolving material that generates a dissolving fluid to dissolve particulate material and debris without adding extra components to the wellbore, using a piston to apply pressure and a valve assembly to maintain the dissolving fluid in contact with the sand control device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a wash pipe is inserted into production tubing to deliver cleaning material to the sand control device, then the sand control device can be cleaned effectively, but the number of components in the well system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning system is extracted from the production tubing and placed in the annular space between the production casing and the production tubing. This eliminates the need for a wash pipe inside the tubing while maintaining cleaning effectiveness through direct delivery of cleaning material to the sand control device.
Solution Approach 2:
The annular space serves as an intermediary pathway to deliver cleaning material from the surface to the sand control device. Instead of routing cleaning material through the production tubing, the annular space provides a direct route that simplifies the system architecture.
2Ease of operation
If additional components are added to clean the sand control device, then cleaning capability is improved, but the well system becomes more complex and harder to operate
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses existing wellbore structures (production casing and production tubing annular space) for dual purposes: normal production flow and cleaning material delivery. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for dedicated cleaning components while maintaining operational simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning system utilizes the existing annular space infrastructure that is already present in the wellbore, allowing the system to clean itself without requiring separate dedicated cleaning equipment. The annular space serves both production and cleaning functions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively removes particulate material and debris from sand control devices without increasing the number of components in the wellbore, ensuring uninterrupted fluid flow and simplifying the cleaning process.
Implementation Method 1
The dissolving fluid can dissolve particulate material filtered by the sand control device
Data Source
AI summary
Certain aspects and embodiments of the present invention are directed a sand control device cleaning system that can be disposed in a wellbore through a fluid-producing formation. The sand control device cleaning system can include a housing and a fluid communication structure. The housing can be coupled to a section of a tubing string of a well system. A portion of the housing or a container disposed within the housing can store a dissolving material. A dissolving fluid that can dissolve or otherwise remove particulate material can be formed from the dissolving material. The fluid communication structure can communicate the dissolving fluid from the housing to a sand control device coupled to the section of the tubing string.