Breakable Plug Packer Setting Device Shear Ring Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing packer setting devices lack a reliable and cost-effective mechanism for creating a pressure barrier within production tubing that can be easily removed after serving its purpose, while also allowing for pressure testing and bottom-up filling of the tubing without risking pressure limitations or mechanical failure.
Innovation Solution
A packer setting device featuring a breakable plug housed in a tubular with a load ring and shear ring mechanism, where the breakable plug is axially movable between positions, using a dissolvable insert and non-return valve to manage pressure and fluid flow, ensuring predictable and repeatable shear values and cost-effective production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a breakable plug is used to create a pressure barrier, then the device can hold pressure for packer setting and pressure testing, but the mechanism to remove the plug after service becomes complex and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The plug is designed as a disposable component made of breakable material (glass, ceramic, or composite) that is intentionally broken after serving its pressure barrier function. The plug includes a breakable body with a through-bore that is shattered by forcing it against breaking pins, eliminating the need for complex removal mechanisms and reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The breaking pins are extracted from the main body and positioned on the load ring, allowing them to engage with the plug from the outside. This extraction simplifies the overall structure by separating the breaking function into distinct, easily replaceable components rather than integrating a complex removal mechanism into the plug housing.
2Ease of manufacture
If the plug is made breakable for easy removal, then the device allows bottom-up filling and simplified removal, but the structural strength to support pressure may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The plug is constructed from composite materials such as glass-ceramic composites, ceramic-matrix composites, or polymer-ceramic composites that provide both the necessary strength to withstand pressure differentials and the ability to be reliably broken by shear forces from the breaking pins. These composite materials enable the plug to fulfill both contradictory requirements of strength and breakability.
Solution Approach 2:
The plug incorporates localized weak points or stress concentration zones in specific areas where the breaking pins will apply force. This allows the plug to maintain high strength in areas needed for pressure containment while having predetermined locations that will fracture under controlled shear loading from the breaking pins.
3Manufacturing precision
If a shear ring mechanism is added to control plug breaking, then predictable and repeatable shear values are achieved, but manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shear ring is pre-loaded during assembly to establish a predetermined shear force threshold that must be exceeded before the plug can be broken. This pre-loading mechanism, combined with the shear lip geometry, ensures consistent and repeatable breaking forces without requiring complex active control systems, thereby achieving manufacturing precision at reasonable cost.
4Reliability
If the plug is completely solid for pressure sealing, then pressure barrier function is improved, but the device cannot allow bottom-up filling of the tubing
Solution Approach 1:
The plug is segmented into a breakable body with a through-bore running axially through it. This segmentation allows the plug to function as a complete pressure barrier when intact, while also permitting fluid flow through the through-bore during bottom-up filling operations. After the plug is broken by the shear ring mechanism, the through-bore remains open to allow production flow, thus providing adaptability for different operational phases.
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
The solution provides a reliable pressure barrier for packer setting and pressure testing, allows bottom-up filling, and ensures predictable plug removal, reducing manufacturing costs and mechanical failure risks by using a breakable and dissolvable design with a non-return valve for controlled fluid management.
Implementation Method 1
a shear ring with an annular shear lip to prevent axial movement in the first position until the shear lip is subjected to a force higher than a predetermined force
Implementation Method 2
the plug is forced against the breaking pin... provide a mechanism for breaking a breakable plug that is strong enough to support a breakable plug and able to in a controlled and predictable manner to release the plug against a breaking member for breaking the plug
Data Source
AI summary
Packer setting device, comprising a tubular (10) with a plug housing (14), said plug housing having an internal, through running boring (12) with an internal wall (12a), a breakable plug (16) seated in a load ring (22) axially movable within the boring (12) between a first position in where the plug (16) is with a distance to a breaking pin (18) and a second position in where the plug (16) is forced against the breaking pin (18), said load ring (22) is resting on a shear ring (20) with an annular shear lip (20a) to prevent axial movement in the first position until the shear lip (20a) is subjected to a force higher than a predetermined force, wherein the annular shear lip (20a) of the shear ring (20) extend radially inward in the boring (12), and the breaking pin (18) is resting on the shear ring (20), and said breaking pin (18) is accommodated in a pocket (28) on an outside of the load ring (22).